Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
American Indians Colonize the Old world in 1250 BC
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Sepulchrave II" data-source="post: 7482840" data-attributes="member: 4303"><p>I think that the historical contacts between the Hellenistic and Buddhist spheres were rather more extensive than many people realize. As early as the 5th century BCE “Pythagoras” – whomever that name is supposed to represent – was attached to “oriental” practices: asceticism, vegetarianism, reincarnation and communal monasticism were all connected with the Pythagoreans. This is before Buddhism itself had even coalesced – probably from an earlier practice of which Jainism is another offshoot.</p><p></p><p>After Alexander’s death the Greco-Bactrian successor state practiced a fusion of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Hellenism.</p><p></p><p>Emperor Ashoka is recorded as having sent 250 Buddhist monks to Alexandria – this likely had a deep impact on developing Hermetic, Gnostic and other mystery cults; the sect of the Therapeutae, who were based on Lake Mariotis in Egypt, may have been a successor to these original missionaries: <em>Therapeutae</em> may be a corruption of <em>Theravada</em> – phonetically, the two names map perfectly. The Therapeutae are described later as the “first Christian monastic community.” Go figure.</p><p></p><p>The “halo” shown in Christian iconography is taken directly from Hellenized representations of Buddhas.</p><p></p><p>The Dharma wheel appears in Egyptian iconography in the last centuries BCE.</p><p></p><p>“Gymnosophists” – naked sages from India – are attested in a number of sources from the Greco-Roman world; Clement of Alexandria identifies some that revere Βούττα.</p><p></p><p>Apocryphal stories of early Christians such as Thomas “travelling to the East” are ciphers for incorporating Dharmic precepts into early Christian practice and literature.</p><p></p><p>The common representations of Buddhas in statuary – such as that posted by Thomas Bowman above – were shaped by Hellenistic aesthetics in Central Asia.</p><p></p><p>It’s worth remembering that Buddhism in its early stages was a fiercely missionary religion; proselytes were literally sent all over the known world. There was an awful lot of traffic along the Silk Road.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sepulchrave II, post: 7482840, member: 4303"] I think that the historical contacts between the Hellenistic and Buddhist spheres were rather more extensive than many people realize. As early as the 5th century BCE “Pythagoras” – whomever that name is supposed to represent – was attached to “oriental” practices: asceticism, vegetarianism, reincarnation and communal monasticism were all connected with the Pythagoreans. This is before Buddhism itself had even coalesced – probably from an earlier practice of which Jainism is another offshoot. After Alexander’s death the Greco-Bactrian successor state practiced a fusion of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Hellenism. Emperor Ashoka is recorded as having sent 250 Buddhist monks to Alexandria – this likely had a deep impact on developing Hermetic, Gnostic and other mystery cults; the sect of the Therapeutae, who were based on Lake Mariotis in Egypt, may have been a successor to these original missionaries: [I]Therapeutae[/I] may be a corruption of [I]Theravada[/I] – phonetically, the two names map perfectly. The Therapeutae are described later as the “first Christian monastic community.” Go figure. The “halo” shown in Christian iconography is taken directly from Hellenized representations of Buddhas. The Dharma wheel appears in Egyptian iconography in the last centuries BCE. “Gymnosophists” – naked sages from India – are attested in a number of sources from the Greco-Roman world; Clement of Alexandria identifies some that revere Βούττα. Apocryphal stories of early Christians such as Thomas “travelling to the East” are ciphers for incorporating Dharmic precepts into early Christian practice and literature. The common representations of Buddhas in statuary – such as that posted by Thomas Bowman above – were shaped by Hellenistic aesthetics in Central Asia. It’s worth remembering that Buddhism in its early stages was a fiercely missionary religion; proselytes were literally sent all over the known world. There was an awful lot of traffic along the Silk Road. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
American Indians Colonize the Old world in 1250 BC
Top