Pagan

The site of Pagan, Myanmar (formerly Burma). More than 2000 Buddhist monuments have been recorded at the present-day site, including numerous temples and shrines.

Archaeological site in Myanmar, on the Irrawaddy River, with the ruins of the former capital (founded 847, taken by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan 1287). These include Buddhist pagodas, shrines, and temples with wall paintings of the great period of Burmese art (11th–13th centuries), during which the Pagan state controlled much of Burma (now Myanmar).

pagan

Usually, a member of one of the pre-Christian cultures of northern Europe, primarily Celtic or Norse, linked to the stone circles and to an agricultural calendar of which the main festivals are the summer and winter solstices and Beltane, the spring festival.

The term was and often still is used as a dismissive phrase, signifying ignorance or ‘primitive’ religion. It can cover a range of activities, largely agricultural and closely associated with the veneration of nature. In the 8th–12th centuries the Christian church set itself to eradicate the traditional practices that were found to be continuing, particularly in the countryside, even after the population had officially converted to Christianity. This gave paganism a strong anti-Christian emphasis, which is one of its attractions for some people today.