The Great Compound and the Ciudadela formed a mega-architectural complex at the heart of the ancient city whose functions remain a matter of considerable dispute. The Great Compound seems to have a more commercial role, while the Ciudadela and the Feathered Serpent Pyramid within it may have functioned as the residential palace for Teotihuacán's rulers at some point in the history of the city. A monumental staircase leads you from the Street of the Dead to the top of the east platform which you cross and then descend into the giant interior plaza. The four immense platforms that enclose the Ciudadela supported temples of unknown functions. I have often suspected that each was the seat of the leaders of the city’s most important social and/or ethnic groups but that is no more than an unscientific guess. The giant space inside the platforms was large enough to contain the entire urban population of the city at one time.
The Feathered Serpent Pyramid, named after the repetitive serpents carved on all four side of its façade, lies near the back of the plaza, surrounded by house remains on the north and south. If you look closely you can identify remnants of the white stucco and red paint that covered the buildings, and indeed all the major buildings of the city. Before you climb every stairway that you can, remember, you have a long way to go by the end of the day and climbing down is more challenging, both physically and visually, than climbing up!
Written by Richard A. Diehl
