From the shores of the Aegean: The often-overlooked Hellenic influence on the Indian subcontinent
Much of what we identify as the classic examples of Indian art are actually heavily influenced by people who originally built their civilisation on the shores of the Aegean sea
The last independent Greek kingdom on earth, bearing the legacy of Alexander the Great, was defeated in 10 A.D. You would be forgiven for thinking it was one of the famous Greek cities, perhaps Athens, Sparta or Macedon itself. But in actuality, it was in modern-day East Punjab and survived for almost 336 years after Alexander's conquest of India.
Even though the Hellenic legacy is widely celebrated in the western world, most people of our subcontinent do not know much about the effects the Greeks had on our art, literature, philosophy and mythology. In this article, we explore some consequences of the interaction between the East and the West.
Like all other stories of the Hellenic world, it begins with Alexander the Great. After defeating the Persian Achaemenid Empire and becoming the King of Asia, he started his journey towards the Hindu Kush mountains and established three important cities: Alexandria Arachosia (modern-day Kandahar), Alexandria in the Caucasus and Alexandria Eschate or Alexandria the Furthest. These cities were largely populated with Greek settlers and formed a bulwark of Greek culture on the subcontinent.
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After Alexander's death, one of his generals and the founder of the Seleucid empire, Seleucus the I Nicator took control of these Indian satrapies but could not hold them for long. Chandragupta of the Mauryan empire defeated him and took control of the Greek cities, thus beginning the long integration of Greeks or Yavanas into the empire.
In 268 B.C., Ashoka the Great came to power and after almost a decade of constant warfare, converted to Buddhism. His efforts to spread the religion were extremely influential as many Greeks began converting to Buddhism around the same time.
But the Greek population was not limited to the Mauryan empire. The Greco-Bactrian kingdom in modern-day Afghanistan succeeded the aforementioned Seleucid Empire and became independent. As the Mauryan Empire began to decline after the death of Ashoka, the Bactrians invaded India and reclaimed the Indian satrapies created by Alexander and forming the basis of the Indo-Greek kingdoms to come.
These interactions left a large mark on the Indian subcontinent, especially in the fields of architecture and statuary. Ancient India did not have the tradition of building with stone. All settlements were built with wood so almost none of those survived for us to examine.
The most iconic architectural pieces of this time: the pillars of Ashoka, the Pataliputra capital or the Sarnath Lion were all massively influenced by Greek architecture. We can see Ionic influences like flame palmettes, realistic depiction of animals and bead and reel patterns.
There were many life-like statues of 'yakshas', predominantly in Mathura which were unprecedented in India. One of the biggest pieces of evidence of Greek influence is the Mathura Herakles, a statue of the Greek demi-god, found in the aforementioned region.
Perhaps the most significant impact of Hellenism can be found in the modern depictions of Indian deities, especially Buddha. Before coming in contact with the Greeks, Indian deities were represented through motifs like lotus flowers or Dharmachakras. But since the reign of Ashoka, Buddha had been depicted as a perfect human specimen with vivid realism reminiscent of archaic Greek sculptures.
It was not uncommon to find classical Greek heroes like Hercules as protectors of Buddha himself. These influences remained long after the fall of the Indo-Greek kingdoms. During the Kushan Empire, Hellenism birthed two different schools of Buddhist art: Gandhara school and Mathura school.
These schools also produced some of the most ancient Hindu sculptures that were very clearly influenced by the Greek style. Even the first human depictions of Hindu gods like Vishnu, Shiva, Vesuveda and Lakshmi were found in a Greco-Bactrian king's coins.
In other Hellenic kingdoms like Egypt or Seleucia, there was a strict racial hierarchy and the indigenous did not get the same rights as the Greeks. But in India, the integration of the two populations was thorough.
The greatest Indo-Greek king Menander (Milinda in Pali) is as famous for conquering the lands of modern Gujarat as he is for creating one of the seminal pieces of Buddhist literature, 'Milinda Panha' (Questions of Milinda). We can find other anecdotes of Greek ascendancy in Indian literature like the Yavana king Bhaggadatta who plays a crucial role in the Mahabharata.
It is surprising to realise that much of what we identify as the classic examples of Indian art are actually heavily influenced by people who originally built their civilisation on the shores of the Aegean sea. Even though globalisation is often regarded as a relatively recent phenomenon, careful examination of history can prove that we, as humans, have always been connected and we influence each other in unforeseeable ways, for better or for worse.
Readus Salehen Jawad is an undergraduate student at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
