大英博物馆现展出半神化蒙提祖马二世雕塑

　　伦敦讯     这是一个系列展览，有关权利和帝国，大英博物馆聚焦阿芝台克帝国（Aztec Emperor）蒙提祖马二世（Moctezuma II）：墨西哥阿兹特克统治者末代皇帝，展览聚焦这位半神化统治者和他的遗留物，其中许多物品是首次在英国展出。展览是为纪念墨西哥1810年独立和1910年革命。

　　阿兹特克是古代墨西哥文化舞台上最后一个角色，他们创造了辉煌的阿兹特克文明，开创了阿兹特克族最兴盛的时期。在十六世纪西班牙入侵之前，特诺奇蒂特兰作为阿兹特克帝国的中心，拥有人口20~30万，是当时世界上最繁荣的城市之一。蒙提祖马二世(统治期1502-1520)统治了太平洋沿海和墨西哥湾大片国土，被视为可以与上帝沟通的半神人物，并且是一名英勇善战的骁将和军事指挥家，在Tenochtitlan（现墨西哥城）的中心建立了新的宫殿。阿兹特克人的辉煌文明最后毁于西班牙殖民者之手，它的历史从此被拦腰截断。 

Monday Sept. 21, 2009 photo shows a woman walk by a basalt fragment, in the form of a serpent tail with maize cobs, which originally formed part of a much larger sculpture from around 1500, during the exhibition entitled: 'Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler', in central London's British Museum. Moctezuma II was the last elected Aztec Emperor that reigned between 1502-1520 and the exhibition will run from Sept 24, to Jan. 24, 2010. Loans of material from Mexico and Europe will be displayed and according to the museum, this is the first exhibition to examine the semi-mythical statues of the ruler and his legacy. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British Museum Presents First Exhibition to Examine the Semi-Mythical Statues of Moctezuma

LONDON.- Completing its series of exhibitions exploring power and empire, the British Museum focuses on the last elected Aztec Emperor, Moctezuma II. Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler is the first exhibition to examine the semi-mythical status of Moctezuma and his legacy today. Loans of iconic material from Mexico and Europe will be displayed, most for the first time in this country. The exhibition anticipates the anniversaries in 2010 of the Independence of Mexico (1810) and of the Mexican Revolution (1910).

 Moctezuma (reigned 1502-1520) inherited and then consolidated Aztec control over a politically complex empire that by the early 16th century stretched from the shores of Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. Moctezuma was regarded as a semi- divine figure by his subjects charged with the task of interceding with the gods. As a battle-hardened general he was appointed supreme military commander and headed the two most prestigious warriors orders: the eagle and jaguar warriors. He was elected as Ruling Lord (huey tlatoani) in 1502, built a new palace in the heart of Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City) and restructured the court. The arrival of the Spanish, during Moctezuma’s reign, witnessed the collapse of the native world order and the imposition of a new civilization that gave birth to modern Mexico.