The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks

Description

An exploration of how the Greeks reacted to and interacted with India from the third to first centuries BCE When the Greeks and Macedonians in Alexander's army reached India in 326 BCE, they entered a new and strange world. They knew a few legends and travelers' tales, but their categories of thought were inadequate to encompass what they witnes

Richard Stoneman is an honorary visiting professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter. He is also a consulting editor in classics for I. B. Tauris. His many books include The Ancient Oracles and Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend.

"Longlisted for the Runciman Award, Anglo-Hellenic League" "A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year" "The question of what influences Greeks and Indians might have had on each other in the centuries that followed Alexander the Great is one that has always simultaneously fascinated and frustrated historians - so huge gratitude is due to Stoneman for shedding as much light on the issue as anyone is ever likely to do."---Tom Holland, BBC History Magazine "Excellent, and very readable. . . . The Greek Experience of India is the best book ever written on ancient Greek relations with India, and ought to be required reading for global historians of any era."---Peter Thonemann, Times Literary Supplement "Drawing on a vast array of research, [Stoneman] has compiled a magisterial overview of 'the Indo-Greek era', beginning with Alexander's crossing of the Hindu Kush mountain range in 327 BC and ending with the severing of contact about three centuries later. [The Greek Experience of India is an] intriguing and valuable book."---James Romm, New York Review of Books "This is a magisterial work with plenty to complement and enrich the writings of those like W.W. Tarn, A.K. Narain and Jean W. Sedlar."---Stephen Kern, Classics for All "[Stoneman has] such a direct narrative skill that the casual reader will hardly realise this is a solid scholarly thesis. This is an excellent introduction to the relevant source materials and their authors, and destined to be a valued reference."---Bob Rickard, Fortean Times "To those who, like me, want to explore other ancient cultures beyond the Mediterranean basin, this is an excellent book. Stoneman has provided a familiar frame for an unfamiliar place in the world that will surely endure as required reading for any student of Alexander, the Indo-Greeks, and Ancient India."---Owain Williams, Ancient History Magazine