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Buddhism & Ancient Greece:
One of the most interesting and cryptic topics regarding the Hellenistic period is the interactions between Buddhism and the Greek-speaking world. There are a number of interesting pieces of evidence, but relatively disconnected (1/
One of the most interesting and cryptic topics regarding the Hellenistic period is the interactions between Buddhism and the Greek-speaking world. There are a number of interesting pieces of evidence, but relatively disconnected (1/
During the campaigns of Alexander the Great in the early 320s BC, the Macedonian army went into modern Pakistan & Punjab. In addition to the great learning center of Taxila, one of Alexander’s entourage named Pyrrho interacted with the “Gymnosophists”, naked wise men.(2/
According to Diogenes Laertius, Pyrrho is said to have been inspired by these wise men & developed Pyrrhonian Skepticism: a renunciation of worldly concerns based on the assertion that our perceptions are not verifiable, and we thus we must escape suffering (ataraxia) (3/
Many of Pyrrho’s ideas bear a striking resemblance to contemporary Buddhist philosophy. But the Gymnosophist connection appears only once, & they more resemble Sadhu mystics than Buddhists. Both Ancient Greece & India long had convergent philosophies prior to interacting (4
Our next evidence comes from the mid 2nd cent BC during the reign of Ashoka the Great, ruler of the mighty Mauryan Empire & champion of Buddhism following his conversion after his violent conquest of the Kalingas. (5/
Ashoka informs us in his rock inscriptions (written in Greek & Aramaic) that he sent envoys to spread the word of Dharma & nonviolence to the Greek kings of the west: Antiochus of Syria, Ptolemy of Egypt, Magas of Cyrene, Antigonus of Macedonia, & Alexander of Epirus. (6/
*3rd century, not 2nd
We do have a number of records of diplomatic exchanges between the Hellenistic kings & the Maurya, such as the gifting of tigers & aphrodisiacs in return for wine & figs. While no mention is made of buddhists, Ashoka’s claims need not be doubted. (7/
We do have a number of records of diplomatic exchanges between the Hellenistic kings & the Maurya, such as the gifting of tigers & aphrodisiacs in return for wine & figs. While no mention is made of buddhists, Ashoka’s claims need not be doubted. (7/
Following the collapse of the Mauryas, there was an invasion of India by the Greek king Menander I Soter during the mid-2nd cent. BC, reaching as far as Pataliputra (Patna) along the eastern Ganges River. NW India would be home to Indo-Greek kingdoms for over a century (8/
