MCPJ+32 Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
The Temple of the Bearded Man is perhaps the best-preserved among the buildings surrounding the Great Ball Court. The temple got its name from the depiction of a strange bearded man. It stands on a wall composed of three stepped sections, which, together with the staircase, are located on a platform.
The influence of the Itza people and their religious ideas can be seen in this building, which is integrated into the Great Ball Court, adjoining the northern wall that surrounds it. It is also known as the North Temple of the Great Ball Court, measuring 10 meters in length and 6 meters in width, with sloping walls and a central staircase facing south. The temple is situated atop a platform 14 meters long and 8 meters wide.
It consists of a single chamber with an inverted roof. Its facade features a slope that ends with a small projecting molding; then a vertical wall rises to the height of the ceiling, which is supported by two columns with bas-reliefs. Behind them is a panel ending with a molded cornice, followed by a smooth frieze topped by another inverted crown with stucco decoration. Its stone slabs are adorned with trees whose roots extend into the ground, with plant branches spiraling up their trunks. Butterflies and birds flutter around the trees, while others perch on the branches. Above these trees, Quetzalcoatl or Kukulkan appears in the form of a bird-serpent man, with a face emerging from the mouth of a snake with a forked tongue and a feathered body.
The Temple of the Bearded Man features an architectural characteristic—sloping and vertical walls—that was common in Xochicalco, Morelos; and widely used in Chichen Itza. Other elements are also present, such as columns decorated with bas-reliefs, tall doorjambs with warrior figures, a lower panel depicting the bird-serpent man, and a Maya crypt fully decorated with various everyday and religious scenes.
On part of the rear wall, there is a scene where Kukulkan appears seated on a jaguar throne, surrounded by an oval formed by the feathered serpent; flanking the god are seven figures, mainly warriors with atlatls or spears, darts, and back discs on their belts, one of whom appears as a chief with a serpent in the background. In the next row, a priest and ruler in garments adorned with precious stones sit; to his left are seven people, all with butterfly-shaped pectoral muscles; to his right sit six other high-ranking individuals. Below them is another row of characters—seven on the left, two of whom wear eagle costumes, and seven on the right, two of whom stand on the roof of a house or temple inside which two characters sit.
Finally, below, you can see the dead lord and priest Kukulkan, dressed in his tunic with a two-headed serpent running from his belt to his head and legs, as if protecting him; on both sides are two seated men, one of whom seems to emerge from a snail shell, intertwined with plants.
All of this is connected to the Itza people and Kukulkan, the god who appears at the top of the sky, with the lord-priest who bore the same name and relied on warriors, nobles, and priests on earth, guarded by all the gods of the four directions. The attire of the characters is the same as in the "Great Ball Game": sleeves with cotton lining, a nose bar, back discs on the belt, feathered headdresses, eagle or bird costumes, butterfly-shaped pectorals, as well as plant interlacings and scrolls.
The Temple of the Bearded Man in Chichen Itza is located in the northern part of the Great Ball Court. In front of it, on the other side of the court, you will find the South Temple of the Great Court, and to its left is the Temple of the Jaguar.
Sources:
https://mayanpeninsula.com/en/the-temple-of-the-bearded-man-in-chichen-itza/
