Ancient Greek Buddhists 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenism_(modern_religion) apparently, they still do.

@@ericvosselmans5657 Maybe in ancient times? Or at least medieval times.

India for sur

I've done a fair amount of reading on the topic (one of the chapters in my book explores the end of Greco-Roman polytheism), so I can confidently say: the Mediterranean. As late as the ninth century, shepherds in remote corners of the Peloponnese were still worshiping the old gods.

@@toldinstone That's so interesting! Did greek gods influence the depiction of Hindu gods in any way like they did the Buddha?

@Zach it's one of THE BEST channels I've ever came across when it comes to my -history- section of channels. It's so amazing that we have first hand accounts of basically adventures of the unknown(for them anyway). It's so interesting to find cultures that had no clue of the entire globe going to complete opposite of cultures and intermingling, some even living in these places. Plus there's just sooo many accounts, I didn't even know we had this many. It truly is fascinating.

There does appear to contain elements of many religions that reflect each other amongst the long-surviving religions. The Buddhist sphere appears to be sun worship or a sun rising behind a monk in meditation. Which appears to symbolize enlightenment. Contrast this with any other religions that contain the same symbol and will come to conclude they formed through an adaptation with other religions. And so the coéxist unification of polytheist religions gain those attributes that are common amongst them and can identify them. Yet when looking at where they fall short is what they teach with regards to moral issues. These similar world religions contain a type of balance that gathers light and dark energies and cancels them into a sort of enlightenment. As if that enlightenment equals salvation from any evils that may result from living immorally. However based upon that hypothesis, knowledge alone does not equal salvation. It would be that morality can only be based on a concrete concept of the opposite quality of immorality. And that means a God that is Perfect. Very few religions teach of a God that is Perfect, but rather that of a universal energy that balances out imbalances within our metaphysical realm, which cannot be true if the God is Perfect. That God would not allow imperfection. So there must be a specific religion that teaches God entered into earth and showed us what Perfection is. And the answer to the spiritual aspects that begin to emerge become more clear which religion that is.

@Zach both are all I listen too!

You might enjoy Gore Vidal’s book Creation. Explores this concept via brilliant historical fiction.

You mean acts of conquering other nations. The Nazis think they are Aryan and the hold the swatsika which all comes from India

Would like to read it. Thanks

​@Noah Yes of course

Poor alexender killed by King porus 🗿🗿🗿

​@@NationalistBhartiya nah bro aisa nhi hua. Inha hate mat phela

IT WA PAKISTAN

wow.

30,000 monks from one of Asia's many Alexandrias is fairly notable, astonishing really as a convergence of cultures.

Why does it seem so strange to you? It's a circle. Who are the Greeks? A branch of Indo-Europeans who settled in (occupied) the Greek "peninsula" a few thousand years ago, introducing the Greek language. Since you're Buddhist, you're familiar with Pāli, an Indo-European language, younger than Sanskrit. Greeks settling in India after Alexander is like going to a place that their older cousins had settled much earlier. Even before Alexander, India was not unknown to Greeks. It's possible that Heraclitus had come across the teachings of his slightly older Shakyamuni Buddha. Some of the sayings of the former are eerily similar to those of the latter (ποταμοίς δε τοις αυτοί εμβένομέν τε και ότι εμβένομέν, ειμέν τε και ότι είμεν). Contacts did exist much before the Ashoka period.

I hope to visit the temples of Sri Lanka one day. I dream of one day being a monk myself.

@@bhutwheyttherismor86 u can become a monk in sri Lanka....

@Kal el Greeks were called Yavanas in Pali/Sanskrit

Goddamnit that's such a great insight

@Kal el Yavana is the sanskrit adaptation of the word Ionian

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF CHRIST THE HEENAYANA BUDHIST?

And wasn't Pythagoras called Yavanacharya in India? Literally the 'Greek Preceptor'...

Plenty of artifacts from that era in Pakistan.

Don't worry that you don't know. The less you know the more important you can be in this world. In fact, if you know nothing you could be president of the United States. Bush was one (or two). Trump was another. It didn't bother them that they knew jack shit about history (or geography). The more you know, about history or otherwise, the worse it is--according to some criteria.

@@PlethonGemistos what? I just like learning history man. I recently bought two books and mexican history. Guess im fucked then.

@@PlethonGemistos man thats deep.

Every textbook in school kept this as a paragraph tops. I knew Alexander invaded India but I was never given context or detail further

It could appear weird or amazing partly because what people are being taught in Greek schools, e.g. in history, are regurgitated clichés compiled by half-educated people. (This is not unique in Greece.) Besides, history is almost everywhere taught from a nationalistic viewpoint and is never accurate.

Imagine if Greece were Buddhist today instead of Christian. you even have the perfect monasteries for it, they feel very much like the ones in Bhutan

@@kushal4956 omg that would be amazing

​@@kushal4956 that could have led to the whole of Europe becoming Buddhist, instead of Christian. European polytheistic deities, like the Olympian and Norse pantheons, might have been incorporated into Buddhist mythology and iconography like Tibetan ones. Fascinating alternate history.

Poor alexender killed by King porus 🗿🗿🗿

I believe we're fascinated by such topics such as Bactrian kingdom as they are real life examples of what-if crossovers from at first, distant cultures. One other example that chastises the mind is Varangian guard, an example of "what if romans met vikings"

You forgot Pakistan as well.

No you dont.

@@laraerikson1423 pakistan never existed at that time Pakistan is artifically created nation by brits in 1947 It was akhand bharat( greater India)at that time

@@rudrajeet814 "Pakistan is artifically created nation by brits in 1947 " To be fair, India is also an artificial construction of British colonialism that would never have existed as a single state without that outside force. Way too many languages, ethnicities, and religions to ever naturally form into a single polity. India would likely still be a bunch of disparate kingdoms otherwise. Pakistan exists *because* Britain tried to smash a bunch of very different cultures, religions, and languages into a single country, and it naturally didn't work out.

The most important part of that Legacy is that he was a Monster. So, he obviously ain't someone to be celebrated. If he is celebrated, then Hitler should be, as well ...

@@DipayanPyne94 no, what is your people's obsession with comparing any great figure to Hitler?

@@lasislasfilipinas114 Your people ? Lol. What is that supposed to mean ? You are talking to me, just me. I compare Alexander with Hitler coz both were Evil. But yeah, Hitler was way more evil than Alexander ...

@@DipayanPyne94 I mean to say "You" rather than "Your" sorry but anyways Alexander is incomparable to the actions Hitler did, thats like comparing Pears to Apples, sure they have some similarities but they are wholey different things, Alexander did not use industrial means to slaughter human beings nor did Alexander advocate for a complete removal of races nor did Alexander seek to destroy religious groups, the only thing they did have in common was the Will to Conquer again Pears to Apples

@@DipayanPyne94 Not to mention Alexander's Conquests actually benefited Humanity in so many ways compared to Hitler, Hitler's war led to "Peace" because the World was so tired of fighting but it also led to a new Wars via proxies, to say that the world post WW2 is peaceful is to say that its peaceful because two guys have a gun aimed at each other, Alexander on the other hand essentially created the Silk Road and the Maritime Indian Ocean trade, the superhighway of International trsde even to this day, his conquests led to the Hellenization of the East, creation of Alexadria and although indirectly linked he created the idea of a unified Greece although you can argue that already existed prior

@Cyb3r It was.

Is there a big market of ancient Roman RU-vidrs?

Baaaaa!!

@@mrgummygod There should be!

@@mrgummygod Why wouldn't there be?

He's no Historia Civilis, but toldinstone is definitely a great content creator.

Finally, someone who mentions an alternative to the aniconic theory. Dr. Susan Huntington (Professor Emeritus at OSU) has lead this research and provides a compelling case for interpreting these images as pilgrimage sites and not life events.

Actually he was mentioning Zarmanochegas. Still fascinating nonetheless

We're all more alike than different!

Yup, Christianity is full of pagan concepts and iconography. It's likely that the image of God as a sky father type of figure was derived from an indo-european god. All indo-european religions seem to have a sky father type figure, like Zeus, deyus pitar, Tyr etc. Then obviously there are things like Christmas, the yule log etc. Yet, Christianity (and Islam, a simple derivative of Christianity/Judaism) act all high and mighty towards other faiths and how WRONG they must be.

@@Ashitaka255 I don't see where your argument leads. Many of these Christians & Muslims truly believe they're saving your soul from an eternity in hell. No proof of cultural influence is going to change that

@@braddotson3429 its not they wnat to save my soul from hell but its their greed for heven

@@SangitA well said, few and far between spoke out on how the religious are just so desperate for their salvation to the point of corrupting the original, holy intentions of their beliefs

Is Buddhism explicitly mentioned in his Meditations ??

Take a look at presocratics and you'll see the similarity between Marcus Aurelius and Buddhist themes. It is not unlikely that there were contacts. Even the slightest indirect contact could have had profound influence in the exchange of ideas. These were times when Judaism (and its subsequent offspring religions) hadn't polluted the atmosphere and so freer thought was possible. To an extent.

Takis, the PreSocratics or the Ancient Greeks, in general, were very different from Buddha. Even the Stoics, who had a lot in common with Buddha, had a very different mindset. Why so ? Well, simply because no Ancient Greek or Roman scholar understood Emotions and Sensations as well as Buddha. And why is that ? Well, that's because the Ancient Greeks just didn't know anything whatsoever about Vipassana, Dhyana, Samadhi etc etc. Ancient Greek thought doesn't lead to the elimination of mental suffering, coz it is obsessed with thinking. Buddha's teachings, on the other hand, are purely suffering oriented. Now, it is likely for the Ancient Greeks to have been influenced by Early Buddhism, via Pyrrho, who spent around 18 months in India and then returned to Greece. Do we have unquestionable evidence for this claim ? Well, not really. But, the Indian influence on Pyrrho did take place. But anyway ...

Absolutely

@@DipayanPyne94 Both my knowledge and appreciation of Buddhism and reading Plato's Dialogues helped me overcome my mental suffering.

where did you read that?

I want to know too

Well, Greek Iconography itself is Egyptian in Origin. For Evidence, read 'Chapter 5' of 'Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers' by Egyptologist Amelia Edwards.

Just because you whites from northern europe didn’t contribute with anything interesting until the middle ages doesn’t give you the right to make outlandish claims. :p

@@Reddy26 What? He might be wrong about Theravada Iconography, but Europeans did contribute a lot in the ancient times.

Our lorry drivers in Europe drive around the whole continent, and occasionally beyond. Do they contribute more than exchange students do to cultural exchange and intellectual ferment?

@@faithlesshound5621 As I'm sure you know, in ancient times long-distance traveling was much rarer, more difficult and perilous, and took a much longer time than now. It was not just a bunch of truck drivers breezing through to pick up and deliver loads. So those traveling were those with much more serious goals in mind including large armies, caravans of merchants, scholars, scientists, philosophers and seekers of esoteric knowledge.

From what I know, in Indian history school textbooks everything except the Mughal empire is mentioned in passing

@@nimkati5627 I think they're trying to fix that now. I can't believe how 80% of the book is about them, and one paragraph about chola kings, for example.

@@chicawhappa As far as I know, they learn in detail every Mughal emperor, while South India is mostly ignored. This exaggerated focus on a muslim empire is done because by doing so they believe that they make India look secular and inclusive. I've seen Hindu nationalists joking about that, that according to the secularists, everything prior to Mughals is mythology

it's not taught widely because it undermines modern ideas about indian nationalism

What remnants?

They're called Bactrians

@@TheColombiano89 the giant statues of the buddha the Taliban wrecked for one

@@TheColombiano89 A lot of the local Pashtun population are partially descended from Greco-Bactrians, who themselves were a mix of Greeks and Bactrians (a native Iranic people). One of the former residences of Alexander the Great is a Hash-smoking spot now for a lot of local Pashtuns

There are several episode on the archaeology of the Greco-Bactrian sites on a podcast called “The Ancients”. Particularly Bagram and AI Khanum.

The Indo-Greek kingdom lasted for 200 years

Your surname means "fear" in my language

@@kakalimukherjee3297 he is a European who stands with Ukraine, of course he has fear in his heart.

​@@kakalimukherjee3297 dhur In Bengali there's nothing called "isla" And "bhoy" in Bengali means fear

The Buddha didn't have any Guardians.... There were about 10 attempts to kill the buddha in the past & afterwards out of which 5 of ppl who tried to kill the buddha even became monks & got enlightened & some monks asked the buddha to have a guardian to which the buddha replied that it's impossible for anyone to guard the buddha & from the dhamma there's no one in the whole universe who can cause life threats to the Buddha....

@@thisulwickramarachchi2380 Perhaps Herkules didn't know that?

@riverbend _"That's strange"_ - what do you find strange?

It's the other way around. Ancient Vedic traditions spread all over Europe.

Lmao barbaric people talking about influence 🤣🤣🤣🤣 You do realise that Greek themselves were heavily influenced by surrounding civilization and Greece is not the birthplace of civilization

More like India influenced them

@@phoenixj1299 stop being such a insecure indian

@@user-uj2tk2tv3z stop bashing other cultures. Insecure indian

I saw the Riace Bronzes once, and was astonished by their craftsmanship. They would make fine additions to my new series on artifacts!

SALaM, SHLAMa, SHLOMo, SHALoM, NAMASTe, PEACe. The Star of David, Crucifix & The Crescent, Are Found In Hinduism. Vedas [Hindu Bible] Mentions Adam, Abraham, Moses, Noah & Muhammad, Within Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Adam Was Swayambhu Manu (4000BC), Cain Was Indra (3200BC), Noah Was Vaivaswat Manu (3000BC), Abraham Was Rama (2100BC) Moses Was Krishna (1500BC), Mahamada Was Muhammad. Origins in the Indus Valley, Visited By Adam [Sri Lanka], Noah, Abraham, Moses & Jesus. Hinduism Vedas = Monotheism Guru Books = Trinity & Polytheism. The Holy Kaaba was recorded by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus before Christ Era. Indian Hindu's Also Put A Red Dot, On Their Heads, Symbolising A Connection To The Kaaba, All Lost Knowledge, From Time. The Jewish Tefillin [Prayer Leather Box] With The Seven Straps Around The Arms, Relates To The Seven Circumambulation Around The Kaaba, Universes, Galaxies, Stars, Planets, Sun's, Moon's All Circumambulate, Glorifying The Oneness Of God. Hinduism Was The Largest Monotheistic Religion In Ancient Times, See Saudi Arabia For A 8,000 Year Old Hindu Temple Found Recently. Vedas [Hindu Bible]: There Is Only One God, There Is Only One Source, There Is Only One Supply. Buddhism Started In The Sixth Century BCE, He Told His People Not To Create An Idol Of Him, As Soon As He Died, They First Created An Aryan Idol Of Him, Then Ending With A Oriental Buddha, Going Against His Monotheistic Message & God's. But Modern Buddhists Believe In The Trinity, But With No God, Whilst Hindu's, Zoroastrians, Christians All Have Adopted The Trinity, From The Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks & Romans. Similar To The iPhone & iPad, The Trinity Became Fashionable. Buddhist Canon States: There Is Only One God, Whom Created Good & Evil. MUHAMMAD (PBUH) IN BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES [Dr. Zakir Naik] Buddha prophesised the advent of a Maitreya: Almost all Buddhist books contain this prophecy. It is in Chakkavatti Sinhnad Suttanta D. III, 76: "There will arise in the world a Buddha named Maitreya (the benevolent one) a holy one, a supreme one, an enlightened one, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe...

when the Abrahamic monotheists took over

greeks be getting around, the hybrid ethnic group of people called "mongur" around lake kokonor have a good percent of Mediterranean DNA, their territory was generally under tibetian control but 2s a centre of caravan trade and its likely that they may indeed have some obscure greek origins to atleast part of their history

No they weren't, most were persians, yuezhi, gandharan people, kashmiri and parthians who spread it through the north west section of ancient china. Whereas, Buddhism also spread to China through the maritime silk road which was done by south indians mostly.

alexander had to retreat from india after indians gave tough resistance

@@byron-ih2ge nope

@@171_indranildutta6 yup

I'm very glad that you're enjoying my book!

The Graeco-Indian kingdom lasted two centuries and 30 kings, it synergistically blended Greek and Indian ideas, even coins had Greek and Indian inscriptions on either sides

I forgot to add: see Praveen Mohan's channel. He studies lots of temples in India. Cheers~☆☆

Very glad to hear it! The audible comes out on October 26 (though unfortunately I'm not the narrator).

i second that, i find very few and scarce resources about the greco bactrian kingdoms

Certainly. My most important secondary source was Richard Stoneman's "The Greek Experience of India." This a comprehensive treatment of the Greeks in India, a bit diffuse for my tastes, but a sold and well-researched overview. You might also enjoy Grant Parker's "The Making of Roman India" - a little long on theory and short on material culture, but still an interesting introduction. Rachel Mairs has written several intriguing books about the Greeks in India and Bactria, and recently edited a sprawling survey of the whole region: "The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek World." I have to admit that I've only read a few chapters (the book is extremely expensive), but there's no better place to appreciate the current state of the scholarship.

@@toldinstone thank you, I look forward to reading them! Keep up the great content!

@@MonkeyspankO and for more of an overview, the wikipedia articles on greco-buddhism, greco-bactrian kingdoms and the indo-greek kingdoms are all pretty good!

Greeks were philosophers, and there begins the religious question what does it mean to be spiritual in a physical existence. The greatest Greek philosophies lead to stoicism and humility. Socrates believed that a singular God existed that ruled all others. This also seems to be the most credible doctrine based on the eclectic scholarship conclusions. There still remains to argue which is that single religion. Buddhism is a polytheist religion, so this refutes Buddhism as the correct religion to target as the true religion of the single overarching God, Ruler of the universe etc.

Polytheism is better at allowing that.

@@baneofbanes Yes, pluralism.

Ashoka was half Greek. He learned about Buddhism in Greco-Buddhist Ghandara. All the so-called Budhhist sutras in India were fabricated by Indians much later.

@@Anonymous------ Emperor Ashoka's mother is Dharma.his father is bindusara.both are mauryan.So it is wrong to sayAshoka is half Greek.And all the buddhist sutras in pali delivered by the buddha himself.And enlightened monks oraly transmitted them 454 years and written down in sri lanka.

@@Anonymous------ Ashoka was not half Greek.because his mother Dharma and father was king Bindusara.Both were Maurayans.Buddhist sutras in pali delivered by the Buddha himslf and oraly transmitted by his enlightened disciples for 454 years.And written down in sri lanka for the first time.

@@khp7425 Buddha Gotama was a Central Asia steppe nomadic tribal Sakan, that is why he was called the Sakamuni. The oldest Buddhist manuscripts written in Sakan language. The biggest ancient Buddhist site is Ghandara, in Persia at the time of legendary Buddha Gotma Sakamuni.

@@khp7425 Ashoka's grandmother was a Greek princess, this is well documented. Ashoka Pillars made in Greek design with Greek inscriptions.