and the Hellenistic city of
Ai-Khanoum were located at the very doorstep of India. 's
Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription in Greek and Aramaic During the Maurya period (c. 321–185 BCE), and especially during the time of Emperor
Ashoka (c.268–232 BCE), Hellenistic influence seems to have played a role in the establishment of Indian monumental stone architecture. Excavations in the ancient palace of
Pataliputra have brought to light Hellenistic sculptural works, and Hellenistic influence appear in the
Pillars of Ashoka at about the same period. According to
John Boardman, there were Hellenistic influences on Indian stone architecture. However, the sites and sources of these influences are "not always properly identified or yet identifiable". Three broad theories have been proposed. One was held by early scholars such as
Percy Brown in which stone Indian architecture used immigrant craftsmen experienced in the Persian
Achaemenid imperial style, which included much Greek input, to which further more direct Hellenistic influence was added. The second was held by later scholars such as John Irwin who favour mostly indigenous Indian inspiration, and a third held by
S.P. Gupta and others, who favour a combination.
Extent of relations Numerous contacts have been recorded between the
Maurya Empire and the Greek realm.
Seleucus I Nicator attempted to conquer India in 305 BCE, but he finally came to an agreement with
Chandragupta Maurya, and signed a treaty which, according to
Strabo, ceded a number of territories to Chandragupta, including large parts of what is now
Afghanistan and Pakistan. A "marital agreement" was also concluded, and Seleucus received five hundred war elephants, a military asset which would play a decisive role at the
Battle of Ipsus in 301 BCE. Later, numerous ambassadors visited the Indian court in Pataliputra, especially
Megasthenes to Chandragupta, later
Deimakos to his son
Bindusara, and later again
Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the ruler of
Ptolemaic Egypt and contemporary of
Ashoka, is also recorded by
Pliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador named
Dionysius to the Mauryan court.
Ashoka made communications with Greek populations on the site of
Alexandria Arachosia (
Old Kandahar), using the
Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription or the
Kandahar Greek Inscription. The
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom with its capital of
Ai-Khanoum maintained a strong Hellenistic presence at the doorstep of India from 280–140 BCE, and after that date went into India itself to form
Indo-Greek kingdoms which would last until the 1st century CE. At the same time, Ashoka wrote some of his
edicts in Greek, and claimed to have sent ambassadors to Greek rulers as far as the Mediterranean, suggesting his willingness to communicate with the Hellenistic realm.
Instances of Hellenistic influence During that period, several instance of artistic influence are known, particular in the area of monumental stone sculpture and statuary, an area with no known precedents in India. The main period of stone architectural creation seems to correspond to the period of Ashoka's reign (c.?268–232 BCE). Overall, according to Boardman, "the visual experience of many Ashokan and later city dwellers in India was considerably conditioned by foreign arts, translated to an Indian environment, just as the archaic Greek had been by the Syrian, the Roman by the Greek, and the Persian by the art of their whole empire".
Pataliputra capital (3rd century BCE) , found in
Pataliputra and dated to the 3rd century BCE The
Pataliputra capital is a monumental rectangular
capital with
volutes and
Classical designs, that was discovered in the palace ruins of the ancient
Mauryan Empire capital city of
Pataliputra (modern
Patna, northeastern India). It is dated to the 3rd century BCE. It is, together with the
Pillars of Ashoka, one of the first known examples of Indian stone architecture, as no Indian stone monuments or sculptures are known from before that period. Although this capital was a major piece of architecture in the Mauryan palace of
Pataliputra, since most of Pataliputra was not excavated, and remains hidden under the modern city of
Patna, it is impossible to know the exact nature or extent of the monuments or the buildings that incorporated it.
One capital from Sarnath is known, which seems to be an adaptation of the design of the Pataliputra capital. This other capital is also said to be from the
Mauryan period. It is, together with the Pataliputra capital, considered as "stone brackets or capitals suggestive of the Ionic order". A later capital found in
Mathura dating to the 2nd or 3rd century (
Kushan period) displays a central palmette with side volutes in a style described as "Ionic", in the same kind of composition as the Pataliputra capital but with a coarser rendering. (photograph).
Pillars of Ashoka (3rd century BCE) ,
Delphi, 560 BCE (left), may have influenced the creation of the
Pillars of Ashoka, 250 BCE (here at
Lauria Nandangarh). The
Pillars of Ashoka were built during the reign of the
Maurya Empire Ashoka c. 250 BCE. They were new attempts at mastering stone architecture, as no Indian stone monuments or sculptures are known from before that period. Various foreign influences have been described in the design of these capitals. Greek columns of the 6th century BCE such as the
Sphinx of Naxos, a 12.5m Ionic column crowned by a sitting animal in the religious center of
Delphi, may have been an inspiration for the pillars of Ashoka. Placing animals on top of a lotiform capital also reminds of
Achaemenid columns. The animals, especially the horse on the
Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka or the bull of the
Rampurva capital are said to be typically Greek in realism, and belong to a type of highly realistic treatment which cannot be found in
Persia. A similar kind of design can be seen in the frieze of the lost capital of the
Allahabad pillar. These designs likely originated in Greek and Near-Eastern arts.
Ashoka also built the
Mahabodhi Temple in
Bodh Gaya c. 250 BCE, also a circular structure, in order to protect the
Bodhi tree. Representations of this early temple structure are found
on a 100 BCE relief from the stupa railing at
Bhārhut, as well as in
Sanchi. These circular-type temples were also found in later rock-hewn caves such as
Tulja Caves or
Guntupalli. in order to mark the place where the Buddha reached enlightenment. Ashoka is thought to have visited Bodh Gaya around 260 BCE, about 10 years into his reign, as explained by his
Rock Edict number VIII. The Diamond throne contains carvings of
honeysuckles and
geese, which can also be found on several of the
pillar capital of Ashoka.
Decorative moldings and sculptures , detail of the
abacus, with two
"flame palmettes" framing a lotus surrounded by small rosette flowers .
Allahabad pillar, circa 250 BCE. " designs have also been identified on Mauryan ringstones, here framing the image of a goddess.
Flame palmette The
flame palmette, central decorative element of the Pataliputra pillar is considered as a purely Greek motif. The first appearance of "flame palmettes" goes back to the stand-alone floral
akroteria of the
Parthenon (447–432 BCE), and slightly later at the
Temple of Athena Nike. Flame palmettes were then introduced into friezes of floral motifs in replacement of the regular palmette. Flame palmettes are used extensively in India floral friezes, starting with the floral friezes on the capitals of the pillar of Ashoka, and they are likely to have originated with Greek or Near Eastern art. A monumental flame palmette can be seen on the top of the
Sunga gateway at
Bharhut (2nd century BCE).
Botanical combinations According to Boardman, although lotus friezes or palmette friezes were known in
Mesopotamia centuries before, the unnatural combination of various botanical elements which have no relationship in the wild, such as the palmette, the lotus and sometimes rosette flowers, is a purely Greek innovation, which was then adopted on a very broad geographical scale.
Influence on monumental statuary . A statue of
Herakles strangling the
Nemean lion, from
Mathura. Also:
Kolkota Indian Museum.] Hellenistic arts may have been influential in early statuary (Mauryan and Sunga periods). A few monumental
Yakshas are considered as the earliest free-standing statues in India . The treatment of the dress especially, with lines of geometric folds, is considered as a Hellenistic innovation. There are no known previous example of such statuary in India, and they closely resemble
Greek Late Archaic mannerism which could have been transmitted to India through
Achaemenid Persia. This motif appears again in the
Sunga works of
Bharhut, especially on a depiction of a foreign soldier, but the same treatment of the dress is also visible on purely Indian figures. In some cases, a clear influence from the art of Gandhara can also be felt, as in the case of the Hellenistic statue of
Herakles strangling the
Nemean lion, discovered in Mathura, and now in the
Kolkota Indian Museum, as well as
Bacchanalian scenes. Although inspired from the art of Gandhara, the portraiture of Herakles is not perfectly exact and may show a lack of understanding of the subject matter, as Herakles is shown already wearing the skin of the lion he is fighting.
quadriga relief of
Surya (left) and Classical example of
Phoebus Apollo on quadriga (right) A famous relief from
Bodh Gaya showing the Indian god
Surya on a
quadriga is also often mentioned as a possible example of Hellenistic influence on Indian art. File:Yaksha Parkham Mathura with detail.jpg|
Yaksha Manibhadra, Parkham near
Mathura with detail of the dress with geometric fold of the hem File:KITLV 87971 - Unknown - Sculpture of a woman at Mathura in British India - 1897.tif|Sculpture of woman from ancient Braj-Mathura c. 2nd century CE
First visual representations of Indian deities with
Hindu deities:
Vasudeva–
Krishna and
Balarama–
Samkarshana , with Buddhist lion and dancing woman holding lotus, possible Indian goddess
Lakshmi, a goddess of abundance and fortune for Buddhists One of the last Greco-Bactrian kings,
Agathocles of Bactria (r. 190–180 BCE), issued remarkable Indian-standard square coins bearing the first known representations of Indian deities, which have been variously interpreted as
Vishnu,
Shiva,
Vasudeva,
Buddha or
Balarama. Altogether, six such Indian-standard silver
drachmas in the name of Agathocles were discovered at Ai-Khanoum in 1970. Some other coins by Agathocles are also thought to represent the
Buddhist lion and the Indian goddess
Lakshmi. The Indian coinage of Agathocles is few but spectacular. These coins at least demonstrate the readiness of Greek kings to represent deities of foreign origin. The dedication of a Greek envoy to the cult of
Garuda at the
Heliodorus pillar in
Besnagar could also be indicative of some level of religious
syncretism. ==Direct influence in Northwestern India (180 BCE – 20 CE)==