QUES: Some of the most unusual effects of Hellenization can be seen in Afghanistan and India, in the region of the relatively late-arising Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC-125 BC) in modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan and the Greco-Indian Kingdom (180 BC - 10 CE) in modern Afghanistan and India. There on the newly formed Silk Road Greek culture apparently hybridized with Indian, and especially Buddhist culture. The resulting syncretism known as Greco-Buddhism heavily influenced the development of Buddhism and created a culture of Greco-Buddhist art. These Greco-Buddhist kingdoms sent some of the first Buddhist missionaries to China, Sri Lanka, and the Mediterranean (Greco-Buddhist monasticism). The first figural portrayals of the Buddha, previously avoided by Buddhists, appeared at this time; they were modeled on Greek statues of Apollo. Several Buddhist traditions may have been influenced by the ancient Greek religion: the concept of Boddhisatvas is reminiscent of Greek divine heroes, and some Mahayana ceremonial practices (burning incense, gifts of flowers, and food placed on altars) are similar to those practiced by the ancient Greeks. One Greek king, Menander I, probably became Buddhist, and was immortalized in Buddhist literature as 'Milinda'. The process of Hellenization extended to the sciences, where ideas from Greek astronomy filtered eastward and had profoundly influenced Indian astronomy by the early centuries AD. For example, Greek astronomical instruments dating to the 3rd century BC were found in the Greco-Bactrian city of Ai Khanoum in modern-day Afghanistan while the Greek concept of a spherical earth surrounded by the spheres of planets was adopted in India and eventually supplanted the long-standing Indian cosmological belief of a flat and circular earth. The Yavanajataka and Paulisa Siddhanta texts in particular show Greek influence.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Give an example of how Hellenized artforms were used in Indian art.

QUES: Mechanical energy is a combination of the energy of motion or position. This type of energy describes objects that are moving or could move. A moving ball can have energy from motion. An arrow can also have the energy of motion. Both are types of mechanical energy. Can you think of some other examples? Where does the energy of motion come from? It comes from the energy created by position. This energy is stored energy. This means it is not moving yet, but it has the potential to move. How can you store energy? The arrow gains energy from the drawn bow. As the arrow is released, the bow releases its stored energy and puts the arrow into motion. Can you think of some other ways to store energy using position?
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Why is it possible for a moving ball to still have energy of position?

QUES: While this process moved along, diplomacy continued its rounds. Direct pressure on the Taliban had proved unsuccessful. As one NSC staff note put it, "Under the Taliban, Afghanistan is not so much a state sponsor of terrorism as it is a state sponsored by terrorists." In early 2000, the United States began a high-level effort to persuade Pakistan to use its influence over the Taliban. In January 2000, Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth and the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, Michael Sheehan, met with General Musharraf in Islamabad, dangling before him the possibility of a presidential visit in March as a reward for Pakistani cooperation. Such a visit was coveted by Musharraf, partly as a sign of his government's legitimacy. He told the two envoys that he would meet with Mullah Omar and press him on Bin Laden. They left, however, reporting to Washington that Pakistan was unlikely in fact to do anything," given what it sees as the benefits of Taliban control of Afghanistan." President Clinton was scheduled to travel to India. The State Department felt that he should not visit India without also visiting Pakistan. The Secret Service and the CIA, however, warned in the strongest terms that visiting Pakistan would risk the President's life. Counterterrorism officials also argued that Pakistan had not done enough to merit a presidential visit. But President Clinton insisted on including Pakistan in the itinerary for his trip to South Asia. His one-day stopover on March 25, 2000, was the first time a U.S. president had been there since 1969. At his meeting with Musharraf and others, President Clinton concentrated on tensions between Pakistan and India and the dangers of nuclear proliferation, but also discussed Bin Laden. President Clinton told us that when he pulled Musharraf aside for a brief, one-on-one meeting, he pleaded with the general for help regarding Bin Laden." I offered him the moon when I went to see him, in terms of better relations with the United States, if he'd help us get Bin Laden and deal with another issue or two." The U.S. effort continued.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Who promised to meet Mullah Omar in order to discuss Bin Laden?

QUES: A handful of Bronze Age relics has fostered an assumption that prehistoric settlers inhabited Ibiza thousands of years ago. Greater evidence of such a people is found on Mallorca and Menorca than on Ibiza, but one of the Balearics' most important sites is actually on the island of Formentera, where the megalithic monument/tomb of Ca Na Costa has been dated to 2000 b.c. Ibiza's key location between Africa and ancient Iberia made it a convenient stopover for Mediterranean seafarers, such as the Phoenician traders, who called the island Ibosim. The Greeks dubbed it Ebysos, the Romans called it Ebusus, and the Moors, Yebisah. The Carthaginians: A detailed history of the island doesn't begin until it became a colony of Carthage in the 7th century b.c. . The Carthaginians originally came from the area comprising present-day Lebanon, and from their bases in North Africa and what's now Spain, they challenged the Roman Empire for domination of the Mediterranean region. Their interest in Ibiza lay partly in its vast salt flats, which to this day remain the source of a profitable industry. They capitalized on the natural resources by using the salt to cure fish, which they exported to their home country. The Carthaginians also carried out lead mining and continued to be of significance up until this century. It is believed that the lead pellets which were used by the Carthaginian general Hannibal were made on Ibiza. The Carthaginians also considered the island a holy place, and here in great splendour they buried thousands of their citizens in a huge necropolis on the Puig des Molins (Hill of the Windmills) below the Dalt Vila (Old Town) of Ibiza. Under the gnarled olive trees archaeologists have uncovered a treasure trove of statues, jewellery, pitchers, tools, and coins, which are now displayed in the town's two archaeological museums. The Romans never really infiltrated Ibiza, and even after the defeat of Hannibal in 202 b.c. during the Second Punic War their influence was restrained. Only with the fall of Carthage in 146 b.c. did they manage to make inroads, but, as local historians stress, Ibiza was neither conquered nor annexed by Rome, but confederated, retaining remarkable autonomy. For centuries to come the old Carthaginian traditions were allowed to continue on Ibiza alongside the new Roman way of life.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION:
Who never really infiltrated the island and had restrained influence in the Second Punic War?