The golden sun whose son ruled as Inca, his Coricancha temple in Cusco stripped of its gold plates to ransom the captive emperor Atahualpa.
Born
1200 CE
Died
1572 CE
Lived
372 years
Dead for
454 yrs
Cause of death
Conquest · Forgotten
Replaced by
Catholicism
The Obituary
Inti was the Inca sun god and divine ancestor of the ruling dynasty, the Sapa Inca claiming descent from him. His principal sanctuary, the Coricancha (Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun) in Cusco, gleamed with sheets of gold representing his light, and the solstice festival of Inti Raymi honored him with offerings to secure the sun’s return. After the Spanish seized Atahualpa in 1532, his temple was stripped to pay the ransom; the state cult collapsed as conquest, completed by 1572, imposed Catholicism on the Andes.
Worth remembering
The Sapa Inca claimed descent from Inti; his great temple, the Coricancha in Cusco, was sheathed in gold.
The festival Inti Raymi marked the winter solstice with offerings to ensure the sun's return.
Gallery
The Coricancha (Qorikancha), the Inca Temple of the Sun dedicated to Inti, CuscoCEllen · CC BY-SA 4.0The Intihuatana sun-stone at the Inca site of Pisac, PeruUnukorno · CC BY 3.0
Sources
Inti was the Inca sun god and patron of the ruling dynasty Wikipedia
The Coricancha (Temple of the Sun) in Cusco was the wealthiest and most sacred structure in the Inca Empire, its walls and floors sheathed in gold to reflect Inti's light. World History Encyclopedia
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.
Buried nearby — by shared fate or a neighbouring lifespan.
