06-09-2004, 03:30 AM
I first read about the influence on Indian thought on the Greeks and Romans in AL Basham's "The Wonder that was India". Unfortunately, the discussion is all too brief but just points to the the similaritites between (earlier) Indian though and (later) Greek and Roman thought (see epilogue of book).
The biographies of Greek thinkers commonly refer to the study of Indian philosophy by the Greeks (eg the last great neo-platonist thinker Plotinus is said to have travelled east eager the investigate "the system adopted among the Indians" (see Plotinus, The Enneads, Penguin ed, p civ).
However, the Greeks do not quote Sanskrit sources (probably because they did not know Sanskrit). It seems that they learnt through personal contact with Indians and assimilated their the ideas into their own works.
Little is writtem on the subject but a study of the original sources themselves (and the continual referance to the study of Indian thought), together with a clear similarity between the earlier Indian and later Western thought I would have though is enough evidence, especially given the significant contact between the Greek/Roman world and India. I think there was a large colony of Gujarati merchants in Alexandria and a large volume of trade (particularly with South India). Several embassies from India also went to Rome.
The limited study of the area (compared with study of Indian influence on the East) I think is partly due to the influnce of India on the West as being less obvious (othern than in science) but also because of what is probably a reluctnace on the part of Western scholars to acknowledge any foreign influence on the development of Western classical culture. There was a huge hoo-ha some years ago on the publication of a work called "Black Athena, the Afroasiatic roots of classical culture". The thesis is that of a Middle Eastern foundation for Greek culture. If I remember, the reaction of Western classicists at times verged on hysteria. I though that argument was well founded and is now to some extent accepted though begrudgingly. I suspect that something similar may be happening in attitudes to the subject of Indian influence on Western classical culture.
I hope this gives you some ammunition.
The biographies of Greek thinkers commonly refer to the study of Indian philosophy by the Greeks (eg the last great neo-platonist thinker Plotinus is said to have travelled east eager the investigate "the system adopted among the Indians" (see Plotinus, The Enneads, Penguin ed, p civ).
However, the Greeks do not quote Sanskrit sources (probably because they did not know Sanskrit). It seems that they learnt through personal contact with Indians and assimilated their the ideas into their own works.
Little is writtem on the subject but a study of the original sources themselves (and the continual referance to the study of Indian thought), together with a clear similarity between the earlier Indian and later Western thought I would have though is enough evidence, especially given the significant contact between the Greek/Roman world and India. I think there was a large colony of Gujarati merchants in Alexandria and a large volume of trade (particularly with South India). Several embassies from India also went to Rome.
The limited study of the area (compared with study of Indian influence on the East) I think is partly due to the influnce of India on the West as being less obvious (othern than in science) but also because of what is probably a reluctnace on the part of Western scholars to acknowledge any foreign influence on the development of Western classical culture. There was a huge hoo-ha some years ago on the publication of a work called "Black Athena, the Afroasiatic roots of classical culture". The thesis is that of a Middle Eastern foundation for Greek culture. If I remember, the reaction of Western classicists at times verged on hysteria. I though that argument was well founded and is now to some extent accepted though begrudgingly. I suspect that something similar may be happening in attitudes to the subject of Indian influence on Western classical culture.
I hope this gives you some ammunition.