"The third-largest pyramid on Earth, built over a cave where the Aztecs believed the sun was born"
Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacán
San Juan Teotihuacan, State of Mexico, Mexico
The Pyramid of the Sun rises like a man-made mountain from the ancient city of Teotihuacan. At 225 meters per side at its base and originally 75 meters high, it ranks as the third-largest pyramid in the world by volume, surpassed only by the Great Pyramid of Cholula and the Great Pyramid of Giza. Yet what makes this pyramid sacred lies not in its dimensions but beneath it: a natural lava tube cave discovered in 1971 that may have represented Chicomoztoc, the mythological Place of Seven Caves from which humanity emerged. The cave existed before the pyramid; the pyramid was built to mark it, transforming natural sacred space into monumental architecture.
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Quick Facts
Location
San Juan Teotihuacan, State of Mexico, Mexico
Tradition
Site Type
Coordinates
19.6925, -98.8433
Last Updated
Jan 12, 2026
Built in two phases between 100-250 CE over a natural cave. Third-largest pyramid in the world by volume. Aligned to solar events. Named by Aztecs who believed the sun was created here.
Origin Story
The pyramid's original mythological associations cannot be recovered because no written records survive from Teotihuacan. However, Aztec mythology, recorded after the Spanish conquest, provides one interpretive framework. According to this tradition, after the Fourth Sun was destroyed, the world lay in darkness. The gods gathered at Teotihuacan to create a new cosmic era. Two deities, the humble Nanahuatzin and the proud Tecuciztecatl, volunteered to sacrifice themselves by leaping into the sacred fire. The humble god jumped first without hesitation and emerged as the sun; the proud god followed and became the moon. The Pyramid of the Sun was understood to mark the place of this cosmic sacrifice, where a god died and was transformed into the celestial body that sustains all life. This mythology may or may not reflect original beliefs, but the pyramid's solar alignments confirm that astronomical symbolism was always central to its function.
Key Figures
Unknown builders
Leopoldo Batres
Spiritual Lineage
The Pyramid of the Sun represents the monumentalization of a cave sacred space, a practice common throughout Mesoamerica. Similar cave-pyramid associations appear at El Castillo at Chichen Itza, the Pyramid of the Sun at Cholula, and numerous other sites. The concept of the cosmic mountain, connecting earth and sky through built architecture, influenced all subsequent Mesoamerican construction.
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