The author of the proposed book analyzes the religious and mythological representations of the Aztecs. This analysis allows us to understand why the culture of the ancient Aztecs is called by one of the modern researchers "a dream and a nightmare." Indeed, on the one hand, the Aztecs built grandiose and majestic temples, relied in chronological and astrological calculations on the calendar that struck the Europeans with its accuracy, but on the other hand, they used the disgusting practice of bloody human sacrifices. The book is published in the author's edition. Illustrated edition.