纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 069瓦斯特克女神雕像（6）（在线收听）

The simple fact is that childbirth and infancy are always very messy affairs. To achieve even a minimum level of hygiene means devising systems for coping with filth - and mother goddesses have to deal with filth on a cosmic scale. So it's not at all surprising that the name Tlazolteotl literally means, in the Aztec language, 'filth goddess'. She was a figure of fertility, vegetation, and renewal, the ultimate green goddess, transforming organic waste and excrement into healthy new life, guaranteeing the great cycle of natural regeneration. This is a goddess that gets her hands dirty and, according to Aztec myth, not just her hands. Another of her names is 'eater of filth' - she consumes dirt and purifies it. So, if we can read our goddess in the same light as the Aztecs, that's perhaps, disconcertingly, why her mouth is open and her eyes are rolling upwards.

分娩和抚养婴儿总是与肮脏相伴。哪怕想取得最低限度的卫生，也需要发明应对污秽的系统。从广义上说，母亲神需要应对污秽。

因此，特拉佐尔特奥特尔的名字在阿兹特克语中的字面意思是“污秽女神”，这一事实也并不出奇。她是繁衍、植物生长与复苏之神，是最重要的绿色女神，能?将有机废料和排泄物转化成全新的健康生命，保证自然再生循环的运转。这位女神将自己的双手置于污秽之中，而在阿兹特克神话中还不只是双手一她有另一个名字，“食秽者”，她会吞下污秽并净化它们。因此，虽然这让人有点不舒服，但如果按照阿兹特克人的观念来重新欣赏这尊女神，也许我们就能理解她为何嘴张开，眼睛看向上方。