Ancient Greeks converted to Buddhism

The Ancient Greeks who converted to Buddhism

(ReligionForBreakfast) Greece is far from the heartland of early Buddhism, which is in parts of modern Afghanistan and Pakistan [ancient Gandhara] and India [Magadha and Bihar].

The historical Buddha

But thanks to the Macedonian Alexander the Great, Hellenistic and Buddhist cultures came into contact in the 4th century BCE, creating a cultural synthesis known as Greco-Buddhism.

• 00:00 A Greco-Bactrian Buddhist inscription
• 1:41 The Hellenistic "Far East"
• 4:10 Pyrrho: a Buddhist for Greece?
• 7:42 Emperor Ashoka and his Dharma conquest
• 10:23 King Menander (Milinda): the most famous Greek Buddhist
• 13:26 Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara
• 15:23 Syncretism?
• 16:44 Nebula! Indie creators being awesome

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters. Get Nebula using link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/religionforbreakfast... Watch Archaeology Quest: nebula.tv/videos/realscience...

Join Patreon community: religionforbreakfast One-time donations: paypal.me/religionforbreakfast... Sign-up for mailing list to be notified of online classes: classes.religionforbreakfast....

• ReligionForBreakfast, May 10, 2024; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly