When A Greek King of India Embraced Buddhism: The History of the Indo-Greek Kingdom

Words by Azam Anwar

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In the 1920s, travel posters, made for steamship lines and airlines, became extremely popular. The style changed notably in the 1920s, to focus attention on the product being advertised. The images became simpler, precise, more linear, more dynamic, and were often placed against a single color background. They conveyed a sense of power and safety – basically, what travellers were supposed to feel boarding liners and trains and visiting new destinations. (Available as print)

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When A Greek King of India Embraced Buddhism: The History of the Indo-Greek Kingdom

So what do you get when these two different cultures were fused together for two centuries? One outcome was Greco-Buddhist art which is basically Classic Greek culture meets Buddhism, like the "Fasting Siddhartha" sculpture shown above⁣. In Buddhist art, Buddha was only represented through symbols such as a leaf, footprints, etc. but when the Greeks came in, they changed Buddha to be represented in more human form. Note the stylish curly hair, the hair bun, the toga covering his elbows and especially look at the realistic human details like the ribs, collar bone, etc. - these are all Greek influences.⁣ This sculpture can be found in the Museum of Lahore.

When we hear the word ‘Ancient Greece’, our mind might conjure up images of iconic city states such as Sparta or Athens—leaning towards the battle of 300 Spartans, debates of philosophers in Athens, or the epic siege of Troy. Yet, for many South Asians who hold a deep love for this historical period, Ancient Greece is often perceived as a part of Western heritage, seemingly distant from our own. But is that correct? Greeks had long been setting up colonies across the Mediterranean Sea, but what may surprise most the people is not the mere presence of a Greek colony but of a Greek Kingdom reigning in the heartland of the Indian subcontinent, the Indo-Greek Kingdom.

Imagine a Greek soldier riding through a village in ancient India, adorned in his famed attire, donning a Corinthian helmet with a bronze shield in one hand and a spear in another. Such images from the era of Indo-Greeks could ignite a sense of excitement —an era that, unfortunately, occupies a modest space in our textbooks.