What's in a name?
You might have expected a more awe-inspiring title for the Copan Dynasty's 13th governor who ruled from 695 AD to 738 AD. Yet 18 Rabbit, was one of the greatest rulers the Americas have ever known, a Renaissance man long before the Renaissance. Both priest and astronomer, he raised the stately Temple 22, and inscribed it with the glyph for Venus. In veneration of his ancestors, 18 Rabbit the Historian began construction of Pre-Columbian America's longest inscribed text, the celebrated hieroglyphic stairway. An athlete, he constructed the grandest ball court of his time, and played ball. As a warrior, he inspired terror throughout his empire, offering to the gods the still-beating hearts of his captives. Dramatic in death as in life, 18 Rabbit was finally captured by King Cauac-Sky of the neighboring city of Quirigua, who ended 18 Rabbit's illustrious 43-year rule by jubilantly cutting off his head.

King of the Arts
18 Rabbit's most enduring legacy is his art. The Great Plaza of Copan is scattered with remarkable stelae depicting him as the incarnation of various dieties and in monolithic sculptures intricately carved in deep, nearly full-round relief in 18 Rabbit's own image. His reign converted Copan into the Maya's crowning artistic achievement. His great works have earned for his city the title, "The Athens of the New World," and for himself, "King of the Arts."

© Vicente Murphy