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For theancient Greeks,India (Greek:Ἰνδία) referred to thegeographical region located east ofPersia and south of theHimalayas, excludingSerica. At different points in history, the term also came to refer either to the more extensiveIndian subcontinent or to the less extensiveIndus Plain.[1]
The Greeks referred to theancient Indians asIndoi (Greek:Ἰνδοί),lit. 'people of theIndus River'. The Vedic Aryans referred to the Greeks asYavanas,[2]Yona orYonaka,[3] terms derived from theIonians.[3]Yawan is aHebrew term that referred to the ancient Greeks. Inscriptions andPali texts trace thePrakrit equivalent of theSanskrit wordYavana asYona.[3] It has been suggested that the Indians adopted the term either from the Persians—who called the GreeksYaunas—or from a Semitic language.[3]
Traditional Indian grammarians believed that the wordYavanas was derived from the Sanskrit rootYu ('to mix, to mingle').[3] The earliest written record of the termYavana appears in theAstadhyayi, a work on grammar byPāṇini. When demonstrating the use of the suffix -anuk, he citesYavanani as one of his examples.[3] In addition,Katyayana explains that when the suffix is added to the wordYavana, it indicates handwriting.Yavanani andYavanallipyam are examples of scripts used by the Yavana people.[3]
Although originally the wordYavana meant 'Greek', in later centuries it was also applied to Romans, Arabs, and Westerners in general.[3]
Megasthenes wrote about the prehistoric arrival of the godDionysus in India, as didApollodorus inBibliotheca.[4]Polyaenus wrote that, after fighting KingDeriades, Dionysus subdued the Indians, allied with them and theAmazons, and took them into his service. He later employed them in his campaign againstBactria.[5]
The epic poemDionysiaca byNonnus recounts Dionysus' expedition to India. Nonnus also wrote about Colletes (Ancient Greek:'Κολλήτης'), a huge, formidable figure, whose ancestor was said to be the founder of the Indian race.[6] In addition, in Book 14,Hera assumes the likeness of an Indian in order to speak with and persuade the Indian chief to fight Dionysus' army.[7]
A hymn to Dionysus in theGreek Anthology is titledDionysus Indoletes ('Ἰνδολέτης'), which means 'slayer' or 'killer of Indians'.[8] Other poems in theGreek Anthology also mention Dionysus' campaign against the Indians.[9]Alphesiboea ('Ἀλφεσιβοῖα') was an Indiannymph who was loved by Dionysus.[10]
Philostratus reports that Dionysus was called Nysian or Nysean (Ancient Greek: 'Νύσιος') by the Indians.[11] According to legend, he founded the city ofNysa, sometimes identified withNagara.[12] WhenAlexander the Great arrived in Nysa, representatives of the city met him and asked him not to capture the city or its land, explaining that Dionysus had founded it and named it after his nurse. He had also named the mountain near the city Meron (Ancient Greek: 'Μηρόν'), meaning 'thigh', because Dionysus grew in the thigh ofZeus.[13][14][15] In addition, Philostratus mentions that atDelphi, a silver offering disc bore the inscription 'Dionysus the son ofSemele and Zeus, from the men of India to theApollo of Delphi' (Ancient Greek: 'ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΣ Ο ΣΕΜΕΛΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΔΙΟΣ ΑΠΟ ΙΝΔΩΝ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙ ΔΕΛΦΩΙ').[16] Furthermore, he reports that the Indians living inCaucasus and along the riverCophen said that Dionysus was anAssyrian visitor who knew the religious rites of the city ofThebes in Greece (according to Ancient Greek legend, Dionysus was born there).
InArgonautica,Apollonius Rhodius wrote about the Nysean son ofZeus, who left the tribes of the Indians and came to dwell atThebes.[17] Indians inhabiting the district between the Indus and theHydraotes and the continental region extending up to the riverGanges declared that Dionysus was the son of the river Indus and that Dionysus ofThebes was his disciple.[16]Phylarchus wrote that Dionysus was the first to bring two bulls, named Apis andOsiris, from India to Egypt;Plutarch found this theory absurd.[18]
Megasthenes also wrote about the legendary arrival ofHeracles in India.Pandaie (Ancient Greek:'Πανδαίη') was a daughter of Heracles, whom he fathered in India. He gave her the southern part of India, where she reigned as queen.[19] According to legend, the Indian tribe of Pandae was descended from her, and for this reason, they were the only tribe in India to have the custom of female sovereigns.[20] An Indian tribe called theSourasenoi worshipped Heracles at the time of Alexander the Great.Quintus Curtius Rufus mentions Indian soldiers carrying a banner with the name 'Herakles' during Alexander's push eastwards.[21]
Between about 200 BC and the very beginning of the first millennium AD, theIndo-Greek Kingdom covered an area encompassing modern-day Pakistan, parts of Afghanistan and of north-west India. The city ofKapisi appeared on Indo-Greek coins.[22]
TheKushan Empire, which succeeded the Indo-Greek Kingdom and lasted nearly four hundred years, used the Greek alphabet and Greek legends on their coins. The Kushans also adopted other elements of Greek culture. Art themes derived from Greek mythology were common initially, but later Buddhist imagery dominated.[23] In broadly the same era and south of the Kushan Empire, theWestern Kshatrapas established coinage derived from Indo-Greek coinage. The obverse of the coins consists of the profile of the ruler with a legend in Greek, while the reverse represents a thunderbolt and an arrow, withBrahmi andKharoshthi legends. In the first century CE,Gondophares, king of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, minted coins with the Greek title ofautokrator.[24]
Greeks are mentioned in theYavanarajya inscription in northern India, and on theRukhuna reliquary. In a Kharoshthi inscription found in theSwat area ofGandhara, which dates to the 1st century BC, there is a dedication from the GreekmeridarchTheodorus. TheRabatak inscription usesGreek script to write a language described asArya. The inscription relates to the rule of theKushan emperorKanishka.
In theGreek Anthology, India and Indians are mentioned on many occasions.[25] InSophocles' playAntigone,Creon mentions the gold of India.[26] The satiristLucian wrote that Indians get drunk with wine very easily and worse than any Greek or Roman would be.[27]
Kalidasa mentions theYayanis (Greek maidens) in his work and theYavana Ganika (Greek Ganika) was a common sight in India (Gaṇikā in India was similar to aHetaira in the Greek world).[28] These girls were also trained in the theatrical arts.[29][30] The Indian theater had adopted some elements of Greek comedy.[31]
Hellenistic influence on Indian art is well documented.Gandhara art was heavily influenced by the Greek style. TheArt of Mathura is a blend of Indian and Greek art. ThePompeii Yakshii, an Indian sculpture of aYakshii, was found in the ruins of RomanPompeii.Bharhut Yavana is a relief, discovered among the reliefs of the railings around theBharhut Stupa, representing a Greek warrior.
At theNasik Caves, some of the caves were built by people with Greek heritage. The murals in theAjanta Caves are painted in a way which suggests a Greek influence.[32]
The philosopherPyrrho accompaniedAlexander the Great on his Indian campaign. According toDiogenes Laërtius, Pyrrho developed his philosophy, now known asPyrrhonism, in India. Diogenes Laërtius wrote thatAnaxarchus,Pyrrho's teacher, met and spoke with Indiangymnosophists andmagi.[33] In the view ofChristopher I. Beckwith, Pyrrho's philosophy was strikingly similar to the Buddhistthree marks of existence,[34] suggesting that his teaching was influenced by contact with Buddhism.
Because of the high degree of similarity betweenNāgārjuna's philosophy andPyrrhonism, particularly the surviving works ofSextus Empiricus,[35] Nāgārjuna was likely influenced by Greek Pyrrhonist texts imported to India.[36]
Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greeks, leading to theGreco-Buddhist culturalsyncretism. The iconography ofVajrapani is clearly that of the heroHeracles, with varying degrees of hybridization.[37]Menander I was one of the patrons of Buddhism; he was also the subject of theMilinda Panha and is mentioned on theShinkot casket. It has been claimed (byG. R. Sharma) that Menander is mentioned in theReh Inscription, but other scholars disagree. Many Greek rulers after Menander had the description "Maharajasa dhramikasa" (follower of the Dharma) next to their name on their coinage; this does not necessarily imply that they were Buddhists or that Buddhism was dominant in their kingdom, as symbols of the Greek religion were also on the same coins, but it does indicate that Buddhism played a significant role.[38] Buddhist manuscripts incursive Greek, dated later than the 2nd century AD, have been found in Afghanistan. Some mention the "Lokesvararaja Buddha" (λωγοασφαροραζοβοδδο).[39]
Dharmaraksita was a Greek who converted to Buddhism. He was one of themissionaries sent by theMauryan emperorAshoka to proselytize Buddhism.Mahadharmaraksita was a Greek Buddhist master who, according toMahāvaṃsa traveled toAnuradhapura in Sri Lanka together with 30,000 Greek Buddhist monks fromAlexandria of the Caucasus.[40] Mahāvaṃsa also mentions how early Buddhists from Sri Lanka went to Alexandria of the Caucasus to learn Buddhism.[40]
TheKandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka, which are amongAshoka's Major Rock Edicts, were written in theGreek andPrakrit languages. In addition, theKandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription was written in Greek andAramaic. The emperor Ashoka used the word "eusebeia" (piety) as a Greek translation for the central Buddhist and Hindu concept of "dharma" in theKandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription.[41]
Buddhist gravestones fromPtolemaic Egypt have been found inAlexandria decorated with depictions of thedharma wheel, showing the presence of Buddhists in Hellenistic Egypt.[42]Ptolemy II Philadelphus is mentioned in theEdicts of Ashoka as a recipient of theBuddhist proselytism of Ashoka:
Now it is conquest byDhamma that Beloved-Servant-of-the-Gods considers to be the best conquest. And it [conquest by Dhamma] has been won here, on the borders, even six hundred yojanas away, where the Greek kingAntiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy,Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among theCholas, thePandyas, and as far as Tamraparni. Rock Edict Nb13 (S. Dhammika)
Aristotle's knowledge of India came essentially fromScylax andCtesias. He quoted Scylax to refer to Indian politics and mentions seven Indian animals, by clearly drawing on Ctesias.[43]
ThePeripatetic philosopherClearchus of Soli traveled to the east to study Indian religions.[44]
Another Peripatetic philosopher,Theophrastus, in his book on the history of plants, wrote anexcursus on Indian species.[43] Also, in his work "On Stones," he describes rocks, stones and gems produced in India.[45]
Peripatetic philosopherAristocles of Messene (cited by the ChristianpolemicistEusebius) said an Indian conversed withSocrates inAthens.[46]
AndAristoxenus the musician said that this argument comes from the Indians. For a man of that people met Socrates in Athens and asked him what his philosophy was about; and when he said that he was investigating human life, the Indian laughed at him, saying that no one could understand human affairs if he ignored the divine. Whether this is true, no one can say for sure.[47]
Clement of Alexandria wrote about India,Gymnosophists,Brahmans, Buddha, etc. in theStromata.[48]
TheGreektheologianPantaenus was said to have traveled to India.
The GreekSophistPhilostratus, in his workLife of Apollonius of Tyana (Greek:Βίος Απολλωνίου του Τυανέως) and theSuda,[49] mentioned that the Greek philosopherApollonius had traveled to India.
The SophistDio Chrysostom mentioned India in his workDiscourses and wrote thatHomer's poetry is sung in India.[50] He also mentioned thatBactrians and Indians were to be found in his audience inAlexandria (circa 100 CE).[51]
During thesecond Persian invasion of Greece, the Persian army had Indian troops, both infantry and cavalry.[52][53][54][55]
At theBattle of Gaugamela,Darius used Indian troops againstAlexander the Great. Later, during theIndian campaign of Alexander the Great, Alexander's army fought many battles against Indian tribes and kingdoms, including against the army ofPorus the Elder.Plutarch wrote about the battle in his workParallel Lives, "The Life of Alexander." The Indian KingAmbhi (the Greeks called himTaxiles) supported Alexander with his forces.Philostratus the Elder in theLife of Apollonius of Tyana wrote that in the army of Porus there was an elephant who fought bravely against Alexander's army, and Alexander dedicated it to theHelios (Sun) and named it "Ajax" because he thought that such a so great animal deserved a great name. The elephant had gold rings around its tusks and an inscription was on them written in Greek: "Alexander the son of Zeus dedicates Ajax to the Helios" (ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ Ο ΔΙΟΣ ΤΟΝ ΑΙΑΝΤΑ ΤΩΙ ΗΛΙΩΙ).[56] Alexander also met and talked with Indiangymnosophists, includingDandamis andKalanos.[57]
Alexander letTaxiles andPorus keep their kingdoms[58] and addedParopamisadae to the kingdom ofOxyartes.[59] In addition, he gavePeithon[59][58] andPhilip Indian satrapies. The Indian kingAbisares who sent embassies of submission to Alexander was allowed to retain his kingdom with considerable additions.[60][61]
Alexander also conquered the kingdom of the Indian king Phegeus. The inhabitants welcomed Alexander's army and the king met Alexander and gave him many gifts.[62] He also conquered the city ofSagala.
Alexander asked Phegeus and Porus what was after theHyphasis River and after their response he decided to continue.[62] He was preparing to march against the Indian KingXandrames, before his army mutinied.[63] After the mutiny of his army, he conducted theMallian campaign.
After he conquered theOritians and Arabitians, Alexander madeApollophanes the Satrap in the area.[64]
According to ancient writers, the QueenCleophis ofMassaga had a son with Alexander the Great. Modern historians deny this.
After theBattle of Gabiene,Antigonus I Monophthalmus sent theArgyraspides toSibyrtius atArachosia.
Indo-Greek kingdoms andGreco-Bactrian Kingdoms were founded by the successors of Alexander the Great (Greek conquests in India).Yavana era describes the period with Greek presence in India.
According to Indian sources, Greek troops seem to have assistedChandragupta Maurya in toppling theNanda Dynasty and founding theMauryan Empire.[65] Later,Seleucus I's army encountered Chandragupta's army. Chandragupta and Seleucus eventually concluded an alliance. Seleucus gave him his daughter in marriage, ceded the territories ofArachosia,Herat,Kabul andMakran, and received 500 war elephants.
Megasthenes had traveled to India and had several interviews withChandragupta Maurya, known as Sandracottus to the Greeks.[66]
Bindusara, the second Mauryan emperor of India, had diplomatic relations with and very friendly feelings towards the Greeks. He even askedAntiochus I Soter to send him a Greeksophist for his court.
Ptolemy II Philadelphus is recorded byPliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador namedDionysius to theMauryan court atPataliputra inIndia,[67] probably to EmperorAshoka:
Asoka also appointed some Greeks to high offices of state (Yavanaraja, meaning Greek King or Governor), for example, theTushaspha. In addition, his edicts mention a Yona (Greek) province on the north-west border of India, most probably Arachosia.[69]
Polybius wrote about the use of Indian elephants in battles and about the alliance between the Indian kingSophagasenus andAntiochus III the Great.[70]
Diodorus, quotingIambulus, mentioned that the king ofPataliputra had a "great love for the Greeks".[71][72]
The Greek historianApollodorus and the Roman historianJustin affirmed that theBactrian Greeks conquered India. Justin also describedDemetrius I as "King of the Indians". Greek and Indian sources indicate the Greeks campaigned as far asPataliputra until they were forced to retreat following a coup inBactria in 170 BC.
TheHeliodorus pillar is a stone column erected around 110 BCE in present-day central India inVidisha, byHeliodorus (Greek:Ἡλιόδωρος), a Greek ambassador of the Indo-Greek kingAntialcidas to the court of theShunga kingBhagabhadra. The site is located about 5 miles from the Buddhiststupa ofSanchi.
The KingPhraotes received a Greek education at the court of his father and spoke Greek fluently.[73]
Stephanus of Byzantium called the city Daedala in India an Indo-Cretan city, most probably because it was a settlement ofCretan mercenaries.[74][75]
Tamil poems describe the Greek soldiers who served as mercenaries for Indian kings as "the valiant-eyed Yavanas, whose bodies were strong and of terrible aspect".[76]
Alfred Charles Auguste Foucher has posited that some of the troops of Mara in theGandhara sculptures may represent Greek mercenaries.[77]
TheCilappatikaram mentions Yavana soldiers, which, according to scholars, including Professor Dikshitar, is a reference to the Greek mercenaries employed by the Tamil kings.[78]
Patanjali, the commentator ofPāṇini, describes two sieges the Greeks made: the siege ofSaketa and the siege of Madhyamika.[79]
Ptolemy II Philadelphus founded theMyos Hormos and selected it as the principal harbour of the trade with India, in preference toArsinoe, since Arsinoe was at the head of theRed Sea and navigation down theHeroopolite Gulf was tedious and difficult. Vessels from Myos Hormos traded with Africa, Arabia, and India.[80]
During theRoman andByzantine period there weretrade relations between India and the Roman Empire.
Isidore of Charax in his workThe Parthian Stations (Ancient Greek:Σταθμοί Παρθικοί) described the trade route between theLevant and India in the 1st century BC.[81]
The so-calledMuziris papyrus, written in Greek, contains crucial information regarding the cargo of a ship named the Hermapollon that sailed back to Egypt from Muziris in India.[82] Muziris is also mentioned in thePeriplus of the Erythraean Sea as one of the Indian ports Greek ships were sailing to.[83] Other Indian ports Greek merchants visited wereBarygaza,Barbarikon,Minnagara,Ujjain andAriaca.
Tacola (Τάκωλα) was a place on the west coast of the Aurea Chersonesus, in India extra Gangem, which Ptolemy calls anemporium.[84]
ThePeriplus of the Erythraean Sea was a manual written in Greek for navigators who carried trade between theRoman Empire and other regions, including ancient India. It gives detailed information about the ports, routes and commodities.
Ancient Greek and Roman writers also describe the ports of theArabia Felix, which were used for the Indian trade.
Procopius writes that, when the Byzantines didn't want to purchase their silk from the Persians any longer due to their conflicts, some monks coming from India, who had also spent a long time in a country called Serinda (Ancient Greek:Σηρίνδα) which was beyond India, talked with the EmperorJustinian and promised to settle the silk question. Thus, the Byzantines would not need to buy silk from the Persians.[85]
Chanakya mentioned Greeks and their polities in hisArthashastra.
Athenaeus in theDeipnosophistae wrote thatEuthydemus the Athenian in his bookon Vegetables calls a species ofgourd the Indian gourd (σικύαν Ἰνδικὴν) because the seed of that gourd was originally introduced from India.[86]
After Alexander's time, there were trade relations between the Greek world and Sri Lanka. Ancient writers describe in details what was traded.Cosmas Indicopleustes wrote about a specific Greek merchant named ‘Sopatrus’ who had a trade relationship with Sri Lanka.[87] At theJaffna Peninsula, archaeologists discovered gold coins with Greek inscriptions, most probably belonging to the Byzantine period.[87]
| Pompeii Yakshii (Lakshmi) | |
|---|---|
 Anivory statuette of a Yakshii (1st century CE), found in the ruins ofPompeii (destroyed in an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE). | |
| Material | Ivory |
| Height | 24.5 cm (9+1⁄2 in) |
| Discovered | c. 1930–1938 Pompeii |
| Present location | Secret Museum, Naples,Italy |
| Identification | 149425 |
The Greek historianHerodotus in the fifth century BCE was aware of dark-skinned people who lived far to the east, whom the Greeks named Aethiopes, although Greek beliefs seem to have been confused by conflating African and Indian characteristics and peoples.[1] Ancient Greek knowledge of and interest in India hugely increased following the conquests ofAlexander the Great and hiscampaign in northern India between 327–25 BCE.
Fragments of the writings ofHecataeus of Miletus (549–486 BCE) convey a knowledge of nations living on the banks of the river Indus, using names for them including Indi, Indus, Argante and the people of Opia.[1] Herodotus records that the Greek explorerScylax, in about 515 BCE, was sent by KingDarius I of Persia to follow the course of theIndus River and discover where it led. Writings attributed to Scylax, however, have been shown to have been written much later, in the fourth century BCE.[1] No mention of India can be found in any of the works of Homer, Pinder or the Athenian playwrights.
Things changed dramatically near the end of the fourth century BCE, after the conquests of Alexander the Great.Nearchus, an officer in the army of Alexander who probably wrote his memoirs near the very end of the fourth century BCE, described India and the people living there.[43] Onecicritus ofAstypaleia, who was a captain of Alexander's navy, wrote about Sri Lanka.[87]
The Greekethnographer and explorer of theHellenistic period,Megasthenes was a Macedonian ambassador sent bySeleucus I to the courts of Sandrocottus (Chandragupta) who ruled an area in northern India that lay north of the riverGanges. In his work,Indika (Greek:Ινδικά), he wrote about the history ofIndians and their culture. Megasthenes also mentioned the prehistoric arrival of the godDionysus andHerakles (Megasthenes' Herakles) in India. Some years later,Deimachus, who was an ambassador to the court of Bindusara, also wrote about India.[43][88]
Patrocles was an admiral of Seleucus who sailed into the Indian Ocean and left an account of his travels, confirming Megasthenes' estimate of the breadth of India.[1] His knowledge of the eastern seaboard of India was in error, however, believing that sea encircled the Indian subcontinent, linking the Indian Ocean with theCaspian Sea.[1] We know all this from the surviving works of the Greek historianStrabo, who was active in the first century BCE. He did not trust previous writings about India because he believed they included a lot of fables in their writings, especially the recountings of Deimachus and Megasthenes, while Onesicritus and Nearchus together with some others wrote "a few words of truth," in his view. On the other hand, he trusted the works of Patrocles and Eratosthenes.[89]
Eudoxus of Cyzicus, near the end of the second century BCE, andHippalus, who was possibly associated with Eudoxus, traveled to India with their ships. Hippalus is credited by the writer of the 1st-century CEPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea with establishing currents, winds and a route to use for trade with stopping points along the coast of India between the Red Sea and the very south of India.
In the first century BCE, the naked Indian philosopher and monkZarmanochegas (possibly, but not necessarily, a Buddhist) metNicholas of Damascus inAntioch and later he also traveled to Athens, where he burned himself to death in 19 BCE.[90][91] According to Plutarch, writing near the end of the first century CE or the beginning of the second, his tomb could still be seen in Athens.[92]
Claudius Ptolemy, in the second century CE, mentions in his work a Greek captain named Diogenes, who was returning from his trip to India when the winds blew him off course and he had to stop below theHorn of Africa. Since the winds were not favorable to travel north, he traveled south and explored the east coast of Africa where he found the city ofRhapta. According to Ptolemy, this happened during the second trip of Diogenes to India.[93]
TheSuda, a 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia, mentioned that whenTheophilos the Indian returned from India, he spent time inAntioch and the EmperorConstantius II treated him with all honor and respect.[94]
Sozomen wrote thatMeropius (Μερόπιός), a philosopher ofTyre, traveled together with two of his relatives,Frumentius (Φρουμέντιός) andEdesius (Ἐδέσιος) to India.[95][96]
TheChristian Topography byCosmas Indicopleustes was an essay in scientific geography written in Greek with illustrations and maps. The work mentioned India, and the writer Cosmas Indicopleustes had actually made the journey, and he described and sketched some of what he saw in his topography. Cosmas Indicopleustes means "Cosmas who sailed to India".
Around 510 BCE, Persians, under the rule ofDarius the Great moved the inhabitants of the Greek colony ofBarca inLibya intoBactria.[97] Later,Xerxes I also settled there with the "Branchidae," who were the descendants of Greek priests who had once lived atDidyma.[98] Herodotus also records Persian generals threatening to enslave daughters of therevolting Ionians and send them to Bactria if they didn't stop fighting.[99]
According to legend the god Dionysus founded the city ofNysa and named it Nysa and the land Nysaea (Νυσαία) afterhis nurse and he named the mountain near the city, Meron (Μηρὸν) (i.e. thigh), because he grew in the thigh ofZeus.[13][14] When Alexander arrived at the city, he and hisCompanion cavalry went to the mountain, where they made ivy garlands and crowned themselves with them, singing hymns in honor of Dionysus. Alexander also offered sacrifices to Dionysus, and feasted in company with his companions.[14]
Alexander the Great founded the cities ofNicaea[100] andAlexandria Bucephalous. He also founded a city and named it after his dog,Peritas.[101] In addition, he orderedPhilip to buildAlexandria on the Indus. He also founded other cities in India.Quintus Curtius Rufus wrote that Alexander founded a number of cities in the Indus Delta, but most probably he meant some garrisons.[102]Claudius Aelianus wrote that there were Macedonians who settled in India in the cities founded by Alexander.[103]
Pliny the Elder wrote thatNearchus founded the town of Arbis during his voyage to India.[104]
The ancient Greeks called the modernBay of BengalGangeticus Sinus (Ancient Greek:Κόλπος Γαγγητικός), meaning "Gulf of the Ganges".[105][106]
According toPtolemy, many Greek cities were founded by the Greco-Bactrians in northern India.[39] The cities ofSirkap andDemetriapolis were founded byDemetrius I of Bactria.
Eucratideia was founded byEucratides I.
Panchaia was an island paradise located in the Indian Ocean mentioned by Greek writers.
Contacossyla (Κοντακόσσυλα) and Allosygna wereemporia in the district of Maesolia (Μαισωλία or Μασαλία) (modernMasulipatam).[107][108]
Maliarpha (Μαλιάρφα,) was a place of considerable commerce in the territory of the Arvarni.[109]
Stephanus of Byzantium wrote about a city called Daedala or Daidala (Ancient Greek:Δαίδαλα) in India,[75] which he called an Indo-Cretan city, most probably because it was a settlement ofCretan mercenaries.[74]Stephanus also described many other Indian cities and places.
The Greeks called thePunjab regionPentapotamía (Greek:Πενταποταμία), meaning five rivers.[110]
Caspeiria (Κασπειρία) was a district of India intra Gangem with Ptolemy naming 18 cities there, including the Caspeira (Κάσπειρα)[111] and the Rarassa (Ῥαράσσα or Ἠράρασα).[112]
Caspatyrus (Κασπάτυρος) or Caspapyrus (Κασπάπυρος) was a city in the district of Pactyice.[113]
Calinipaxa was a city in India made known to the Greeks by the expedition ofSeleucus I Nicator.[114]
Gange (Γάγγη), according to Ptolemy, was the capital of the Gangaridae, at the mouth of the Ganges river. While Strabo speaks of a town with a similar name but places it far up the river, in the vicinity ofPalibothra orPatna.Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mention a city called Ganges (Γάγγης).[115]
The Greeks called theEastern Himalayas in the district of India intra Gangem Damassi Montes/Mountains (τὰ Δάμασσα ὄρη).[116]
TheSaurashtra (region) was called by the GreeksSyrastrene (Συραστρηνή). Ptolemy mentions Syrastra, which may have once been its capital.[117] Larica (Λαρική) was a rich commercial district between Syrastrene andAriaca.[118]
Dyrta (τὰ Δύρτα) was a small town in the country of the Assacani.[119]
Peperine (Πεπερίνη) was an island off the south-west coast of India, undoubtedly derived its name from producing pepper.[120]
Pactyice (Πακτϋική) was a district of North-Western India.[121]
Triglyphon was the metropolis and royal residence of Cirrhadia (the modernTipperah).[122]
Palimbothra (Παλιμβόθρα) was one of the most important cities in India.[123]
Chryse and Argyre were a pair of legendary islands, located in the Indian Ocean mentioned by ancient writers.
Bessyga (Βήσσυγα) was, according to Stephanus of Byzantium, an emporium in India.[124]
At theAnuradhapura Kingdom inSri Lanka, there was a Greek settlement. Professor Merlin Peris, former professor of classics at theUniversity of Peradeniya, wrote that “the Greeks whom KingPandukabhaya settled in the West Gate of Anuradhapura were not the second or third generation of Greeks who arrived in northwest India but were men who, just two decades ago at the most, left Greek homelands as Alexander's camp followers and came to Sri Lanka with or in the wake of Alexander's troops. When their fellow Greeks showed reluctance to push further south, these Greeks apparently had done so.”[125] The Greeks called Sri LankaTaprobana, some Greek authors also usedPalaisimoundou,Salike andSieladiba.[87]
Palaesimundum (Παλαισιμούνδου) was a town in Taprobane, but in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea the writer inform us that at his time the whole island was called like this (Ptolemy and Stephanus state that the island was called Simundum (Σιμούνδου), but it is very probable that they made a mistake and the correct name was Palaesimundum). Later the island was also called Salice (Σαλική).[126]
Stephanus of Byzantium writes that a metropolis of the Taprobana was called Argyra (Ancient Greek:Ἀργυρᾶ)[127] and that there was also a river called Phasis (Ancient Greek:Φᾶσις).[128] Ptolemy called one of a group of islands which surrounded Sri Lanka Nagadiba (Greek:Ναγάδιβα) (seeJaffna Peninsula).[129] Talacory (Ταλάκωρυ) or Aacote (Ἀακότη) was a port emporium on the north-western side of Taprobana.[130]
Tarachi (Τάραχοι) was a tribe in Taprobane who had a port called Ἡλίου λίμην.[131]
Galiba (Γάλιβα ἄκρα) was a promontory on the northern coast of Taprobane, close to the Cory island. Certain mountains in the immediate neighbourhood of it had the same name Γάλιβα ὄρη and the inhabitants of which were called Galibi (Γάλιβοι).[132] Cape of Zeus (Δίος ἄκρα) was a promontory on the south of Taprobane. Its exact position cannot be identified, but it must have been close to presentGalle, if not the same.[133]
Greek writers mention many tribes. For example, the:
Pāṇini, an ancient Sanskrit grammarian, was acquainted with the word yavana (Greek) in his composition.
Kātyāyana was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician andVedic priest who lived in ancient India. He explained the term yavanānī as the script of the Yavanas. He took the same line as Pāṇini that theOld Persian term yauna became Sanskritised to name all Greeks.
Theodectes thought the dark color of some Indians was because of the sun.[157]
Athenaeus in hisDeipnosophistae mentions a Basilis (Βάσιλις) who wrote a series of books about the History of India.[158]
Claudius Aelianus wrote about the animals in India.[159] He also mentioned that there were Macedonians who settled in India in the cities founded by Alexander.[103]
TheUnani System of Medicine, a traditional system of medicine practiced in India, refers to Graeco-Arabic medicine, which is based on the teachings of Greek physiciansHippocrates andGalen. The ancient Greek medical system was enriched with local elements and received positively by the Indian people and physicians.[160]
India and Indians are mentioned in some ofMartial's Epigrams.[161]
A lot of entries in theSuda, the Byzantine encyclopedia, are about India.
A wall-painting from the Minoan town ofAkrotiri has been identified as depicting agrey langur, a species of monkey native to theIndus Valley. Bronze-age contact between the Minoan world and the Indian subcontinent was likely mediated by the civilisations ofMesopotamia.[162][163][164]
The historianPeter Frankopan said that “long-distance trade, and connections between the Mediterranean, Asia and the Indian Ocean are well attested, even in this period [the Bronze Age], for high value, expensive objects.” (SeeIndo-Mediterranean).[165]
The area of modernHala Sultan Tekke inCyprus was an important trade hub during the Late Bronze Age, with large quantities of imported goods from neighbouring regions but also faraway regions like Afghanistan and India.[166][167]
The murals are painted in what would go on to become a style distinct to the Indian subcontinent but with some elements such as the use of perspective, lime mortar, and the three quarter profiles of the figures, suggesting a Hellenistic (Ancient Greek) influence. Notably, many of the colour pigments used in the painting, including red ochre, yellow ochre, brown ochre, black, white, and lapis lazuli were likely imported from Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau.