Manco Cápac was the legendary first Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cusco

Kingdom of Cusco

The Kingdom of Cusco was a small kingdom in the Andes that began as a small city-state founded by the Incas around the 12th century...

 and a figure of Inca mythology

Inca mythology

Inca mythology includes many stories and legends that are mythological and helps to explain or symbolizes Inca beliefs.All those that followed the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire by Francisco Pizarro burned the records of the Inca culture...

. There are several versions of his origin story, which connect him to the foundation of Cusco

Cusco

Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...

.

Inti legend

In one myth, Manco Cápac was a son of the sun god Inti

Inti

According to the Inca mythology, Inti is the sun god, as well a patron deity of the Inca Empire. His exact origin is not known. The most common story says he is the son of Viracocha, the god of civilization.- Worship :...

 and Mama Quilla, and brother of Pacha Kamaq

Pacha Kamaq

Pacha Kamaq was the deity worshipped in the city of Pachacamac by the Ichma....

. Manco Cápac himself was worshipped as a fire and a Sun God. According to the Inti legend, Manco Cápac and his siblings were sent up to the earth by the sun god and emerged from the cave of Pacaritambo

Pacaritambo

In Inca mythology, one of the main Inca creation myths was that of the Ayar Brothers, who emerged from a cave called Pacaritambo . This house was located on Tambotoco Hill. It had three windows...

 carrying a golden staff, called ‘tapac-yauri’. Instructed to create a Temple of the Sun in the spot where the staff sank into the earth, they traveled to Cusco via underground caves and there built a temple in honour of their father Inti.

Wiracocha legend

In the Wiracocha legend, Manco Cápac (Ayar Manco) was the son of Tici Viracocha

Viracocha

Viracocha is the great creator god in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. Full name and some spelling alternatives are Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra and Con-Tici Viracocha...

 of Paqari-Tampu (today Pacaritambo, 25 km south of Cusco). He and his brothers (Ayar Anca, Ayar Cachi

Ayar Cachi

Ayar Cachi was one of the brothers of Manco Cápac, who emerged from the cave at Pacaritambo. He could shoot down hills with a single shot of his sling....

 and Ayar Uchu) and sisters (Mama Ocllo

Mama Ocllo

In Inca mythology, Mama Cora Ocllo was deified as a mother and fertility goddess. In one legend she was a daughter of Inti and Mama Quilla, and in another the daughter of Viracocha and Mama Cocha. She was the sister and wife of Manco Cápac, and discovered Cuzco with him. She taught the Inca women...

, Mama Huaco, Mama Raua and Mama Cura) lived near Cusco

Cusco

Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...

 at Pacaritambo

Pacaritambo

In Inca mythology, one of the main Inca creation myths was that of the Ayar Brothers, who emerged from a cave called Pacaritambo . This house was located on Tambotoco Hill. It had three windows...

, and they united their people with other tribes encountered in their travels. They sought to conquer the tribes of the Cusco Valley. This legend also incorporates the golden staff, thought to have been given to Manco Cápac by his father. Accounts vary, but according to some versions of the legend, the young Manco jealously betrayed his older brothers, killed them, and became the ruler of Cusco.

Life

Manco Capac ruled the Kingdom of Cusco for about forty years, establishing a code of laws, and is thought to have abolished human sacrifice. The code of laws forbade marrying one's sister, but these laws did not apply to Inca nobility and so he married his sister, Mama Ocllo or Mama Cello. With her, Manco had a son named Roca

Sinchi Roca

Sinchi Roca was the second Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cuzco and a member of the Húrin dynasty...

 who became the next Sapa Inca. Manco Capac is thought to have reigned until about 1230, though some put his death in 1107.

Manco ruled before the title of Sapa Inca was invented, so in fact his title is Capac, which roughly translates as warlord.

In fiction

The Scrooge McDuck

Scrooge McDuck

Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats...

 comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 "Son of the Sun", written by Don Rosa

Don Rosa

Keno Don Hugo Rosa, known simply as Don Rosa, is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other characters created by Carl Barks for Disney comics, such as The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.-Early life:Don Rosa's grandfather,...

, features Manco Cápac as the original owner of various lost treasure

Treasure

Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...

s. The treasures serve as the comic's main plot device because Scrooge and his nephews have to search for them.

In the first sentence of the first chapter of Herman Melville

Herman Melville

Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....

's The Confidence-Man

The Confidence-Man

The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade was the last major novel by Herman Melville, the American writer and author of Moby-Dick. Published on April 1, 1857 , The Confidence-Man was Melville's tenth major work in eleven years...

the appearance of a fictional protagonist is compared to Cápac's appearance out of Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...

.

In P.B. Kerr's Eye of the Forest, the fifth book in the Children of the Lamp

Children of the Lamp

Children of the Lamp is a series of fantasy novels for senior children as well as adolescents and adults written by the British author P.B. Kerr. It tells the story of twin djinn, John and Philippa Gaunt, and their challenges with adapting to the world of djinn. The story has a variety of themes,...

series, Manco Cápac is said to be a powerful Djinn who took his place as a god amongst the Incas by displaying his power of matter manipulation.

In British author Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...

's fantasy-thriller book series The Power of Five

The Power of Five

The Power of Five is a series of fantasy and suspense novels, written by British author Anthony Horowitz. Four installments have been published to date but another one is to be released...

, Manco Cápac is the son of Inti, and one of five children destined to keep the universe safe from the forces of evil. Cápac is reincarnated in the 21st century as a Peruvian street beggar called Pedro.