Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, refers to the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE in Bactria and the Indian subcontinent.
It was a cultural consequence of a long chain of interactions begun by Greek forays into India from the time of Alexander the Great, carried further by the establishment of the Indo-Greek Kingdom and extended during the flourishing of the Hellenized Kushan Empire. Greco-Buddhism influenced the artistic, and perhaps the spiritual development of Buddhism, particularly Mahayana Buddhism.
Buddha in a Corinthian capital (top of a column), found in Ghandara
Several Buddhist deities may have been influenced by Greek gods. For example, Heracles with a lion-skin, the protector deity of Demetrius I of Bactria, âserved as an artistic model for Vajrapani, a protector of the Buddhaâ In Japan, this expression further translated into the wrath-filled and muscular NiĆ guardian gods of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples.
Vajrapani, protector of the Buddha, in the style of Hercules
In the direction of the West, the Greco-Buddhist syncretism may also have had some formative influence on the religions of the Mediterranean BasinâŠ
Strabo and Plutarch (c. 45â125 CE) also wrote about Indo-Greek Buddhist king Menander, confirming that information about the Indo-Greek Buddhists was circulating throughout the Hellenistic worldâŠ
Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have been found in Alexandria in Egypt, decorated with depictions of the Dharma wheel.
AU where Buddhism becomes a popular mystery religion in the Roman Empire
yoga classes in the forums
hot yoga classes in the bathhouses
people getting less worked up about minute differences of Christian doctrine because they have a chiller religion to believe in
philosophers in the Platonic Academy of Athens learning how to meditate
Buddhism being taken up by the Empress and then suddenly all the rage in high society during her reign
Buddha being depicted in a Roman-style toga
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