Lord Shiva in the ancient World:

Shaivism has been the main form of Hinduism which was widely practiced out of the borders of India in prehistoric ancient times. Most religious anthropologists and Indologists believe today that Lord Shiva’s worship was most probably the most ancient form of worship. Alain Danielou, a noted French historian and Indologist, writes, “Up to then (second millennium BC), civilization had been largely uniform, stretching from India as far as Western Europe. This civilization is known to us only through archeological finds and the meager information surviving in myths, popular religion, and customs. The main religion of this culture, the source of all later civilizations, was Shaivism, which arose around 6000 BCE with a tradition that has been uninterrupted only in India. The beliefs of this first great religion periodically reappear in popular tradition, since it is first and foremost a religion of the people…Shivite myths and rites form the substrate of all subsequent religions, as for example the Egyptian myths and cult of Osiris, the Dionysian and Bacchic legends and rites of Greece and Rome, the cult of the Minotaur in Crete, the Islamic Dhikr practices, or the carnivals and traditional bull races in Europe today.” (“The Hindu Temple: Deification of Eroticism” by Alian Danielou) If someone wishes to go to deeper into the beautiful teachings of Shaivism, a study of Kashmiri, Nepalese and Balinese Shaivism is essential. According to Sanderson, “Kashmir, Nepal and Bali were ‘cultural zones’ which received their Saivism independently. Features that they share are therefore very unlikely not to have been found in their common source and, moreover, in other zones that received the religion, such as Kambujadesa [i.e. Cambodia]’.
Pics:
1. Pandrethan Shiva Temple, Shrinagar, Kashmir.
2. Pashupatinath Shiva Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal.
3. Balinese Shiva Temple, Pura Besakih, Bali (Indonesia).
4. Shivalingam at Ankorvat Temple Complex, Cambodia.
5. Grand Shiva Temple at Prambanan, Java (Indonesia).
6-7. Most probably the most ancient depiction of Lord Shiva as Pashupati on two Indus Valley Seals.