page_title: Indica (Megasthenes)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Indica (Megasthenes) / India according to the reconstructed text / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Monumental capital with Greek artistic influence, discovered in 1895 at the royal palace in Pataliputra, India, by L.A. Waddell. Dated to the early Mauryan period. It has been described as a "Perso-Ionic capital" (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland). Excavated at Bulandi Bagh in Patna. Patna Museum. Length 49 inches (1.23 meters), height 33.5 inches (0.85 meter). Unpolished buff sandstone. A much more modern photograph. A 2018 photograph while at an exhibit in Mumbai. and here also.
context_page_description: Indika is an account of Mauryan India by the Greek writer Megasthenes. The original book is now lost, but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works. The earliest of these works are those by Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Pliny, and Arrian.
context_section_description: In the primitive times, the Indians lived on fruits and wore clothes made of animal skin, just like the Greeks. The most learned Indian scholars say that Dionysus invaded India, and conquered it. When his army was unable to bear the excessive heat, he led his soldiers to the mountains called Meros for recovery; this led to the Greek legend about Dionysus being bred in his father's thigh (meros in Greek). Dionysus taught Indians several things including how to grow plants, make wine and worship. He founded several large cities, introduced laws and established courts. For this reason, he was regarded as a deity by the Indians. He ruled entire India for 52 years, before dying of old age. His descendants ruled India for several generations, before being dethroned and replaced by democratic city-states.
  The Indians who inhabit the hill country also claim that Herakles was one of them. Like the Greeks, they characterize him with the club and the lion's skin. According to them, Herakles was a powerful man who subjugated evil beasts. He had several sons and one daughter, who became rulers in different parts of his dominion. He founded several cities, the greatest of which was Palibothra (Pataliputra). Herakles built several places in this city, fortified it with water-filled trenches and settled a number of people in the city. His descendants ruled India for several generations, but never launched an expedition beyond India. After several years, the royal rule was replaced by democratic city states, although there existed a few kings when Alexander invaded India.
caption: Pataliputra capital, showing Greek and Persian influence, early Mauryan Empire period, 4th–3rd century BC.
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