HERACLES ~ THE GREEK PROTECTOR OF THE BUDDHA

Day 4,268, 11:07 • Published in Greece Greece • by Yavana

The mark of the Indo-Greek kingdoms on Buddhism, is well known. From King Menander, who protected and promoted Buddhism, to the art of Gandhara, the Greek influence is undoubted.

Before Hellenistic times, the Buddha and other deities were never depicted in art in a human form. Greek artisans innovated and gave the Buddha his first actual image.
Moreover, it was very common for Greek deities to be incorporated in foreign religions. Members of the Greek pantheon became very popular with foreign people, such as Atlas who appears on Buddhist monuments.

Also,the Hellenistic period saw Buddhism’s adoption of the Greek hero Heracles as a club- wielding protector of the Buddha.

In Alexander’s wake, Herakles had an extensive presence in the east in cult and iconography, from Dura, Palmyra, and Hatra to Ai Khanoum and the coins of the Bactrian kings. There is sufficient evidence, much of it artistic, to indicate that he and many of his qualities were well known in Gandhara and that artists approached him with insight and understanding. As for his connection with Buddha, Heracles’ renown for strength and endurance can reasonably be a major factor, along with his record of victory and travel to foreign lands.
Some scholars have advanced more specific agendas, such as an appeal to the Kushan kings that Buddhism was a religion of royalty, given Herakles’ association with the Bactrian and other kings. This appeal may have risen to a higher dimension: not only is Herakles the model and prototype of the ideal king, but the connotations go beyond earthly kingship and there is an assertion of the cosmic and spiritual kingship of Buddha.

This is seen in art from India, before eventually he was transported to Japan as a guardian deity (Nio). Heracles is easily recognizable in these depictions, and he was called Vajrapani.


https://greekasia.blogspot.com/2019/07/heracles-greek-protector-of-buddha.html