Hellenistic influence on Indian art and architecture reflects the artistic and architectural influence of theGreeks onIndian art following the conquests ofAlexander the Great, from the end of the 4th century BCE to the first centuries of the common era. The Greeks in effect maintained a political presence at the doorstep, and sometimes within India, down to the 1st century CE with theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom and theIndo-Greek Kingdoms, with many noticeable influences on the arts of theMaurya Empire (c.321–185 BCE) especially.[1] Hellenistic influence on Indian art was also felt for several more centuries during the period ofGreco-Buddhist art.[1][2]
Coin finds in theKabul hoard inKabul or the Shaikhan Dehri hoard inPushkalavati have revealed numerousAchaemenid coins as well as manyGreek coins from the 5th and 4th centuries BCE were circulating in the area, at least as far as theIndus during the rule of theAchaemenids, who were in control of the areas as far asGandhara.[4][5][6][7] In 2007 a small coin hoard was discovered at the site of ancientPushkalavati (Shaikhan Dehri) inPakistan, containing atetradrachm minted inAthens c. 500/490 – 485 BCE, together with a number of local types as well as silver cast ingots. The Athens coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far to the east.[3]
According toJoe Cribb, theseearly Greek coins were at the origin of Indianpunch-marked coins, the earliest coins developed in India, which used minting technology derived from Greek coinage.[6]Daniel Schlumberger also considers that punch-marked bars, similar to the many punch-marked bars found in northwestern India, initially originated in the Achaemenid Empire, rather than in the Indian heartland:
"The punch-marked bars were up to now considered to be Indian (...) However the weight standard is considered by some expert to be Persian, and now that we see them also being uncovered in the soil of Afghanistan, we must take into account the possibility that their country of origin should not be sought beyond the Indus, but rather in the oriental provinces of the Achaemenid Empire".
— Daniel Schlumberger, quoted from Trésors Monétaires, p. 42[7]
TheGreek campaigns in India underAlexander the Great were limited in time (327–326 BCE) and in extent, but they had extensive long term effects as Greeks settled for centuries at the doorstep of India.[8] Soon after the departure of Alexander, the Greeks (described asYona orYavana in Indian sources from the Greek "Ionian") may then have participated, together with other groups, in the armed uprising ofChandragupta Maurya against theNanda Dynasty around 322 BCE, and gone as far asPataliputra for the capture of the city from the Nandas. TheMudrarakshasa of Visakhadutta as well as theJaina work Parisishtaparvan talk of Chandragupta's alliance with the Himalayan king Parvatka, often identified withPorus.[9] According to these accounts, this alliance gave Chandragupta a composite and powerful army made up ofYavanas (Greeks),Kambojas,Shakas (Scythians),Kiratas (Nepalese),Parasikas (Persians) andBahlikas (Bactrians) who tookPataliputra.[10][11][12]
After these events, the Greeks were able to maintain a structured presence at the door of India for about three centuries, through theSeleucid Empire and theGreco-Bactrian kingdom, down to the time of theIndo-Greek kingdoms, which ended sometime in the 1st century CE. During that time, the city ofAi-Khanoum, capital of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and the capitals of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the cities ofSirkap, founded in what is now Pakistan on the GreekHippodamian grid plan, andSagala, now located in Pakistan 10 km from the border with India, interacted heavily with the Indian subcontinent. It is considered that Ai-Khanoum and Sirkap may have been primary actors in transmitting Western artistic influence to India, for example in the creation of the quasi-IonicPataliputra capital or the floral friezes of thePillars of Ashoka.[13] Numerous Greek ambassadors, such asMegasthenes,Deimachus andDionysius, stayed at the Mauryan court in Pataliputra.
The scope of adoption goes from designs such as thebead and reel pattern, the centralflame palmette design and a variety of othermoldings, to the lifelike rendering of animal sculpture and the design and function of the Ionicanta capital in the palace ofPataliputra.[14] After the 1st century CE, Hellenistic influence continued to be perceived in the syncreticGreco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, down to the 4th–5th centuries CE. Arguably, Hellenistic influence continued to be felt indirectly in India arts for many centuries thereafter.
During the Maurya period (c. 321–185 BCE), and especially during the time of EmperorAshoka (c.268–232 BCE), Hellenistic influence seems to have played a role in the establishment of Indian monumental stone architecture. Excavations in the ancient palace ofPataliputra have brought to light Hellenistic sculptural works, and Hellenistic influence appear in thePillars of Ashoka at about the same period.
According toJohn Boardman, there were Hellenistic influences on Indian stone architecture. However, the sites and sources of these influences are "not always properly identified or yet identifiable".[15] Three broad theories have been proposed. One was held by early scholars such asPercy Brown in which stone Indian architecture used immigrant craftsmen experienced in the PersianAchaemenid imperial style, which included much Greek input, to which further more direct Hellenistic influence was added. The second was held by later scholars such as John Irwin who favour mostly indigenous Indian inspiration, and a third held byS.P. Gupta and others, who favour a combination.[16][17]
Boardman compares the appearance of stone architecture in Persia and India; to some extent the new empires of the Achaemenids and Mauryans faced similar issues in "creating stone architecture suitable to the aspirations of empire", when neither country had a tradition of building in stone.[16] Persian conquests had included areas with important traditions of large-scale building in brick or stone; in India there was probably a tradition of large and intricate building in wood, although remains of this are naturally very few.[15] It is possible that the difficult pass through theHindu Kush and locations to the northwest of it such as Ai-Khanoum, a Greek city of Bactria in 3rd-century BCE and about 600 kilometres (370 mi) fromKabul, could have provided the conduit to connect the Hellenistic and Indian artists. Alternatively, the influence could have come from the ancient PersianPersepolis, now nearShiraz in southwestIran and about 2,200 kilometres (1,400 mi) from Kabul. However, a major issue that this proposal faces is that Persepolis was destroyed about 80 years before the first Buddhist stone architecture and arts appeared. This leaves the question whether, to what extent and how knowledge was preserved or transferred over the generations between the fall of Persepolis (330 BCE) and the rise of Ashokan era art to its east (after 263 BCE).[15][17]
Numerous contacts have been recorded between theMaurya Empire and the Greek realm.Seleucus I Nicator attempted to conquer India in 305 BCE, but he finally came to an agreement withChandragupta Maurya, and signed a treaty which, according toStrabo, ceded a number of territories to Chandragupta, including large parts of what is nowAfghanistan and Pakistan. A "marital agreement" was also concluded, and Seleucus received five hundred war elephants, a military asset which would play a decisive role at theBattle of Ipsus in 301 BCE.[18][19]
Later, numerous ambassadors visited the Indian court in Pataliputra, especiallyMegasthenes to Chandragupta, laterDeimakos to his sonBindusara, and later againPtolemy II Philadelphus, the ruler ofPtolemaic Egypt and contemporary ofAshoka, is also recorded byPliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador namedDionysius to the Mauryan court.[20]Ashoka made communications with Greek populations on the site ofAlexandria Arachosia (Old Kandahar), using theKandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription or theKandahar Greek Inscription.
TheGreco-Bactrian Kingdom with its capital ofAi-Khanoum maintained a strong Hellenistic presence at the doorstep of India from 280–140 BCE, and after that date went into India itself to formIndo-Greek kingdoms which would last until the 1st century CE. At the same time, Ashoka wrote some of hisedicts in Greek, and claimed to have sent ambassadors to Greek rulers as far as the Mediterranean, suggesting his willingness to communicate with the Hellenistic realm.
During that period, several instance of artistic influence are known, particular in the area of monumental stone sculpture and statuary, an area with no known precedents in India. The main period of stone architectural creation seems to correspond to the period of Ashoka's reign (c.?268–232 BCE).[15] Before that, Indians may have had a tradition of wooden architecture, but no remains have ever been found to prove that point. However remains of wooden palisades were discovered at archaeological sites inPataliputra, confirmed Classical accounts that the city had such wooden ramparts. The first examples of stone architecture were also found in the palace compound of Pataliputra, with the distinctly HellenisticPataliputra capital and a pillared hall using polished-stone columns. The other remarkable example of monumental stone architecture is that of thePillars of Ashoka, themselves displaying Hellenistic influence.[21] Overall, according to Boardman, "the visual experience of many Ashokan and later city dwellers in India was considerably conditioned by foreign arts, translated to an Indian environment, just as the archaic Greek had been by the Syrian, the Roman by the Greek, and the Persian by the art of their whole empire".[22]
ThePataliputra capital is a monumental rectangularcapital withvolutes andClassical designs, that was discovered in the palace ruins of the ancientMauryan Empire capital city ofPataliputra (modernPatna, northeastern India). It is dated to the 3rd century BCE. It is, together with thePillars of Ashoka, one of the first known examples of Indian stone architecture, as no Indian stone monuments or sculptures are known from before that period.[1] It is also one of the first archaeological clues suggesting Hellenistic influence on the arts of India, in this case sculptural palatial art. TheArchaeological Survey of India, an Indian government agency attached to theMinistry of culture that is responsible forarchaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural monument in India, straightforwardly describes it as "a colossal capital in the Hellenistic style".[23]
Although this capital was a major piece of architecture in the Mauryan palace ofPataliputra, since most of Pataliputra was not excavated, and remains hidden under the modern city ofPatna, it is impossible to know the exact nature or extent of the monuments or the buildings that incorporated it.
One capital from Sarnath is known, which seems to be an adaptation of the design of the Pataliputra capital. This other capital is also said to be from theMauryan period. It is, together with the Pataliputra capital, considered as "stone brackets or capitals suggestive of the Ionic order".[24] A later capital found inMathura dating to the 2nd or 3rd century (Kushan period) displays a central palmette with side volutes in a style described as "Ionic", in the same kind of composition as the Pataliputra capital but with a coarser rendering. (photograph).[25]
ThePillars of Ashoka were built during the reign of theMaurya EmpireAshoka c. 250 BCE. They were new attempts at mastering stone architecture, as no Indian stone monuments or sculptures are known from before that period.[1]
There are altogether seven remaining capitals, five with lions, one with an elephant and one with azebu bull. One of them, the four lions ofSarnath, has become theState Emblem of India. The animal capitals are composed of alotiform base, with anabacus decorated with floral, symbolic or animal designs, topped by the realistic depiction of an animal, thought to each represent a traditional direction in India.
Various foreign influences have been described in the design of these capitals.[28]
Greek columns of the 6th century BCE such as theSphinx of Naxos, a 12.5m Ionic column crowned by a sitting animal in the religious center ofDelphi, may have been an inspiration for the pillars of Ashoka.[26] Many similar columns crowned by sphinxes were discovered in ancient Greece, as inSparta,Athens orSpata, and somewere used as funerary steles.[26] The Greeksphinx, a lion with the face of a human female, was considered as having ferocious strength, and was thought of as a guardian, often flanking the entrances to temples or royal tombs.[29] Placing animals on top of a lotiform capital also reminds ofAchaemenid columns.
The animals, especially the horse on theSarnathLion Capital of Ashoka or the bull of theRampurva capital are said to be typically Greek in realism, and belong to a type of highly realistic treatment which cannot be found inPersia.[1]
Theabacus parts also often seem to display a strong influence ofGreek art: in the case of theRampurva bull or theSankassa elephant, it is composed offlame palmettes alternated with stylizedlotuses and smallrosettes flowers.[30] A similar kind of design can be seen in the frieze of the lost capital of theAllahabad pillar. These designs likely originated in Greek and Near-Eastern arts.[31][1] They would probably have come from the neighboringSeleucid Empire, and specifically from a Hellenistic city such asAi-Khanoum, located at the doorstep of India.[13]
Some of the earliest free-standing temples in India are thought to have been of a circular type, as theBairat Temple inBairat,Rajasthan, formed of a central stupa surrounded by a circular colonnade and an enclosing wall, built during the time of Ashoka and near which were found severalMinor Rock Edicts.[32]Ashoka also built theMahabodhi Temple inBodh Gaya c. 250 BCE, also a circular structure, in order to protect theBodhi tree. Representations of this early temple structure are foundon a 100 BCE relief from the stupa railing atBhārhut, as well as inSanchi.[33] These circular-type temples were also found in later rock-hewn caves such asTulja Caves orGuntupalli.[32]
It has been suggested that these circular structures with colonnades may have originated with the Greek circularTholos temple, as in theTholos of Delphi, but circular wooden huts in India could also have been an inspiration.[32]
TheDiamond throne, orVajrasana, is a throne in theMahabodhi Temple atBodh Gaya, built by kingAshoka c. 260 BCE,[34] in order to mark the place where the Buddha reached enlightenment.[35] Ashoka is thought to have visited Bodh Gaya around 260 BCE, about 10 years into his reign, as explained by hisRock Edict number VIII.[36]
The Diamond throne contains carvings ofhoneysuckles andgeese, which can also be found on several of thepillar capital of Ashoka.[37]
Theflame palmette, central decorative element of the Pataliputra pillar is considered as a purely Greek motif. The first appearance of "flame palmettes" goes back to the stand-alone floralakroteria of theParthenon (447–432 BCE),[39] and slightly later at theTemple of Athena Nike.[40] Flame palmettes were then introduced into friezes of floral motifs in replacement of the regular palmette. Flame palmettes are used extensively in India floral friezes, starting with the floral friezes on the capitals of the pillar of Ashoka, and they are likely to have originated with Greek or Near Eastern art.[41] A monumental flame palmette can be seen on the top of theSunga gateway atBharhut (2nd century BCE).
According to Boardman, although lotus friezes or palmette friezes were known inMesopotamia centuries before, the unnatural combination of various botanical elements which have no relationship in the wild, such as the palmette, the lotus and sometimes rosette flowers, is a purely Greek innovation, which was then adopted on a very broad geographical scale.[38]
According to art historian John Boardman, the bead and reels motif was entirely developed in Greece from motifs derived from the turning techniques used for wood and metal, and was first employed in stone sculpture in Greece during the 6th century BCE. The motif then spread toPersia,Egypt and the Hellenistic world, and as far as India, where it can be found on the abacus part of some of thePillars of Ashoka or thePataliputra capital.[42]
Hellenistic arts may have been influential in early statuary (Mauryan and Sunga periods). A few monumentalYakshas are considered as the earliest free-standing statues in India .[43] The treatment of the dress especially, with lines of geometric folds, is considered as a Hellenistic innovation. There are no known previous example of such statuary in India, and they closely resembleGreek Late Archaic mannerism which could have been transmitted to India throughAchaemenidPersia.[44] This motif appears again in theSunga works ofBharhut, especially on a depiction of a foreign soldier, but the same treatment of the dress is also visible on purely Indian figures.
In some cases, a clear influence from the art of Gandhara can also be felt, as in the case of the Hellenistic statue ofHerakles strangling theNemean lion, discovered in Mathura, and now in theKolkotaIndian Museum, as well asBacchanalian scenes.[45][46][47] Although inspired from the art of Gandhara, the portraiture of Herakles is not perfectly exact and may show a lack of understanding of the subject matter, as Herakles is shown already wearing the skin of the lion he is fighting.[48][49]
A famous relief fromBodh Gaya showing the Indian godSurya on aquadriga is also often mentioned as a possible example of Hellenistic influence on Indian art.[50][51] The Surya depiction is indeed very similar to some Greek reliefs ofApollo on his quadriga horse chariot. Other authors point to the influence ofGreco-Bactrian coinage in which similar quadriga scenes sometimes appear, as on the coinage ofPlato of Bactria.[51]
One of the last Greco-Bactrian kings,Agathocles of Bactria (r. 190–180 BCE), issued remarkable Indian-standard square coins bearing the first known representations of Indian deities, which have been variously interpreted asVishnu,Shiva,Vasudeva,Buddha orBalarama. Altogether, six such Indian-standard silverdrachmas in the name of Agathocles were discovered at Ai-Khanoum in 1970.[52][53][54] Some other coins by Agathocles are also thought to represent theBuddhist lion and the Indian goddessLakshmi.[54] The Indian coinage of Agathocles is few but spectacular. These coins at least demonstrate the readiness of Greek kings to represent deities of foreign origin. The dedication of a Greek envoy to the cult ofGaruda at theHeliodorus pillar inBesnagar could also be indicative of some level of religioussyncretism.
TheIndo-Greek period (180 BCE – 20 CE) marks a time when Bactrian Greeks established themselves directly in the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent following the fall of theMaurya Empire and its takeover by theSunga.
Indo-Greek territories seems to have been highly involved with Buddhism. Numerousstupas, which had been set up during the time ofAshoka, were then reinforced and embellished during the Indo-Greek period, using elements of Hellenistic sculpture. A detailed archaeological analysis was made especially at theButkara stupa which allowed to define precisely what had been made during the Indo-Greek period, and what came later. The Indo-Greeks are known for the additions and niches, stairs and balustrades in Hellenistic architectural style. These efforts would then continue during theIndo-Scythian andKushan periods.[55]
Numerous depictions of Greeks are known from the area ofGandhara. TheBuner reliefs in particular have some of the clearest depictions of revelers and devotees in Greek attire.[56]
Buddhist monuments in the heartland of India also have such depictions. Some of the friezes ofSanchi show devotees in Greek attire. The men are depicted with short curly hair, often held together with aheadband of the type commonly seen on Greek coins. The clothing too is Greek, complete withtunics, capes and sandals, typical of theGreek travelling costume. The musical instruments are also quite characteristic, such as the double flute calledaulos. Also visible arecarnyx-likehorns. They are all celebrating at the entrance of the stupa. These men would be foreigners from north-west India visiting the Stupa, possiblyMallas,Sakas orIndo-Greeks.[57]
Three inscriptions are known fromYavana donors at Sanchi, the clearest of which reads "Setapathiyasa Yonasa danam" ("Gift of theYona of Setapatha"), Setapatha being an uncertain city.[58]
Another rather similar foreigner is also depicted inBharhut, theBharhut Yavana, also wearing a tunic and a royal headband in the manner of a Greek king, and displaying a Buddhisttriratna on his sword.[59][60]
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Numerous Greek artifacts were found in the city ofSirkap, nearTaxila in modern Pakistan and inSagala, a city in modern Pakistan 10 km from the border with India. Sirkap was founded as a capital of the Indo-Greek Kingdom and was laid-out on the GreekHippodamian city plan; Sagala was also an Indo-Greek capital. Individuals in Greek dress can be identified on numerous friezes.
Although there is still some debate, the firstanthropomorphic representations of the Buddha himself are often considered a result of the Greco-Buddhist interaction. Before this innovation,Buddhist art was aniconic, or very largely so: the Buddha was only represented through his symbols (anempty throne, theBodhi Tree,Buddha footprints, theDharmachakra).[61]
Probably not feeling bound by these restrictions, and because of "their cult of form, the Greeks were the first to attempt a sculptural representation of the Buddha".[62] In many parts of the Ancient World, the Greeks did developsyncretic divinities, that could become a common religious focus for populations with different traditions: a well-known example isSerapis, introduced byPtolemy I Soter inEgypt, who combined aspects of Greek and Egyptian Gods. In India as well, it was only natural for the Greeks to create a single common divinity by combining the image of a Greekgod-king (Apollo, with the traditionalphysical characteristics of the Buddha).
Some authors have argued that the Greek sculptural treatment of the dress has been adopted for the Buddha andBodhisattvas throughout India. It is, even today, a hallmark of numerous Buddhist sculptures as far as China and Japan.[43]
Indo-Greek coinage is rich and varied, and contains some of the best coins of antiquity. Its influence on Indian coinage was far-reaching.[63] The Greek script became used extensively on coins for many centuries, as was the habit of depicting a ruler on the obverse, often in profile, and deities on the reverse. TheWestern Satrap, a western dynasty of foreign origin adopted Indo-Greek designs. TheKushans (1st–4th centuries CE) used the Greek script and Greek deities on their coinage. Even as late as theGupta Empire (4th-6th centuries CE),Kumaragupta I issued coins with an imitation of Greek script.[63]
![A tetrastyle prostyle early Gupta period temple of almost Classical appearance at Sanchi, an example of Buddhist architecture[64]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSanchi_temple_17.jpg)
The full bloom ofGreco-Buddhist art seems to have postdated the Indo-Greek Kingdom, although it has been suggested that individual Greek artisans and artist probably continued to work for the new masters. It is apparently during the rule of theIndo-Scythian, theIndo-Parthian andKushan that Greco-Buddhist art evolved to become a dominant art form in the northwest of the Indian Subcontinent. Whereas other areas of India, especially the area ofMathura received the influence of the Greco-Buddhist school remains a matter of debate.
Many Indian scholars have argued that the notion of Greco-Buddhism, originated by European scholars, goes too far towards relocating Gandharan art as close to Greek and sometimesPersian art and defining ancient Indian art in terms of classicalGreco Roman art itself.
The archaeologistJohn Marshall on his visit toTaxila and Gandhara was reported as stating, 'it seemed as I had lighted on a bit of Greece itself' and I felt then there was something appealingly Greek in the countryside itself'.[66] Pierre Dupont thought of his trip to Pakistan in 1954 as 'a pious trip to the Greco-Buddhist country'.G. W. Leitner coined the term 'Greco-Buddhist' for pieces of Gandharan art which had reached Europe in 1870 and hailed them as a new page in the history of 'Greek art' instead of 'Indian art'.[67]
This view has been challenged by many scholars who argue that anthropomorphic religious figures were already present in Indian art before the arrival of Hellenestic influence, including early images like theDidarganj Yakshi, and local traditions of Anthrophormic monuments which existed independently.[68][69]
Scholars have also criticized earlier interpretations for relying on stylistic comparison without sufficient historical context.Vidya Dehejia notes that religious meaning, patronage, and regional context were often overlooked in favor of formal resemblance.[70][71]
It can also be suggested that Lāțs topped by animal figures also have an ancestor in the sphinx - topped pillars of Greece of the Middle Archaic period (c.580-40 B.C), Delphi Museum at Delphi, Greece, has an elegant winged sphinx figure sitting on an Ionic capital with side volutes. It was the Naxian sphinx pillar datable to about 575-560 BC. Many more sphinx-pillars have been found from different parts of Greece like Sparta, Athens and Spata (Attica). Rowland traces western Asiatic inspirations in the addorsed animal capitals of Aśokas Lāțs. But the inspiration for the single animal figure Lāțs, should be traced in the sphinx pillars of Greece. Asoka's direct link with his contemporaneous Greek states of Western Asia, Africa and Greece itself can result in the conception of single animal topped Lățs, from the Delphi type sphinx pillars. Such a possibility should not be ruled out in Mauryan Age.
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