Many ancient Heathen Temples*, would have had much in common with this Latvian Neo-Pagan Temple though almost all would have lacked a flue or chimney, having just a smoke hole in the thatch above the central hearth and would not have had glass in the windows and doorways (just shutters and doors). But Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon Temples would have contained a statue or statues of their patron God(s)** and could have been well lit by lots of then expensive candles and lamps for high days and holidays.
Small Temples would not always reflect a small population, a poor place or following: they would often have been mainly a home for the statues and other religious artifacts and would probably not have seen weekly or frequent “services”, but were often a focus for mainly outdoor public ceremonies and festivities on holidays which often would include sacrifice of wine, beer and beasts; feasting, dancing and merrymaking: particularly at Easter, Midsummer and Harvest Time***. Such temples would never have been as durable as stone, concrete or brick buildings like those in Greece and Rome and could easilly be destroyed by over-zealous missionaries and Christian rulers.
Latvian Paganism/Heathenism:
1) is one of the great family of religions that are closely or more distantly related to Odinism just as Indo-European languages are closely or more distantly related to one another.
2) Latvian Heathenism was one of the last European ethnic religions to be (almost) extinguished by Christianity: it lasted officially until the 19th C.
3) Latvia’s ethnic religion was further suppressed by the Soviet authorities when it was part of the USSR from about the end of WW2 until the Soviet Union collapsed. Soviet propaganda called it nationalist, racist and nazi. The fact that the Latvians, like Hindus, still used “swastika” or “swastika-like” symbols (as they had for thousands of years before the nazis existed) played into Soviet hands****.
4) The Latvian thunder God:
Thor-like images are carved into rocks and cave walls over large parts of Europe and go back many thousands of years and Latvia’s Thunder God, Perkūnas, is, in many ways like Thor.
“Baltic Neopaganism is a category of autochthonous religious movements which have revitalised within the Baltic people (primarily Lithuanians and Latvians). These movements trace their origins back to the 19th century and they were suppressed under the Soviet Union; after its fall they have witnessed a blossoming alongside the national and cultural identity reawakening of the Baltic peoples, both in their homelands and among expatriate Baltic communities. One of the first ideologues of the revival was the Prussian Lithuanian poet and philosopher Vydūnas.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_neopaganism
* except for a few including the Great Temple at Uppsala in Sweden.
** According to Adam of Bremen, the Uppsala Temple contained statues of Odin, Frey and Thor (who sat in the central throne).
I include “Godesses” in the term “Gods”: it seems to me both more authentic and more egalitarian: the word “God” was neuter prior to Christianity and the word “Goddess” is a more recent coinage. Apologies to anyone who may have thought I am excluding some very loved female dieties including Freyja, Frigg and Sif.
***Yule festivities in midwinter would take place mainly indoors in private or in semi-private, notably in the large dwelling halls of the rich and famous, which is probably why Yule (celebrated now in English-speaking countries mostly under the name “Christmas”) has survived with more of its tradition intact, notably excepting the libations and overt mention of the Heathen Gods.
****In fact the Soviets, like the Church throughout most of its history before them, were much more racist: yes, they’d be (often in a very limited way) “inclusive” for individuals who would convert and mouth their own dogma back to them and nothing else, but would make sporadic efforts to cleanse the world of ethnic religions and persecute those who did not comply.
