USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -This illustration describes how the Aztecs chose the location for Tenochtitlan. The image of an eagle eating a snake atop a prickly pear cactus can also be seen on the modern day Mexican flag.

Detailed explanation-2: -According to legend, they were told by one of their gods to settle where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus, eating a snake. After a hundred years of wandering, they finally found this sign. They saw the eagle, the cactus, and the snake on a small reed-covered island in the shallow waters of Lake Texcoco.

Detailed explanation-3: -The golden eagle perched upon a cactus, eating a snake, is a symbol of the triumph of good over evil. The eagle is a symbol of the sun and a representation of the victorious god Huitzilopochtli.

Detailed explanation-4: -“The eagle was a sacred creature in Aztec thought, believed to have been present at the birth of the sun (hence, the blackened ‘singed’ wing tips) and was the symbol of one of the elite warrior orders in Aztec culture, ” Pennock explains to Live Science.

Detailed explanation-5: -Tenochtitlan was located on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco in what is today south central Mexico. The Aztecs were able to settle there because no one else wanted the land. At first, it wasn’t a great place to start a city, but soon the Aztecs built up islands where they could grow crops.