Religion was an important part of Aztec life. The Aztec people worshipped hundreds of gods and godesses. Each of the gods and godesses ruled over one or multiple human activites and/or parts of nature. The Aztecs had many gods/godesses that pertained to agriculture, as this was another big part of Aztec life. They believed that the balance of the natural world and the fate/destiny of humanity depended upon the will of the gods and godesses. Some of the gods and godesses were relatively mild, while others were more violent. Furthermore, the Aztecs believed that the gods and godesses should be thanked and praised, in order to preserve themselves from problems caused by the deities anger or indifference. For this reason, centers for worship were built, and many rites and ceremonies were conducted. From this belief sprouted the origins of human sacrifice and deliberatly causing oneself pain and suffering. Here is an alphabetical list of some of the hundreds of gods and godesses of the Aztec people.