In Maya mythology, Kukulkan was the feathered serpent deity worshipped at Chichén Itzá under a Mayan name.
Kukulkan is a major deity of the northern Maya, especially associated with the Postclassic city of Chichén Itzá in the Yucatán Peninsula. The name is commonly translated as “Feathered Serpent.” Kukulkan shares important characteristics with the central Mexican deity Quetzalcoatl, but the two belong to different cultural and linguistic traditions.
The most famous architectural connection is the Temple of Kukulkan, also called El Castillo. Around the equinoxes, patterns of light and shadow along the pyramid’s northern staircase can resemble a serpent descending toward the ground. Whether the effect was deliberately engineered as an equinox display is debated, but the association is central to modern interpretations of the monument.
Kukulkan is not simply another name for Chaac, the Maya rain god. Nor is every serpent image at a Maya site proof of Kukulkan worship; archaeological interpretation depends on context, inscriptions, and date.