Critically examining the discourse of Indo-European scholarship over the past two centuries, Aryan Idols demonstrates how the concepts of "Indo-European" and "Aryan" have been shaped by and utilized for various ideological purposes. Stefan Arvidsson traces the evolution of the Aryan idea through the 19th century, from its origins in Bible-based classifications and William "Oriental" Jones' discovery of linguistic commonalities among Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek, to its application by scholars in archaeology, anthropology, folklore, comparative religion, and history. Along the way, Arvidsson explores the shifting perceptions of Aryans, connecting these changes to broader social, historical, and political processes.

In his analysis of the 20th century, Arvidsson examines how Indo-European scholarship or pseudo-scholarship was co-opted by the Nazis and fascist Catholics. Offering a wide-ranging discussion of intellectual history over the past 200 years, Aryan Idols links the pervasive idea of the Indo-European people to significant scientific, philosophical, and political developments, while raising critical questions about the nature of scholarship itself.