Abstract

Illustrations: 56 B/W Illustrations and 1 Map Description: 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. It includes prehistoric, mythical and the first historically attested accounts of contact, a critical review of the Oriental Origin theory and travels of the Greek Philosophers who are commonly thought to have visited or to have been influenced by India, the meeting of Alexander with the Indian Gymnosophists, the inter-religious contacts that took place between the two peoples during the reign of the Indo-Greek kingdoms in Bactria and the Medieval Ages, and a critical study of the identity of the Yavanas as they occur in Indian texts and inscriptions. The book provides further information on the life and work of the first and foremost Greek Indologist Demetrios Galanos, a record of Indological studies in Greece, and reviews on the works made by contemporary Greek scholars and diplomatic representatives in India.