Greek Monks Under Menander
The Indo-Greek king Menander I (reigned 160- 135 BCE) had his capital in Sagala, in today’s northern Punjab, and is described by Strabo as one of the most powerful Greek kings of the period, even greater than Alexander the Great.
Menander probably converted to Buddhism, and seems to have encouraged the spread of the faith within the Indian subcontinent, and possibly into Central Asia as well. A documented example of the influence of a Greek Buddhist monk is found in the Mahavamsa again:
Read more about this topic: Greco-Buddhist Monasticism
Famous quotes containing the words greek and/or monks:
“What is lawful is not binding only on some and not binding on others. Lawfulness extends everywhere, through the wide-ruling air and the boundless light of the sky.”
—Empedocles 484–424 B.C., Greek philosopher. The Presocratics, p. 142, ed. Philip Wheelwright, The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc. (1960)
“If you understand why a monkey in a family is always mocked and harassed, you understand why monks are rejected by all—both old and young.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)