Inti: Sun God of the Andes

Inti, the Incan sun god, shone at the center of the Andean spiritual world. He was revered not only as the celestial source of light and warmth but also as the divine ancestor of Inca rulers, believed to have descended directly from his golden rays. Ceremonies in his honor filled the imperial calendar, especially the grand Inti Raymi festival, where offerings and rituals thanked him for agricultural abundance and imperial fortune.

In Inca cosmology, Inti’s brilliance maintained the order of nature. His journey across the sky each day symbolized the cycle of life, and his descent each night was seen as a sacred retreat into the underworld. From the high temples of Cusco to the terraced slopes of the Andes, Inti’s power was etched into stone and memory. Farmers prayed to him for favorable seasons, and emperors invoked his light to affirm their right to rule.