Itzamna

The Lord of the Heavens and Wisdom

Domain: Sky, Wisdom & Creation
Alignment: Lawful Good
Element: Light
Relics of Power: Codex of Creation

Speak with Itzamna

The People

People

Maya

Region

Mesoamerica (Yucatán & Guatemala)

Period

c. 2000 BC – 1500 AD

The Maya gods were worshipped in the city-states of Mesoamerica, such as Tikal, Palenque, and Chichén Itzá. Astronomer-priests read the skies and the calendar to honor them at the right time, in pyramid-temples now swallowed by the jungle. Many of their myths survive in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiché Maya.

Maya kings and queens offered their own blood in bloodletting rituals to feed the gods, and the ritual ballgame re-enacted the duel against the lords of the underworld. Cenotes such as the one at Chichén Itzá received precious offerings, guided by the 260-day sacred calendar.

The Sacred Scrolls

Supreme creator god and lord of the heavens, Itzamna is the highest deity of the Maya pantheon. Patron of writing, medicine, and knowledge, he taught humanity the arts of civilization. Depicted as a wise old man, he is the source of order and culture. As The Lord of the Heavens and Wisdom, this deity occupies a position of supreme prestige in the maias pantheon. Their domains over Sky, Wisdom & Creation reflect ancestral cosmic order maintained across millennia. In classical iconography, they are depicted with an aura of unshakeable majesty and sacred attributes that inspired reverence in emperors and peasants alike. Their influence extended beyond earthly boundaries, governing fates and harmony between the visible and invisible worlds. For ancient devotees, contemplating their essence was to understand the very fundamental forces of nature and human existence.

Sacred Symbols

The glyph codex, the solar disk, the two-headed serpent and the elder

Divine Lineage

Husband of the goddess Ix Chel; father of the Bacab gods who hold up the sky.

The Legendary Myth

Tradition says it was Itzamna who invented hieroglyphic writing and the calendar, gifts that organized the life and time of the Maya. As lord of healing, he was invoked by the priest-physicians against disease.

Legends & Deeds

A celebrated secondary legend preserved in the oral traditions of the maias recounts the journey when Itzamna intervened directly in the lives of mortals.