This type of head with the band of a Greek king is also seen on reliefs at Sanchi, in which man in northern dress are seen riding horned and winged lions.[5]
It has been suggested that the warrior is actually the
The inscription at the top, classified as Inscription 55 in the Pillars of Railing of the SW Quadrant at Bharhut (The Stupa of Bharhut, Cunningham, p. 136 [1]), is in the Brahmi script and reads from left to right:
Inscription 55 in the Pillars of Railing of the SW Quadrant at Bharhut.
"Bhadanta Mahilasa thabho dânam"
"Pillar-gift of the lay brother Mahila."
— Inscription of the Bharhut Yavana
Other instances of foreigners in Indian Temples
Besides this relief in Bharhut, devotees in Greek attire also appear in number at the Buddhist Stupa of Sanchi.
Some of them appear to be making a dedication to Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa.[9] The official notice at Sanchi reads "Foreigners worshiping Stupa". The relief shows 18 of these foreigners and 4 Gandharva celestial deities in the sky above.
These have been called "Greek-looking foreigners"
Indo-Greeks. The men are depicted with short curly hair, often held together with a headband of the type commonly seen on Greek coins
.
Three inscriptions are known from
Yavana donors at Sanchi, the clearest of which reads "Setapathiyasa Yonasa danam" ("Gift of the Yona of Setapatha"), Setapatha being an uncertain city.[12]
Around 113 BCE,
Indo-Greek ruler Antialcidas, is known to have dedicated a pillar, the Heliodorus pillar, around 5 miles from Sanchi, in the village of Vidisha
^Didactic Narration: Jataka Iconography in Dunhuang with a Catalogue of Jataka Representations in China, Alexander Peter Bell, LIT Verlag Münster, 2000 p.18
^ abc"The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p.112
^Faces of Power: Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politics by Andrew Stewart p.180
^"The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p.112 Note 90
^ ab"The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p.112 Note 91
^Faces of Power: Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politics, Andrew Stewart, University of California Press, 1993 p.180
^Popular Controversies in World History: Investigating History's Intriguing Questions [4 volumes]: Investigating History's Intriguing Questions, Steven L. Danver, ABC-CLIO, 2010 p.91
^Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh, Upto 8th Century A.D., Omacanda Hāṇḍā, Indus Publishing, 1994 p.48
^John Marshall, A Guide to Sanchi, 1918 p.57ff (Public Domain text)
^Susan Huntington, "The art of ancient India", p. 100
^"The Greeks evidently introduced the himation and the chiton seen in the terracottas from Taxila and the short kilt worn by the soldier on the Sanchi relief." in Foreign influence on Indian culture: from c. 600 B.C. to 320 A.D., Manjari Ukil Originals, 2006, p.162
^Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD, Julia Shaw, Left Coast Press, 2013 p.90
![Foreigner on a horse, circa 115 BCE, Stupa No2.[13][14]](/File:Sanchi_Stupa_2_man_on_horse.jpg)
![Foreigners holding grapes and riding winged lions, Sanchi Stupa 1, Eastern Gateway.[5]](/File:Foreigners_riding_winged_lions_Sanchi_Stupa_1_Eastern_Gateway.jpg)
