ART AND ARTIFACTS Hero Twins face Itzamna Detail from Rollout K1183 Justin Kerr The Hero Twins of Ancient Maya Myth Barbara and Justin Kerr The Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibition of Photographs 1994 The Maya painted and carved vases with many scenes from their mythology. These mythological tales were finally recorded in a sixteenth-century Quiche document called the Popol Vuh. However, the myths were certainly in place by the first century AD The main characters in the Popol Vuh are known as the Hero Twins, who were hunters, ballplayers, magicians, and scribes. They played in the ball court of the gods of the Underworld and finally vanquished them. The ancient Maya rulers often portrayed themselves as brave, as talented, and as powerful as the Hero Twins. The mythic Hero Twins were emulated by the elite, who played an endless repetition of the cosmic ball game with the gods, vying for control of nature’s forces. By this action the Maya rulers proved and held their power. Polychrome Vessel depicting Hunahpu Justin Kerr 5824 Briefly, this is a story of birth, death, and resurrection. The Hero Twins, named Hun Ahpu and Xbalanque, are the sons of a twin. Their father, whose name was Hun Hun Ahpu, and his twin brother, Vucub Hun Ahpu, were great ballplayers, but in their games with the Underworld lords were the losers. The Hero Twins’ father was decapitated, and his head was hung in a tree, whereupon the young daughter of an Underworld lord, being curious, approached the head in the tree. The head of Hun Hun Ahpu spat in her hand, and she became pregnant with the Hero Twins. Soon the twins were born with all the attributes of their many talents. In an earlier marriage Hun Hun Ahpu fathered another set of twins, named Hun Batz and Hun Chuen, who were eventually turned into monkeys by the Hero Twins and became scribes. After the Hero Twins grew up and had many adventures, they repeated the games their father played with gods in Xibalba, the Underworld. They resurrected their father, also known as the young Corn God, symbolizing new growth, and the three were united. For the Maya, time is cyclical not linear as it is in our world. Ancestors live on: communication with them continues. Popol Vuh: Sacred Book of the Ancinet Maya Victor Montejo One of the major themes in the Maya belief system is that of resurrection, that moment in time when a mortal attains godlike status. Many Maya rulers portray themselves at the moment of death as being transformed into one of the creatures of the Underworld. They often make the descent to the Underworld on