The Pagan Sites of Europe Remembered (25): Killycluggin, Ireland

Across the border from Northern Ireland, a couple of miles from the village of Ballyconnel (pop. 747) in County Cavan, can be found the hamlet or house of Killycluggin. This is one of the holy sites of Ireland, where a large (3.6 meter circumference) sacred stone once stood, symbolizing the god Crom Crúaich. This was surrounded by a stone circle of around 20 meters diameter, with 15 mostly collapsed stones.

Solomon the Pagan

Solomon showing pagan wisdom

The crude monotheism of the Biblical Jews was so dull, dreary, and spiritually empty that it could hardly be followed by the more intelligent Jews, who required something more sophisticated. Later this led to religious hybrids like Christianity and later to esoteric Talmudic Judaism, but in an earlier period the simplest solution was to abandon the Abrahamic faith altogether.

The Pagan Sites of Europe Remembered (24): Belle Île, France

The island of Belle Île, part of Brittany, lies to the West of the mouth of the River Loire, the biggest river in France. The Atlantic Ocean island covers an area of 84 square kilometers. Now it is a picturesque Summer holiday island of little importance, but there is evidence that in ancient times it was a site of great religious significance.

"The Story of a Young Oak" by Nina Kouprianova

A piece of poetic pagan prose by Nina Kouprianova:

Once upon a time, there lived an Oak. He was a young Oak, slender, but quite tall. His greatest wish was to grow ancient, wise, and become thick as quickly as possible, offering shade and comfort to weary travelers by obscuring the scourging Sun with his foliage. And some day―this youngster feared his own thoughts a little―he sought to become the site for a mythic sacrifice.

The Pagan Sites of Europe Remembered (23): The Parthenon, Athens

The most prominent pagan monument in Europe is the still impressive ruins of the temple of the Parthenon. Its name means "the apartments of the virgin," a reference to the goddess Athena to whom it is dedicated.

The Pagan Sites of Europe Remembered (22): Bardsey Island, Wales

Bardsey is a small island measuring about one mile long and a little over half a mile wide. It lies nearly two miles off the Western tip of the Llyn Peninsula, the main peninsula in Northern Wales stretching Westwards into the Irish Sea. The highest point on the island is 548 feet above sea level.

The Pagan Sites of Europe Remembered (21): The Temple Complex of Samothrace

One of the most important sites of pagan remains in Europe and the world is the temple complex on the Aegean island of Samothrace, located off the Thracian coast. Before the Christian apocalypse, this was connected to a cult that worshipped the "Cabeiri," a group of mysterious gods connected to the underworld. These gods are thought to have had pre-Greek influences, including Hittite, Thracian, proto-Etruscan, and Phrygian.

Pagan Art: "Thor's Fight with the Giants" by Marten Eskil Winge