ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the region of Greater Gandhāra. The theories on three types of Greek influence on the culture of Gandhāra – in art, language, and Buddhist religiosity – are examined here. As regards Greek influence in the art of Gandhāra, the views of Foucher, who coined the term l’art gréco-bouddhique du Gandhâra to determine the Greek impact on the creation of the anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, are presented together with the polemic by Coomaraswami. The motive of Heracles – Vajrapāṇi serves to illustrate this problem. Regarding the Greek influence in the language of Gandhāra, the origin and development of the dialect Gāndhārī, as well as the works preserved in this dialect, are discussed here. These passages show that the dialect Gāndhārī was created during complicated transcultural processes. A theory of the establishment of the Dharmaguptaka sect by a Greek monk and the theory of the impact of the Greek papyrus on the adoption of scroll form for Gāndhārī texts are also presented here. As for Greek influence on Buddhist religiosity, views of Blair about the impact of the Greeks on the perception of the Buddha as a god by the Buddhists are discussed.
