Tepēyōllōtl

{{short description|Aztec jaguar god}}

{{refimprove|date=October 2019}}

{{infobox deity

|deity_of=the Eighth Hour of the Night

|name=Tepēyōllōtl

|type=Aztec

|image=Tepeyóllotl 1.jpg

|caption =Tepeyollotl, Codex Borgia.

|gender=male

}}

Image:Tepeyollotl.jpg.]]

In Aztec mythology, Tepēyōllōtl ({{IPA|nah|ˈtepeːˈjoːlːoːt͡ɬ}}; "heart of the mountains"; also Tepeyollotli) was the god of darkened caves, earthquakes, echoes and jaguars. He is the god of the Eighth Hour of the Night, and is depicted as a jaguar leaping towards the Sun. In the calendar, Tepeyollotl rules over both the third day, Calli (house), and the third trecena, 1-Mazatl (deer).{{cite web|url=https://www.azteccalendar.com/god/Tepeyollotl.html|title=Tepeyollotl, the Heart of the Mountain|website=www.azteccalendar.com}}

File:Standing_jaguar.jpg#/media, which was a sacred animal to him.]]

The word is derived as a compound of the Nahuatl words {{Lang|nci|tepētl}} ("mountain"), and {{Lang|nci|yōllōtl}} ("heart" or "interior"). Tepeyollotl is usually depicted as cross-eyed holding the typical white staff with green feathers. Sometimes Tezcatlipoca wore Tepeyollotl for an animal skin or disguise to trick other gods into not knowing who he was.