THE GREEKS IN INDIA
The Greeks in India
A Survey in Philosophical Understanding
DEMETRIOS TH. VASSILIADES
This book relates to the history of the ideological presence of the Greeks in India. Unlike the previous works, which have been focused on particular historical periods, the present study aims to present the literary and religio-philosophic character of the Greeks in India as they interact with the Indians and the Indian culture from the earliest times to the present.
“After reading Vassiliades’ work, I am convinced that the Greeks in India, whose significance has been rather neglected in the past by both Western and Indian scholars, shall be recognized in the future as pioneers in the formative stages of the global family’s advancement.”
Prof. R.R. Pandey, Head, Department of Philosophy & Religion, Banaras Hindu University
cover Ro. 280 p. with 56 bw Ills and 2 maps
ISBN: 81-215-0921-1
New Delhi, 2000
Price: 25 € + postage (out of print, notify when available)
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface to the second edition
Abbreviations
Chapter 1
The Pre-Alexandrian Age
The Prehistoric Civilizations
Greece and the Orient
Indo-Iranians, Indo-Āryans and Indian Aborigines
Greek and Vedic Gods
The Proto-Indo-Europeans
Mythical Contacts
First Historical Contacts
Chapter 2
The Post-Alexandrian Age
Alexander and the Indian Gymnosophists
Megasthenes and Indian Religions
The Greeks in the Maurean Empire
Greeks and Buddhism
Greeks and Hinduism
The Indians and the Greek Religion
After the Fall of Bactria
Early Travels to India
Other Travelers
Some References to Indian Religions in Early Greek Literature
The Meeting of Religions
Chapter 3
Who were the Yavanas
The Problem of Definition
Traditional Views about the Origin and Social Status of Yavanas
Yonas, Yavanas and other Greeks
The Yavana Invasion
Yavanas in the Paurāṇic Literature
Later Historical References
Yavanācārya and Yavanikā
The Muhammedan Invasions
Chapter 4
Demetrios Galanos (1760-1833)
The First Years
Galanos in India
Galanos’ Work
Works on Galanos
Chapter 5
Contemporary Greeks in India
The Greek Community in Bengal
Two Eminent Ladies
Indological Studies in Greece
Greek Scholars in India
The Descendants of Megasthenes
Greek Culture in India
Appendix 1
Greek Philosophers and India
Appendix 2
The Oriental Origin Theory
Appendix 3
Śramaṇas and Brāhmaṇas in Greek and Indian Literature
Appendix 4
Philosophical Review
A Comparative Chronological Chart
Index of Proper Names
Book review by Dr Anil Kumar Singh, Indian Historical Review, Vol. 32, No. 2, July 2005
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