The maize god is central in Mayan pantheon.

Popol Vuh, the Mayan creation story, tells us that humans were created from maize, after two failed attempts at creation by the gods, first using dirt and then using wood. Jun Nal is the father of the hero twins Hunahupu and Xbalanque. To be noted here is that the “father” had to be re-birthed by his sons. An allusion to the Maya view of the world where people participate in the goings on of the deity and the nether world.

Curiously, the deity of staples (rice, wheat…etc.) in other cultures are almost always goddesses. But, in the Mayan world he is depicted as a beautiful male youth.

Image from Dresden Codex.