Cylinder Vase, Peten, Guatemala, AD 593-830, Ceramic with red, white and black on yellow-cream slip, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Maya painted and carved vases with many scenes from their mythology. These mythological tales were finally recorded in a sixteenth-century Quiche document called the Popol Vuh. However, the myths were certainly in place by the first century AD The main characters in the Popol Vuh are known as the Hero Twins, who were hunters, ballplayers, magicians, and scribes. They played in the ball court of the gods of the Underworld and finally vanquished them. The ancient Maya rulers often portrayed themselves as brave, as talented, and as powerful as the Hero Twins. The mythic Hero Twins were emulated by the elite, who played an endless repetition of the cosmic ball game with the gods, vying for control of nature’s forces. By this action the Maya rulers proved and held their power.

The Hero Twins of Ancient Maya Myth
Barbara and Justin Kerr, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibition of Photographs 1994

The first meeting between the Hero Twins and Itzamna, the primary Lord of the Underworld, is narrated on this vase. The text includes the names of the Hero Twins (Hunahpu and Xbalanque), which appear directly above their images. The text also indicates that the vase was a drinking vessel for tree-fresh cacao pulp. These two brothers are the second set of twins born to First Father, the Maya god who eventually created this world. Like their father and his brother, the Hero Twins were great ball players and were challenged to come to Xibalba [she-BAHL-bah], the Maya Underworld, by the Lords of Death. Unlike their father and uncle, the Hero Twins defeated the Lords of Death and left Xibalba. Before leaving, they brought their father back to life as the Maize God.

Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period. Dorie Reents-Budet. Durham: Duke University Press. 1994. page 356. Photograph Justin Kerr 1183

Internet Links

The Hero Twins Mythology

The Hero Twins- Maya Ceramics: Lesson Plan (PDF File)