Once all Aryans shared the same religion, when the Aryan race split into sub-races and the Aryans in different regions eventually lost track of each other, and just like their language, the religion they once shared split as well. From a single source-religion, Proto-IE-Polytheism, different believe systems emerged; Germanic-, Celtic-, Roman-, Greek-, and Slavic-, polytheism, just to name a few.
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The existence of similarities among the deities and religious practices of the Indo-European (IE) peoples allows glimpses of a common Proto-Indo-European (PIE) religion and mythology. This hypothetical religion would have been the ancestor of the majority of the pagan religions of Europe, and of the Indian religions as well as Zoroastrianism in Iran.
Indications of the existence of this ancestral religion can be detected in commonalities between languages and religious customs of Indo-European peoples. The scientific method of triangulation is used by historical linguists to reconstruct the names of gods and goddesses, the names and processes for religious rituals and many related elements of belief and practice. In addition, many texts relating to the Indo-European religions exist, such as mythological tales and descriptions of religious rituals, including explicit instructions on how to perform them. Archaeological evidence is difficult to match to any specific culture in the earliest period of the Indo-European culture, which is defined as the time when all Indo-European-speaking people could still understand each other and conservatively thought to be about 4000 BCE[1]. However, there is a vast amount to archaeological evidence that can be connected to specific Indo-European cultures and especially religious topics, such as temple site digs, votive offerings and inscriptions. The names of gods are often the first words we find written in each of the Indo-European languages. (From wiki)
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Proto-Indo-European religion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Germanic, Celtic, and Greek polytheism are infact so akin to each other that in some cases only the names of the gods, creatures, and places differ which makes it is pretty clear that the European paganism of the different sub-races originated from a common proto-religion. For example it is very likely that this proto-religion had a tale of the gods fighting against some kind of giants which they than banished into some kind of underworld.
1) The Irish race of gods defeated the Formorians, a race of giants, driving them into Connacht (a kind of underworld)
2) The Greek gods defeated the titans, a race of giants that were the prior rulers of the world, and send them into the Tartarus (the deepest region of the underworld)
3) The Nordic gods defeated the frost giants and drove them into the underworld
Just one example of many similarities between those ancient European religions. I do not know much, if at all, about the other IE religions of the other sub-races but most likely a similar tale abouts the gods fighting giants exists in them as well. Anyone knows some of them?
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"some Western Aryans, who seem to have a retrospective consciousness of what their race was, and an idea of what perhaps it could have been still, had their ancestors been faithful to the old national cults of Europe. This nostalgia for the past is not a new thing in the Christian West and Near East. It begins sixteen hundred years ago, with the desperate attempt of the Emperor Julian to restore the religion and society of the "Ancient World" to their former splendour, and it increases, in the heart of the few, as the "Ancient World," seen from a greater distance of time, seems more and more lovable. ..
It is said that, one day, Julian tried to organise a procession through the streets of Constantinople, in honour of Dionysos, the God of impetuous Joy, and overflowing Life.
But it was already too late, and the attempt proved a failure. The procession was but a ridiculous show, and when returning, at evening, after it was finished, Julian was as sad as if his eyes had embraced the whole gloomy future of the Mediterranean World. It is said that he was sitting in the gardens of his palace, in front of old blocks of marble, half-hidden with ivy, when a faithful friend, guessing the cause of his sadness, asked him: "What else did you expect? These are the days of our death."
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Indian Paganism
Reconstructing this IE-Proto-Religion, this fragment of our common past, is something I wanted to do for a long time. I would appreciate any links, infos, and thoughts, on the subject and hope for a good discussion!
Some Links:
Irish gods
Nordic gods
The Greek Gods