The Juego de Pelota (Ball Court) at Chichén Itzá is surrounded by sloping walls, vertical on the inside but tilted from top to bottom on the outside. Each of the northern, southern and eastern sides support temples which were probably used for rituals on the days when the sacred games were played. The size, some 90 meters long, and design of the complex supports the theory of the arrival and development of the Itzá and the influence of their religious ideas. Click here here to see an illustration of the ball court at Chichén Itzá.

Upon entering the ball court, visitors are struck by the excellent accoustics of the stadium and its surrounding temples. The panels along the side walls are decorated with scenes from the ball game and its players. One of the scenes, the beheading of a player in center field witnessed by the players of both teams, is one of the most dramatic examples of Maya art.   The scene not only illustrates the horror faced by the players but also the sacred importance of the game. At one time it was believed that the losers were destined to die but new theories have been proposed by researchers. Some think that the captain of the winning team was sacrificed since his team's triumph made him a fitting offering to the gods.

An essential part of the Juego de Pelota are the two stone scoring rings decorated with serpents which are found on opposite walls of the ball field. Nobody knows exactly how the game was played but is believed that for a team to score, the players of that team had to pass a hard rubber ball through the openings of the rings without using their hands. Although played for sport and for wagers the ball game had a definite religious significance. In the Maya creation story, the Popol Vuh, the divine twin heros play this same game for their lives against the lords of the underworld.

Ball courts are found in many Maya cities in the Yucatán but none are as large or well reconstructed as the one at Chichén Itzá.

[Based on Let's Learn about Chichén-Itzá , Chichén-Itzá: The City of the Wise Men of the Water. by Roman Chan and All About the Mayas. by C. Dorese. published by Producción Editorial Dante (Mérida, Mexico). All available in paperback and highly recommended.]