“Pagan” Religions
What is a religion and what a mythology?
- the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship
- human beings’ relation to that which they regard as worthy of especial reverence. Commonly regarded as the
way people deal with concerns about their lives and fate after death
- a phenomenon defined and described from many perspectives, most often as the relationship between man and
the sacred.
- organized, community-based system of beliefs.
- myths in general
- the myths of a particular group or culture
“Pagan/heathen”
- christian meaning: someone of a different religion (muslim: Giaur)
- originated from paganus - someone from the countryside/peasant
- used as an insult mostly towards polytheists like:
- Norsemen
- Slavs
- Hellens
What happened?
When the church established in Europe, it sent it’s missionaries to convert pagans. It did so
by using political (Poland & Lithuania) or cultural (France) advantages.
After securing its place they tried to convert peasants and other nationalities by:
- destroying sacred places
- adapting pagan traditions
Many sacred places and burial sites were too fragile to survive to our times
Early religions
Mesopotamian Religion
Stage I
- worship of nature in a non human form
- depiction of a dying god - a deity representing
death and regeneration
Stage II
- deities shown in a human form
- they got specific fields they took care of
Stage III
- concept of sin and forgiveness
- god as a monarch
Main gods: Anu, Enlil, Ishtar, Marduk
Afterlife: Gloomy place, not hell or heaven - Irkalla
- Humans were created to serve gods who were tired of
all the work
- Gods act like humans
- Gods assigned to a field or animals/plants
Mesopotamian religion had a huge impact on european beliefs. It’s
human-like gods were replicated by Greeks, and the concept of afterlife
has shown itself on nearly whole continent.
Old Nordic Religion
Aesir & Vanir - two families of gods, fought between each other.
Yggdrasill - the tree that connects all Norse worlds
Thor is the god of thunder and lightning in Norse mythology,
associated with strength and storms
Hel is the goddess of the underworld, born half alive, half dead.
Odin - the main god, patron of wisdom and war. One eyed man
who possessed the runes
Frigg - goddess of love, a weeping mother
Njord
- Main Vanir
- God of the sea and merchants
- Father of Freyja
Freyja
- Goddess of magic, battle and love
- A weeping wife
- Takes half of greatest warriors’ souls to
live with her (she gets to choose)
Slavic Religion
Rod is the first god, the one who emerged from chaos and
co-created the world. He is the god of family.
Perun is guarding the cosmic order, god of war and storms
Veles, god of the underworld, cattle, magic and contracts
Common features
- polytheism
- afterlife as an underground world that is a shadowy version of earth, not
good or bad
- developed myths and creatures
- gods assigned to different fields
Some of the remains
Nordic: Mánadagr, Tysdagr, Óðinsdagr, Þórsdagr, Frjádagr, Laugardagr, Sunnudagr
Slavic: Most of holidays and traditions
Greek/Roman: Sunday as a holy day, 3 afterlife realms
Those religions today
Asatru
áss & trú - faith in gods
- A german/nordic religion similar to slavic
- The belief differs based on the place it is practiced
- There are many churches with different rules
Rodnovers
- Main god: Świętowid (acceptable: Svarog or Perun)
- RKP has no established authority or strict rules but doesn’t allow any
hatred towards others
- Highest force, without opposition: love
Tasks:
1. What is the text about?
2. What religion does it refer to?
3. Which god does it talk about?
4. What other interesting fact did you find?
