Viracocha, a rather remote and impersonal god, figured less prominently in the daily life of the Incas than did some other deities. Most important of all was Inti, the sun god, regarded as the ancestor of the Incas. He was associated with gold, called "the sweat of the sun," and the Incas honored him with magnificent golden artworks. The Coricancha, or Sun Temple, at Cuzco housed a golden image of Inti that looked like the sun. Facing the image stood the mummified remains of dead emperors, and the walls of the chamber were covered with gold.
Inti's wife, the mother of the Incas, was the moon goddess, Mama Kilya. Her shrine in the Coricancha had walls of silver, a metal that was sacred to her because it was believed to be her tears. The Incas marked the passage of time with the phases of the moon. Mama Kilya was thus the driving force of the calendar the Incas used to schedule their rituals and festivals.