Arrian's Indike on India: Intention and Reality

Author(s): Franz Ferdinand Schwarz

Source: East and West, Vol. 25, No. 1/2 (March-June 1975), pp. 181-200
Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)
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 Arrian's Indike on India: Intention and Reality

by Franz Ferdinand Schwarz

Francisco Altheim,
investigatori antiquitatis amplissimo

? Probably the best known, and certainly the most picturesque of the Hellenistic
Utopian states is that which is described in the second book of Diodorus, and is there
attributed to a certain adventurer Iambulus ? who is, apart from this passage, known
only to Lucianus (ver. hist. 1,3) (2). In chapters 48-54 of the second book of his
?i?XtodrjxT] latoQixfj Diodorus Siculus deals with Arabia and the region in the south
of this country. And concerning the Indian Ocean ? which is mostly called the Red
Sea ('Epu?oa OdXaaaa) (3), seldom Tv?ix?c, 'Qxeavdc, (4) or simply \ieydh\ {MXaaaa
Diodorus speaks of an island which has been discovered in the south of the ocean.
And thinking that there are marvellous tales connected with the discovery of the island,
he states (II 55,2): 9Ia\i?ovXo<; fjv ex jtai8oov Jtcu?eiav l^nXcoxcog, |ieta ?e tt|V xov naxobq
tstaircf]v ovtoc, ejujtdoou xal avxbc, eScoxev eaarc?v ejti tt]v IjAjtooLav (5).
On the one hand Iambulus, from his boyhood, had been devoted to learning (and
was of course an educated man), on the other hand, his father was a merchant and
he after a while had become a merchant himself. It is of some importance to remem

(*) This paper was presented as a lecture at

pp. 9 ff. (141 ff.); F. Altheim, Weltgeschichte
the Center for Hellenic Studies (Washington,Asiens im griechischen Zeitalter, II, Halle, 1948,
D.C.) on April 25, 1972, and as a report (? Arpp. 156-62; R. Helm, Der antike Roman, G?t?
rians Indike: Tendenz und Wirklichkeit?) at tingen, 1956, pp. 26 ff.; F. Altheim, R. Stiehl,
the 12e Conference Internationale du Comite Die Araber in der Alten Welt, 1, Berlin, 1964,
pp. 80-92; W. W. Tarn, Alexander der Grosse,
"Eirene" in Cluj (Roumania) on October 3, 1972.
Darmstadt, 1968, pp. 766-70.
The following abbreviations have also been used:
GRBS - Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; (3) After the name of King Erythras (cf. Arr.
RE - Paulys Real-Encyclop?die der Classischen Ind. 37,3).
Altertumswissenschaft, hrsg. von G. Wissowa, (4) Cf. J. D. M. Derrett, ?Indischer Ozean?,
Stuttgart; KIPauly - Der Kleine Pauly. Lexikon KIPauly, 2, 1967, cols. 1398 f.
der Antike, Stuttgart. The abbreviations used in (5) I.e.: ? There was a certain Iambulus who
from his boyhood up had been devoted to the
the Chronological Table of Arrian's Biography and
Works are listed in note 78. pursuit of education, and after the death of his
(*) W. E. Brown, ?Some Hellenistic Uto? father, who had been a merchant, he also gave
pias?, Classical Weekly, 48, 1955, p. 61. himself to that calling? (transl. by C. H. Old
(2) For Iambulus cf. W. W. Tarn, ? Alexan?father, Diodorus of Sicily, II, Cambridge, Mass.
London, 1935).
der the Great and the Unity of Mankind?,
Proceedings of the British Academy, 19, 1933,

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ber that as a merchant he was able to make the following voyage, a voyage which ?
except in a few cases ? only merchants could make and which only merchants had
made for centuries.
At first Iambulus was travelling ?inland to the spice-bearing country of
Arabia ? fctva?aivcov be 8ia tfjg 'Apa?ias eVi tt]v dpco^atoqpoQov), which is probably
Somaliland (6). But he and his companions were captured by Arabian robbers, and later
he and one companion by certain Ethiopians, who had kidnapped the two for the express
purpose of using them as scapegoats for the purification of their country. For there
existed a rite which had to be performed every 600 years (55,3: 6id yeve&v etxoaiv,
8T(ov 8* e^axoaicov, tfjg yeve?c; ?oi&^ovuivr|c; tq laxovtaetoi^ ). So they were brought
to the coast of Ethiopia (7), and for this purification the Ethiopians put the two
men in a small boat with provisions for six months and sent them off southward,
uttering the threat that if they returned they would meet a most terrible fate. But if
they persevered they would come to a very blissful land. After four months' sailing
across the vast sea (55,6: nlevoavxac, neXayoq uiya xat /ei\ia?$evxac, ) the navigators reached
a wonderful island of round shape with a circumference of 5000 Stades.
For seven years Iambulus and his friend lived on that island, which is described
as a kind of paradise. Doubtless it would be very interesting to present the description
of the nature, scenery, and the extraordinary climatic conditions of the island and of the
state, the customs, the society, and the religion of its inhabitants, but it would be too
much for this paper.
It is said that after seven years Iambulus and his comrade were ejected from this
Sun-state (8) ? as being malefactors and having been educated to evil habits ? (60,1:
&g KVLKovoyovc, xal Jtovrjpolg eftiajioic; avvxe&Qa\i\ievovc,). So they again prepared their
boat and then they sailed over the ocean more than four months. And the Iambulus
romance comes to its end as follows (60,2-3): exjteaeiv be xax? tt)V Tv8ixtjv elq au.u.ov<; %al
xevay&beiq xonovq * xal t6v [ikv ereoov axjtcav vtzo xov Kkvbwvoq 8iaqpdaofjvat, tov be Ta^fjcruXov
jtodg ttva K(?\iy)v JtpoaeveX'frevTa vko tcov eyxcoQicov ava/j&ijvat Jto?g tov ?aadea eig jtoXiv
IlaAi?o&Qa, jtOAACov t)jieQQ)v 68?V aite/ovoav tfjc; ftakdxx^c,. ovxoq be (piasaatjvoc; xov ?aaiXecog
xal Jtai8eta<; avreyofxevou, \iey dkr[q avxbv djco8o/fjg xata^icaaai * to be xeXevxalov \xexd xivoq

(6) Cf. E. Rohde, Der griechische Roman und
seine Vorl?ufer, 4 th ed., Darmstadt, 1960, p.
244, note 1. Altheim, Stiehl, loc. cit.} p. 84,
say: ? Iambulos w?re demnach vom Land der
Nabat?er, etwa von Hegr? aus, die Weihrauch?
strasse ?ber Ded?n, Yatrib, Mekka nach SanV
und dem Yemen gezogen?.
(7) Cf. Altheim, Stiehl, loc. cit.\ ? So war
es m?glich, dass ?thiopen, die von der Nord?
k?ste Abessiniens, etwa vom heutigen Eritrea
aus, ?bers Rote Meer kamen, ihn erneut raubten
und an das gegen?berliegende Gestade verschlepp?
ten ?. Cf. also F. Altheim, R. Stiehl, ?Be
duinisierung?, Antike und Universalgeschichte
(Festschrift H.-E. Stier), M?nster, 1972, p. 296.
(8) Cf. A. B. Ranowitsch, Der Hellenismus
und seine geschichtliche Rolle, Berlin, 1958, pp.
312 f.; Altheim, Stiehl, Die Araber in der
Alten Welt, 1, cit., pp. 87 ff.; W. W. Tarn,
Die Kultur der hellenistischen Welt, 3rd ed.,
Darmstadt, 1966, pp. 144 ff.; R. Vischer,
Das einfache Leben. Wort- und motivgeschichtli?
che Untersuchungen zu einem Wertbegriff der
antiken Literatur, G?ttingen, 1965, pp. Ill f.;
C. Schneider, Kulturgeschichte des Hellenismus,
II, M?nchen, 1969, pp. 321 f.

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daqpodetac, to \iev aqcotov eig tx\v Hegoiba SieXdetv, voxeqov 8e eic, tt]v cEM.d8a 8iaaco{Kjvai

That quite a lot more was told about India itself by Iambulus ? which is omitted
in the excerpt and therefore unfortunately lost ? can be seen by the next sentence, where
Diodorus (60,3) states: 6 8e 'Iafi?ou^og [ourocj taftrd re dvaypaqpfjc, f^icooe xal mol tcov
xatd tt]V 9Iv8ixr]v ovx oXiya owstd^axo tcov dyvoovpievcov jtapd tolc, aXkoig (10).
One would like to identify the island described in that passage with Ceylon (ia),
which is possible, because Ceylon was already known (even if vaguely) to Onesicritus
(Strab. XV 1,15 C 691) (12) under the name of Taprobane (Skr.: T?mraparm; P?li:
Tambapanni) (13). If we can refer some passages in Pliny and Aelianus to Megasthenes
too (14), this Seleucid ambassador had obtained some information about Taprobane at
Candragupta's court in P?taliputra (15). In other words that may mean that Iambulus,
who, like the later Iamblichus (16), had a good command of Greek and was familiar with
Hellenistic culture, had read the accounts of India such as the one by Onesicritus, or maybe
by other Alexander historians, as e.g. Megasthenes or Daimachos (17). But we are sure that
at the end of the 2nd century B.C. the epoch of sailing to India was started, which

(9) I.e.: ? Then they were shipwrecked upon
a sandy and marshy region of India; and his
companion lost his life in the surf, but Iambulus,
having found his way to a certain village, was
then brought by the natives into the presence
of the king at Palibothra, a city which was
distant a journey of many days from the sea.
And since the king was friendly to the Greeks
and devoted to learning he considered Iambulus
worthy of cordial welcome; and at length, upon
receiving a permission of safe-conduct, he passed
over first of all into Persia and later arrived
safe in Greece ? (transl. by Oldfather).
(10) I.e.: ? Now Iambulus felt that these
matters deserved to be written down, and he
added to his account not a few facts about
India, facts of which all other men were ignorant
at that time? (transl. by Oldfather).
(n) Cf. C. H. Oldfather's foot-note in his
Loeb edition of Diodorus (II 55,1); W. Kroll,
? Iambulos?, RE, IX, 1914, col. 682, though
Schneider, op. cit., I, 1967, p. 824 does not
believe that proposed identification to be correct.
Ch. Lassen, Indische Altertumskunde, 2nd ed.,
III 1, Osnabr?ck, 1968, pp. 253-71, thinks of
Bali (but cf. Rohde, op. cit., p. 251, note 1).
(12) Cf. O. Stein, ?Megasthenes?, RE, XV
1, 1931, col. 296; T. S. Brown, Onesicritus. A
Study in Hellenistic Historiography, Berkeley
Los Angeles, 1949, pp. 99, 104; but Herrmann,
?Taprobane?, RE, IV A, 1932, col. 2263.
(13) Cf. Lassen, op. cit., I 1, p. 240, note 1;
III 1, pp. 212 f.; G. C. Mendis, ?Ceylon?,
in K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (ed.), A Comprehen?
sive History of India, 2. The Mauryas and Sata
vahanas, Bombay-Calcutta-Madras, 1957, p. 574.
(14) Cf. Fragm. inc. XVIII, LVI 30, LIX
30, 32-33 Schwanbeck; E. Peiris, ?Greek and
Roman Contacts with Ceylon ?, Ceylon Historical
Journal, 10, 1960-61, pp. 10 f.
(15) It ought to be noticed that there existed
Mauryan influence on South India and Ceylon,
especially under Asoka (cf. M. D. Raghavan,
India in Ceylonese History, Society and Culture,
2nd ed., Bombay-New York, 1969, pp. 14 ff.;
F. F. Schwarz, ? Die Griechen und die Maurya
Dynastie ?, in F. Altheim, R. Stiehl, Geschichte
Mittelasiens im Altertum, Berlin, 1970, p. 281).
For the Mauryan invasion of South India cf.
S. K. Aiyangar, Ancient India and South Indian
History and Culture, 1, Poona, 1941, pp. 53
58; for the extension of Buddhism in the Mauryan
period cf. ?. Lamotte, Histoire du bouddhisme
indien, 2nd ed., Louvain, 1967, pp. 291-97,
319-39.
(16) Cf. Altheim, op. cit., p. 163; U. Schnei
der-Menzel, ?Jamblichos' "Babylonische Ge?
schichten" ?, in F. Altheim, Literatur und Ge?
sellschaft im ausgehenden Altertum, I, Halle,
1948, pp. 91 f.
(17) Cf. F. F. Schwarz, ?Daimachos von
Plataiai. Zum geistesgeschichtlichen Hintergrund
seiner Schriften?, in R. Stiehl, H. E. Stier,
Beitr?ge zur Alten Geschichte und deren Nachle?
ben (Festschrift F. Altheim), I, Berlin, 1969,
pp. 293-304.

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development was, as it were, forced by the government of Egypt (18). And as we know
that merchants especially were involved in the Indian trade-business and that they primarily
founded the tradition of going to India's coasts by ship, we must realize that Iambulus
was a merchant ("). In this connection it is interesting to look at a short passage in
Strabo (XV 1,4 C 686), in which we are told: Kai 01 vvv 8e e; AtyvrcTcru rcXeovtec, eLutotnxol
tco NeiXco xal reo 'Apa?icp xdXjtcp fxe^pi tfjc, TvSixfjc, ajtdvioi fxev xal rteotftejrXe'uxaai ^i/jn xov
rdYY0^? Kai ovxoi S9 iSicotai xal ovSev jtpoc, icrtoptav ttov tdjtcov /Qr\oi\ioi (20).

Diodorus and Strabo are to be placed roughly in the same period, an epoch in
which quite a lot was known about India. And the Iambulus romance in Diodorus also
shows quite a good knowledge of India and its geographical situation. We remember
that a story was told about a voyage from what may be Somaliland to the coast of Ethiopia
and from there to an island in the Indian Ocean (probably Ceylon), and from this island
along the east coast of the Indian peninsula to the delta of the Ganges and then to Pali
bo thra. This is the old Indian P?taliputra (21) close to the modern Patna in Bih?r. And
we are told by Diodorus that Iambulus knew about the possibility of going by boat around
Cape Comorin up to the Ganges area and then to the famous residence of the Maurya
dynasty in Palibothra. Consequently, it is not difficult to reconstruct in rough outlines
the way Iambulus had described; it is the route of the first navigators of the Indian
Ocean.
At the court of Sandracottus, the Indian Candragupta (22), Megasthenes was the am?
bassador (c. 303/302 B.C.) of Seleucus I Nikator. And from that time on ? Alexander's
conquest in the Indus region was of no consequence as far as Graeco-Indian relations
were concerned ? several Greek ambassadors had visited the capital of that mighty dynasty
in ancient Magadha. One of the most important after Megasthenes was Daemachus of
Plataeae, important because he had composed a monograph on India, of which we possess
only a few scattered fragments. But there exists a short passage originally written by
Daemachus, as suggested by historical evidence (23). We are acquainted with that story
by Athenaeus, who in fact took an excerpt from the tales of a Hellenistic story-collector
named Hegesandrus (2nd century B.C.). And it seems to be interesting, in view of the

(18) Cf. H. G. Rawlinson, Intercourse be?
tween India and the Western World, 2nd ed.,
New York, 1971, pp. 88-100; F. F. Schwarz,
?Neue Perspektiven in den griechisch-indischen
Beziehungen?, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung,
67, 1972, pp. 18 ff.
?Tradespeople from Southern Arabia
were the foreign merchants most often to be
seen in India ? (F. M. Heichelheim, An Ancient
Economic History, 3, Leiden, 1970, p. 98).
(20) I.e.: ? As for the merchants who now sail
from Aegypt by the Nile and the Arabian Gulf
as far as India, only a small number have sailed
as far as the Ganges; and even these are merely
private citizens and of no use as regards the
history of the places they have seen? (transL
by H. L. Jones, The Geography of Strabo, VII,
Cambridge, Mass.-London, 1961).
(21) Cf. D. Schlingloff, Die altindische
Stadt. Eine vergleichende Untersuchung (Aka?
demie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur
Mainz, 1969, 5), pp. 29-44; F. F. Schwarz,
? Pali(m)bothra?, KIPauly, 4, 1970, cols. 426 f.
(22) Cf. F. F. Schwarz, ?Candragupta-San
drakottos. Eine historische Legende in Ost und
West?, Das Altertum, 18, 1972, pp. 85-102.
(23) Cf. Schwarz, ? Daimachos von Plataiai ?,
cit., pp. 293 ff.

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last passage we read of Iambulus, to look at the sentences which run as follows (Athen.
XIV 67,652 F): a>? xctl ?A\nxQo^dxr\v xov tcov TvScov ?acriXea yocnjxxi 'Avrto/co aliovvxa,
cprjalv cHyrjcrav?QO<;, Jte^ai avxcb ylvuvv xal la/abac, xai aocptatr]v dyoodtfavTa. xal tdv 3Avuo/ov
avtiyoa^ai' lo^dbaq \ikv xal yXuxuv djtoateXovpiev aoi, aocpioxr\v b9 ev c'Eaat]<7iv ov v?\ii\xov
jtcoAela&ai (24).
These letters show that the Seleucid Antiochus I Soter (293-261 B.C.) and the Indian
sovereign, Amitrochates (25), alias Bindus?ra (c. 300-273 B.C.) were on very friendly
terms. And we know from Indian sources that Bindus?ra was closely connected with the
so-called ?jlvika sect (26), in which were taught doctrines (2T) similar to those of the
Cynics and the Sceptics, and both of these Greek schools were interested in the philo?
sophies of the barbarians (28). Besides it is well known that it was the custom at Indian
courts to have open discussions with various philosophical and theological schools (29).
Furthermore, we are informed by the Indian inscriptions of Bindus?ra's successor, Dev?
n?mpriya Asoka (<:. 269-232 B.C.) (30), whose real name, Piyadassi (Skr.: Priyadarsin), is
preserved in his Greek inscriptions as Uwbdaar[q (31), that this monarch was in diplo?
matic contact with Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, and Cyrene. Asoka says in the 13th
rock-edict (32): ? And moreover the Beloved of the Gods (33) has gained this victory (34)

(24) I.e.: ?Even Amitrochates, the king of
India, wrote to Antiochus begging him, as
Hegesander says, to purchase and send him
grape-syrup, figs, and a sophist. And Antiochus
wrote back. "Figs, to be sure, and grape-syrup
we will dispatch to you, but it is against the
law in Greece to sell a sophist" ? (transl. by Ch.
B. Gulick, Athenaeus. The Deipnosophists, VI,
Cambridge, Mass.-London, 1937).
(25) Which is the Greek version of the Sans?
krit compounds amitragh?ta or atnitrakh?da mean?
ing 'slayer of foes5 or ceater of foes' (cf. F. F.
Schwarz, ?Mauryas und Seleukiden. Probleme
ihrer gegenseitigen Beziehungen ?, Innsbruck Bei?
tr?ge zur Kulturwissenschaft, 14, 1968, pp. 227 f.).
(26) Cf. H. C. Raychaudhuri, ? Chandragupta
and Bindusara?, in K. A. Nilakanta Sastri
(ed.), Age of the Nandas and Mauryas, 2nd ed.,
Delhi-Varanasi-Patna, 1967, p. 169; R. Thapar,
Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, 2nd ed.,
Oxford, 1963, pp. 18, 26 f., 139 f.
(27) Cf. H. Zimmer, Philosophies of India,
2nd ed., Princeton, 1971, pp. 262-68; E. Frau
wallner, Geschichte der indischen Philosophie,
I, Salzburg, 1953, pp. 270 ff.
(28) E.g. Onesicritus wrote as an admirer and
disciple of Diogenes of Sinope (cf. Brown, Onesi?
critus, cit., pp. 24-53), and Pyrrho of Elis travelled
to India, fascinated by the Indian philosophies
(cf. A. M. Frenkian, ?Der griechische Skeptizis?
mus und die indische Philosophie?, Bibliotheca
Classica Orientalis, 3, 1958, pp. 212-49).
(29) Cf. R. K. Mookerji, Ancient Indian
Education, 4th ed., Delhi-Patna-Varanasi, 1969,
pp. 532 ff., and the beginning of the famous
Milindapahho (p. 2 Trenckner), cthe questions
of King Milinda (i.e. Menandros)'; here a descrip?
tion of the king's residence, S?gala, is given,
which is said to resound with ? cries of welcome
to the teachers of every creed, and the city is
the resort of leading men of each of the different
sects ? (transl. by T. W. Rhys Davids).
(30) Cf. H. Scharfe, ? The Maurya Dynasty
and the Seleucids ?, Zeitschrift f?r vergleichende
Sprachforschung, 85, 1971, pp. 211-25.
(31) Cf. Schwarz, ? Die Griechen und die
Maurya-Dynastie?, cit,, pp. 309 ff.
(32) Version of Sh?hbh?zgarhi, which can be
identified with 'Opo?a-cig (cf. P. H. L. Egger
mont, ? Alexander's Campaign in Gandh?ra and
Ptolemy's List of Indo-Scythian Towns ?, Orien
talia Lovaniensia Periodica, 1, 1970, pp. 68-75).
For the middle-Indian text cf. J. Bloch, Les
inscriptions d'Asoka, Paris, 1950, p. 130; for
the translation R. Basak, Asokan Inscriptions,
Calcutta, 1959, p. 72; Thapar, op. cit., p. 256.
(33) I.e. dev?n?mpriya, which is according to
Scharfe, op. cit., pp. 215 f., a translation of
the Hellenistic court title <f?Xo? twv paoiXewv.
(34) I.e. the dharmavijaya, cthe victory of the
Law of piety5 of which Asoka speaks at the
beginning of this section: ? The Beloved of the
Gods considers victory by the dharma (i.e. the
Law of piety) to be the foremost victory ?.

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on all his frontiers to a distance of six hundred yojanas (i.e. about 1500 miles), where
reigns the Greek king named Antiochus, and beyond the realm of that Antiochus in the
lands of the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas, and Alexander; and in the
south over the Colas and P?ndyas as far as T?mraparni (i.e. Ceylon) ?. The Greek kings
mentioned in that inscription are: Antiochus II Theos of Syria (261-246), Ptolemy II
Philadelphus of Egypt (285-247), Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia (276-239), and Magas
of Cyrene (before 250). King Alexander is either Alexander of Corinth (252-244) or
Alexander of Epirus (272-255).
Therefore it is not surprising if one reads that Iambulus was welcomed by an Indian
sovereign who was friendly with the Greeks and devoted to learning and education. This
is exactly the atmosphere of that time in P?taliputra.
Taking all this into account, I would not maintain that Iambulus' story was written
in the 3rd century B.C. (35), firstly because the philhellenic dynasty of the Mauryas had
continued until the first quarter of the 2nd century B.C. (36), secondly because Candra
gupta (3T) for instance was too much involved in politics in order to build up his own
empire to be considered the king referred to by Iambulus. Besides his contacts with the
Greeks might have been a little too aloof for any one to call him in this way amicable
towards the Hellenic West (38) ? a picture of the first Maurya never drawn by a real
expert in Indicis, Megasthenes. No doubt Amitrochates/Bindus?ra or even Asoka (39)
would offer a better basis for the historical background of the Iambulus story. Further?
more we have to consider that the tradition of sailing to India was started more than
one hundred years after Candragupta. I think we can state that there is more evidence
pointing to the beginning or even the middle of the 2nd century B.C., which means
approximately the reign of Asoka's successor, Dasaratha (40).

(35) Cf. Kroll, op. cit., p. 683; Altheim,
Stiehl, Die Araber in der Alten Welt, 1, cit., p.
86; Tarn, Die Kultur der hellenistischen Welt,
cit., p. 144; W. R?llig, ?Iambulos?, KIPauly,
2, 1967, cols. 1308 f.
(36) About 185-180 B.C. Brhadratha, the last
prince of the Mauryas, was killed by Pusyamitra,
who afterwards established the dynasty of the
Sungas; they didn't cultivate the contacts with
the Greeks any more (cf. V. A. Smith, The
Early History of India, 4th ed., Oxford, 1967,
p. 204; Jagannath, ? Post-Mauryan Dynasties?,
in Nilakanta Sastri, A Comprehensive History
of India, cit., p. 94; Thapar, op. cit., p. 196.
(37) Cf., further, F. Susemihl, Geschichte
der griechischen Literatur in der Alexandriner?
zeit, I, Leipzig, 1891, p. 325.
(38) Cf. Seleucus' fight with Candragupta in
c. 305 B.C. and the following alliance of friend?
ship and treaty (cf. L. Skurzak, ? Le traite syro
indien de paix en 305, selon Strabon et Appien
d'Alexandrie?, Eos, 54, 1964, pp. 225-29;
Schwarz, ?Die Griechen und die Maurya-Dyn
astie?, cit., pp. 282 f.; Scharfe, op. cit., pp.
216 f.).
(39) N. Ray (? Mauryan Art ?, in Nilakanta
Sastri, Age of the Nandas and Mauryas, cit.,
p. 354) thinks of ?Bindus?ra or at least one
of the first three Maurya monarchs?.
(40) It is well attested by the N?g?rjunI Hill
Cave Inscriptions (cf. D. C. Sircar, Select In?
scriptions Bearing on Indian History and Civ?
ilization, 1, Calcutta, 1965, pp. 77 f.) that
Dasaratha (cf. F. E. Pargiter, The Vur?na Text
of the Dynasties of the Kali Age, 2nd ed., Va
ranasi, 1962, pp. 28 f.) was like Asoka himself
a supporter of the Ajivika sect (cf. R. K. Moo?
kerji, ?Asoka the Great?, in K. M. Munshi,
R. C. Majumdar, A. D. Pusalker, The History
and Culture of the Indian People, 1. The Age
of Imperial Unity, 3rd ed., Bombay, 1960, p.
89; H. D. Bhattacharya, ?Minor Religious
Sects ?, ibid., p. 463; Thapar, op. cit., pp. 186

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 As we have seen, there is a lot of romantic stuff (41) in Iambulus' tale, as was com?
mon in all the stories about the East from Ctesias to Euhemerus. Accordingly it is of
some interest to read a little bit of literary criticism about writers on eastern subjects in
Lucian's ah\Qr\ 8iT]yrj[iaTa (1,3). The satirist of Samosata mentions the fact that the poets,
historians, and philosophers of the old days used to write much that smacks of miracles
and fables. He even tells the reader that he wanted to quote these story-tellers in his
own writings by name, but he is sure that every reader will recognize them when reading
his parody. And then he continues: KrnaCag 6 Ktr|aidxov 6 KvtSios ovvsyQai|>s tzeqI xr\q
"IvScov ycbgaq xal toav Jtao3 avxolq a nrjte avxoq el8e ^rjte ?Xkov Ibovxoq ^xouoev. syoaips 8s xal
sla\i?ov\oq jceoi tgW sv xr\ ^eyd^y] $akdxxr\ nolXa Jtaod8o~a, yvooQijiov \xkv d'jtaoi t? tyext?cx;
7tlaad\i&voq, oijx dtspTtfj 8s Ofxcog airvfrelg tip vnoQeoiv (42).

So we cannot but realize that Iambulus did not compose a history in the strict sense
of the word, but a romance primarily designed to delight lovers of reading (43). And yet
from the background of Iambulus' voyage comes out, by interpretation, a comparatively
good knowledge of the whole of the subcontinent's size ? in any case better than that
of the Alexander or Seleucid historians.

At the end of the 2nd century B.C. ? as far as we know ? or even earlier, the overseas
trade between Arabia/Egypt and India had begun (44). It is well known that about 120
B.C., under the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes II, Eudoxus of Cyzicus (Strab. II 3,4 C 98 f.)
went to India, using the monsoon wind (45). And probably in the Augustan age or earlier,
a certain Hippalus discovered the various possibilities of reaching India's coasts by boat
(PeripL m.r. 57) D.

f.). This date corresponds roughly with A. Lesky's
(Geschichte der griechischen Literatur, 3rd ed.,
Bern-M?nchen, 1971, p. 962) conjecture. I would
not state the 1st century B.C. as A. Dihle
(Griechische Literaturgeschichte, Stuttgart, 1967,
p. 405) does, because at that time there were
no decidedly philhellenic sentiments in Magadha.
(41) Cf. Helm, op. cit., pp. 27 f.
(42) I.e.: ?One of them is Ctesias, son of
Ctesiochus, of Cnidus, who wrote a great deal
about India and its characteristics that he had
never seen himself nor heard from anyone else
with a reputation for truthfulness. Iambulus also
wrote much that was strange about the countries
in the great sea: he made up a falsehood that
is patent to everybody, but wrote a story that
is not uninteresting for all that ? (transl. by A.
M. Harmon, Lucian, Cambridge, Mass.-London,
1961).
(43) Cf. the cpf.Xava*fvoai:of5vTS? and the cpiXyjxota
in a similar context on the Arabian chapters in
Diod. II 54,7.
(44) Cf. W. Otto, H. Bengtson, ?Zur Ge?
schichte des Niederganges des Ptolem?erreiches.
Ein Beitrag zur Regierungszeit des 8. und des 9.
Ptolem?ers ?, Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Aka?
demie der Wissenschaften, Phil .-hist. KL, 17,
1938, pp. 194-218; Aiyangar, op. cit., 1, pp.
769-813; R. K. Mookerji, Indian Shipping. A
history of the sea-borne trade and maritime ac?
tivity of the Indians from the earliest times,
Allahabad, 1962, pp. 84 ff.; B. Srivastava, Trade
and Commerce in Ancient India, Varanasi, 1968,
pp. 105 f. Limyrike for instance is said to
have been discovered in the 2nd century B.C. (cf.
A. Dihle, ? The Conception of India in Hel?
lenistic and Roman Literature?, Proceedings of
the Cambridge Philological Society, 10, 1964,
p. 16).
(45) Cf. M. Rostovtzeff, Die hellenische
Welt. Gesellschaft und Wirtschaft, 2, Stuttgart,
1955, pp. 731 f.; R. B?ker, ?Monsunschiffahrt
nach Indien?, RE, Suppl. IX, 1962, cols. 403-11;
R. A. Jairazbhoy, Foreign Influence in India,
New York, 1963, pp. 113 f.
TcsXafoos !?s?ps tiXo?v (cf. B. Fabricius, Der Peri
plus des erythr?ischen Meeres, Leipzig, 1883,

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 In this paper I cannot go into details, giving only a synopsis of the steadily increasing
relationships by sea and land between India and the West. A few facts must be sufficient
to demonstrate the continuance of the commercial and political interrelations until Ar
rian's lifetime.

(1) - The Emperor Augustus relates in the monumentum Ancyranum 31: ?Ad me
ex India regum legationes saepe missae sunt non visae ante id tempus apud quemquam
Romanorum ducem ?. In this sentence Augustus unmistakably brings out the uniqueness
of his achievements (47) ? as so often in this monument. But he is right in speaking of
legationes, because several embassies from Indian realms to Augustus are mentioned (48).
Suetonius (Aug. 21,3) for example says that Augustus's fame encouraged the Indians and
the Scythians ? ad amicitiam suam populique Romani ultro per legatos petendam ?, Indian
ambassadors with elephants, precious stones, and pearls as gifts are referred to by Flo
rus (2,34), and Dio Cassius (LIV 9,8 f.) knows something about an Indian legation to the
Roman emperor at Samos and the spectacular suicide of a certain Indian "sophist" Zama
rus (49). It is not unlikely that one or the other of these embassies came by ship across
the Persian Gulf and up the Red Sea. The Tabula Peutingeriana for instance shows, in
southern India (segm. XII), a ? templum Augusti ? (50), and excavations in South-East
India performed in 1945 near the modern Pondicherry (51) brought to light scraps of medi?
terranean glass and terra sigillata from Arretium dating back to the period between the
1st century B.C. and the end of the 2nd century A.D. (52). These excavations and numis?
matic finds (53), especially in southern India, demonstrate a very active commerce of the

p. 161). By the way, Lassen [op. cit., Ill 1,3)
seems to me to be right when speaking of
a ? Wiederentdeckung ? of the south-west monsoon
by Hippalus (cf. Otto, Bengtson, op. cit., pp.
196 f.; Ranowitsch, op. cit., pp. 18, 207; F. E.
Peters, The Harvest of Hellenism: A History of
the Near East from Alexander the Great to the
Triumph of Christianity, New York, 1970,
p. 390).
(47) H. Bengtson, ?Q. Caecilius Metellus
Celer (cos. 60) und die Inder ?, Historia, 3, 1954,
pp. 229-36, points out that the Indians who first
appeared in Italy in 65 B.C. didn't belong to an
official legation.
(48) Cf. O. de Beauvoir Priaulx, The Indian
Travels of Apollonius of Tyana and the Indian
Embassies to Rome from the Reign of Augustus
to the Death of Justinian, London, 1873, pp. 65
87; R. C. Majumdar, The Classical Accounts of
India, Calcutta, 1960, pp. 474-83; Jairazbhoy,
op. cit., pp. 110 f.; W. Krause, ? Gesandtschaften
indischer F?rsten in der r?mischen Kaiserzeit?,
Litterae Latinae, 25, 1971, pp. 34-40, who offers
texts and short explanatory notes, and Rawlinson,
op. cit., pp. 107 f.
(49) Cf. Strab. XV 1,4 C 686; XV 1,73 C 719
(Nicolaus of Damascus); Plut. Alex. 69 (cf. J. R.
Hamilton, Plutarch: Alexander. A Commentary,
Oxford, 1969, p. 193); Eutrop. 7,10; Oros. VI
21,19, and the notes to mon. Anc. 31 in H.
Volkmann, Res gestae divi Augusti, 2nd ed.,
Berlin, 1964.
(50) Cf. N. Pigulewskaja, Byzanz auf den
Wegen nach Indien. Aus der Geschichte des
byzantinischen Handels mit dem Orient vom
4. bis 6. Jahrhundert, Berlin-Amsterdam, 1969, p.
95; Aiyangar, op. cit., 2, pp. 668-92.
(51) I.e. ELodouxy] in Ptol. VII 1,14; Peripl.
m.r. 60.
(52) Cf. R. E. M. Wheeler, A. Ghosh, K.
Deva, ?Arikamedu: An Indo-Roman Trading
Station on the East Coast of India?, AI, 2,
1946, pp. 17-124.
(53) Cf. U. Scerrato, ? On a Silver Coin of
Traianus Decius from Afghanistan?, EW, 13,
1962, pp. 17-23; P. L. Gupta, ? Roman Trade in
India?, 5. Mookerji Felicitation Volume, Vara
nasi, 1969, pp. 169-80.

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Roman West with the subcontinent (54). Besides, one should consider the remarkable in?
fluence of Graeco-Roman art on the so-called Gandharan sculpture in the North-West of
India (55). And as if he wanted to give an illustration of those mutual contacts, Dio Chry
sostomus (32,40), an older contemporary of Arrian's, says in his oration to the people of
Alexandria about that city: oqco ydo eyooye ov udvov "E)lv\vag rcao' v\ilv ovb* TtaXovg oi>?e
axb tcov jtAi](nov 2uoiac;, At?vrjc;, Kilixiag, ovbk xovq vjteo exeivous AUKojras ouSe "Aoa?a<;
?Xk? xal BaxTQioug xal Sxu&ag xal Ilepaag xal TvSaW tivag, ot ouv&ecovTai xal rtdostaiv
exdaroTE v\xlv(56).

(2) - One of the most fascinating narratives referring to Taprobane is passed on to

posterity by Pliny (57). In the 6th book of his Naturalis Historia (24,84-91) he continues,
after a short report on Onesicritus', Megasthenes', and Eratosthenes' comments on the
island: ? nobis diligentior notitia Claudi principatu contigit legatis etiam ex ea insula ad
vectis ?. I cannot agree with A. Dihle's (58) view that Pliny is entirely wrong in his
? Behauptung, der lebhafte Verkehr mit und das detaillierte Wissen von der Insel datiere
erst seit diesem, in die Zeit des Claudius fallenden Ereignis ?. For Pliny remarks after
the sentence: ? hactenus a priscis memorata ? explicitly: ? nobis diligentior notitia... con?
tigit ?. He only means that, in comparison with the knowledge of those Hellenistic periods,
the Romans had obtained more accurate information on Ceylon during the principate of
Claudius. But Dihle seems to be perfectly right in rejecting J. Pirenne's (5f>) assumption
that there may have been a connection with the discovery of the monsoon at that time.
Further it is reported by Pliny that a freedman of a certain Annius Plocamus ? a tax
collector for the Treasury in the Red Sea area ? had been driven off his course and that
his ship was blown by gales to the harbour of Hippuri in Ceylon, where he was wel?
comed with kindly hospitality by the king. After having learnt the native language, Plo

<54) Cf. E. H. Warmington, The Commerce
between the Roman Empire and India, Cambridge,
1928, pp. 35 ff.; Jairazbhoy, op. cit., pp. 110
24; Srivastava, op. cit., pp. 101-11; Rawlinson,
op. cit., pp. 101-54; Schwarz, ? Neue Perspekti?
ven in den griechisch-indischen Beziehungen?,
cit., p. 21, note 2.
(55) Cf. M. Bussagli, ?An Important Doc?
ument on the Relations between Rome and India:
the Statuette of St. Peter Discovered at Char
sadda ?, EW, 4, 1954, pp. 247-54; B. Rowland,
? Rome and Gandhara ?, EW, 9, 1958, pp. 199
208; H. Goetz, ? Imperial Rome and the Genesis
of Classic Indian Art ?, EW, 10, 1959, pp. 153
83, 261-68; Gh. Gnoli, ?The Tyche and the
Dioscuri in Ancient Sculpture from the Valley
of Swat?, EW, 14, 1963, pp. 29-37; Schwarz,
?Neue Perspektiven in den griechisch-indischen
Beziehungen?, cit., p. 17, note 8.
(56) I.e.: ? For I behold among you, not
merely Greeks and Italians and people from
neighbouring Syria, Libya, Cilicia, nor yet Ethio?
pians and Arabs from more distant regions, but
even Bactrians and Scythians and Persians and
a few Indians, and all these help to make up the
audience in your theatre and sit beside you on
each occasion ? (transl. by H. L. Crosby, J. W.
Cohoon, Dio Chrysostom, III, Cambridge, Mass.
London, 1961).
(57) Cf. Priaulx, op. cit., pp. 91-122; Raw
linson, op. cit., pp. 152 f.; Krause, op. cit.,
pp. 38 f. Oddly enough B. Saletore {India's
Diplomatic Relations with the West, Bombay,
1958, pp. 232-37) does not identify Taprobane
in that passage with Ceylon, but with the T?m
raparni in the South-East of India.
(58) Umstrittene Daten. Untersuchungen zum
Auftreten der Griechen am Roten Meer, K?ln
Opladen, 1965, p. 27, note 24.
(59) Le royaume sud-arabe de Qatah?n et sa
datation, Louvain, 1961, p. 180.

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camus' freedman told the king about Rome and its emperor. Therefore the Singhalese
ruler desired to open friendly diplomatic relations with Rome's mighty sovereign and ? lega
tos quattuor misit principe eorum Rachia ?.
We are told by Indian sources (60), the Pali History of Ceylon Mah?vamsa (34,46
f.) (61) and its commentary, the Vamsatthappak?sini (34,13-16, p. 630 Malalasekera), that
a Singhalese raja named Bh?tik?bhaya (62) had sent ships to Romanukharattha, cthe coun?
try of the Romans5, to get red corals (which were used for making a net of coral thrown
over a cetiya, a pagoda). The reign of Bh?tik?bhaya can be placed, on epigraphical evi?
dence, in Ceylon at the beginning of the 1st century A.D. That implies that Bh?tik?bhaya
was probably a contemporary of Augustus and Tiberius or even Caligula. Consequently,
at that time Singhalese merchants really did navigate to Egypt (i.e. the Red Sea area) or even
to Italy. And it may not seem too far-fetched to assume that the king who had sent
Rachias (i.e. Pali: ratthika, ccrown prince5) (63), going by Pliny, might have been Kani
r?janu Tissa, C?l?bhaya or Candamukha Siva, all about the middle of the 1st century
A.D. (64). However that may be, one can grasp on Pliny's evidence that the Roman
public was eager to get more or less contemporary information on Ceylon (65). And one
should remember that this sensational visit of a Singhalese legation or embassy took place
only about fifty years before Arrian was born.

(3) - It is related to us by Dio Cassius (68,15) that a year after the victory over
Decebalus (106) upon Trajan's return to Rome a great many embassies came to the emperor
jiaod ?ap?d?c?v aUcov re xou *Iv8cov (66). Trajan gave sumptuous spectacles, in the course

(60) Cf. F. F. Schwarz, ? Ein singhalesischer
Prinz in Rom. Beobachtungen zu Plinius, n.h.
6, 81-91 ?, Rheinisches Museum f?r Philologie,
117, 1974, pp. 166-76; Id., ? Pliny the Elder on
Ceylon ?, Journal of Asian History, 8, 1974, pp.
21-48.
(61) Cf. The Mah?vamsa or the Great Chron?
icle of Ceylon, transl. by W. Geiger, London,
1964, pp. 240 f.; Aiyangar, op. cit., 2, pp. 693
717; G. P. Malalasekera, The Pali Literature
of Ceylon, 2nd ed., Colombo, 1958, pp. 130-46
(for the Vamsatthappak?sini cf. pp. 142, 145).
(62) Cf. G. P. Malalasekera, Dictionary of
P?li Proper Names, 2, London, 1960, pp. 370 f.;
Lamotte, op. cit., pp. 534 ff. (according to his
chronology of the Ceylonese rulers from 20 B.C.
to 75 A.D. Bh?tik?bhaya [35-63 A.D.] might be
the Singhalese king who sent the envoys men?
tioned by Pliny). For the different dating cf.
Schwarz, ? Ein singhalesischer Prinz in Rom?,
cit., notes 32-34.
(63) For an eventual literary effect of Pliny's
story on the very late and problematic Ps.
Sanchoniathon cf. J. E. Tennent, Ceylon: An
Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and
Topographical, 1, 5th ed., London, 1860, pp.
571-77.
(64) Cf. Malalasekera, Dictionary of P?li
Proper Names, 1, cit., pp. 492 f.; C. W. Ni?
cholas, S. Paranavitana, A Concise History
of Ceylon, Colombo, 1961, pp. 74 f.
(65) Cf. Plin., he. cit., 84: ? diligentior noti?
tia ?; 91: ?haec conperta de Taprobane?. It
is true ? as Dihle figures out ? that Pliny does
not redeem his promise to give a contemporary
account of the island; quite on the contrary he
derives his knowledge from early Hellenistic
sources. But what is really important are Pliny's
report on a Ceylonese embassy to Rome and the
fact that he realized the novelty of that infor?
mation. Dihle's assumption that Pliny tells the
facts distorting ? consciously ? the story of the
Singhalese embassy as a ? zeitgen?ssische, unlite?
rarische Information? does not sound plausible,
because at the time of the publication of the
Naturalis Historia many people were still alive
who must have remembered that sensational
visit.
(66) I.e.: ? from other barbarians including
the Indians ?.

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of which ten thousand gladiators appeared (r'7). And all that happened in Arrian's childhood.

(4) - Aelius Spartianus, the biographer of Hadrian, writes in the Historia Augusta
(21,14) that the Parthians regarded this emperor as a friend of theirs, the Armenians were
permitted to have their own king, and the Albanians and Hiberians (people in Transcausa
sia) he made his friends. Then the biographer remarks: ? reges Bactrianorum legatos ad
eum amicitiae petendae causa supplices miserunt ? (68).
The question connected with this passage is who the Bactriani mentioned by Spar
tianus were. It is of course quite clear that they cannot have been the inhabitants of
Bactria of Herodotus' or of Alexander's time, but even in those days they were a mixture
of Indians, Persians, Greeks, and aborigines (69). The North-West of India had been in?
vaded three times since Alexander: (a) by the Greeks, who were ruling there from the
3rd century to the 1st century B.C. (70), (b) by the Sakas, originally a nomadic Scythian peo?
ple of Central Asia, and the Parthians, who settled in that area from the 1st century B.C.
to the 1st century A.D. (71), and (c) by the so-called Yiieh-chih, who had invaded the
area about the 1st century A.D. from Central Asia as well (72). And one section of
these Yiieh-chih were the famous Kus?nas, who began to rule all over the Bactrian region
under Kujula Kara Kadphises (I). The climax of their reign was the rule of Kani
ska (73), who is especially celebrated by Buddhistic sources, and whose date is one of

(67) Cf. Saletore, op. cit., pp. 237 ff. There
is no reason for these Indians to be identified
with envoys of Kadphises II or even Kaniska
(cf. Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 109).
(68) Cf. Warmington, op. cit., p. 99; Jairaz
bhoy, op. cit., p. 112, who wrongly mentions
? Indian and Bactrian kings ?.
(69) Cf. G. Woodcock, The Greeks in India,
London, 1966, pp. 16-25; Tarn, Alexander der
Grosse, cit., pp. 389 ff., 523; H. G. Rawlinson,
Bactria: The History of a Forgotten Empire,
2nd ed., New York, 1969, pp. 1-49.
(70) Cf. J. N. Banerjea, ?The Bactrian
Greeks in India?, in Nilakanta Sastri, A
Comprehensive History of India, cit., pp. 138
85; A. Simonetta, ? An Essay on the So Called
"Indo-Greek" Coinage ?, EW, 8, 1957, pp. 44-66;
A. K. Narain, The Indo-Greeks, 2nd ed., Oxford,
1962; B. Prakash, Studies in Indian History and
Civilization, Agra, 1962, pp. 209-39; W. W.
Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India, 2nd
ed., Cambridge, 1966; Rawlinson, Bactria, cit.,
pp. 50-129; Lamotte, op. cit., pp. 407-23;
K. C. Ojha, The History of Foreign Rule in
Ancient India, Allahabad, 1968, pp. 68-83.
(71) The Sakas were displaced by the Y?eh
chih and compelled to migrate to the South in
the 2nd century B.C. Later they recognized the
supremacy of some Indo-Parthian sovereigns, and
afterwards of the Kus?nas (cf. J. N. Banerjea,
?The Scythians and Parthians in India?, cit.,
pp. 186-221; A. M. Simonetta, ?A New Essay
on the Indo-Greeks: The Sakas and the Pahla
vas?, EW, 9, 1958, pp. 154-83; Ojha, op. cit.,
pp. 84-116; B. N. Mukherjee, An Agrippan
Source A Study in Indo-Parthian History, Cal?
cutta, 1969; Lamotte, op. cit., pp. 493-570;
Altheim, Stiehl, Geschichte Mittelasiens im
Altertum, cit., pp. 608-28).
(72) A nomadic people, the Y?eh-chih orig?
inally occupied western China. They were driven
out of that region in the 2nd century B.C. and
migrated to the area of the Gobi desert. Then
they were expelled by the Wu-sun and moved to
Bactria (cf. J. N. Banerjea, Jagannath, ?The
Rise and Fall of the Kushana Power ?, in Nila
kanta Sastri, A Comprehensive History of India,
cit., pp. 222 ff.; E. Z?rcher, ?The Y?eh-chih
and Kaniska in the Chinese Sources ?, in A. L.
B a sham, ed., Papers on the Date of Kaniska,
Leiden, 1968, pp. 345-89).
(73) Cf. B. N. Puri, India under the Kush?
nas, Bombay, 1965; B. N. Mukherjee, The
Kush?na Genealogy, Calcutta, 1967; Id., ?Ta
hsia and the Problem Concerning the Advent
of Nomadic Peoples in Greek Bactria?, EW,
19, 1969, pp. 395-400; Ojha, op. cit., pp. 117
40, and the references given by F. F. Schwarz,

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the most argued problems in Asian history (between 78 A.D. and the 3rd century A.D.).
But we know by numismatic evidence that Hadrianic coins were imitated by the Kus??
nas, and Prof. R. Gobi (Vienna) thought that ? Kaniska roughly corresponds to the time
of Hadrian ? (74). Therefore ? I think ? there is no doubt that the Bactriani of Spartianus
can be identified with the mighty Kus?nas in the North-West of India (75). And the ex?
pression ? supplices miserunt ? is a slight exaggeration in favour of the Roman emperor.
We do not know the exact date of this legation, but it must be about 120 A.D.,
which is the time when Arrian entered his public service; it implies, too, that the consul
suffectus must have known something about these important international relations with
India.

(5) - Even to this embassy can be added a third one, which Arrian must have heard
about later in his life. For in the Epitome de Caesaribus incerti auctoris (15,4), which is
a supplement of Aurelius Victor, one can read about Antoninus Pius' reign: ? Quin etiam
Indi Bactri Hyrcani legatos misere iustitia tanti imperatoris comperta ?. Here exists a dis?
tinct difference between Indi and Bactri, which possibly refer, considering that epoch and
the meaning of Bactriani pointed out above, to a legation from South India and to one
from the Kus?nas. The date is again unknown; however, the arrival of these envoys
must be placed after Arrian's retirement to Athens (76).

II

If we take into account all these historical and literary facts, it is really a great
surprise to find nothing of what is mentioned in Arrian's Anabasis or even his Indike.
Nowhere in his writings on India is Arrian explicitly concerned with the contemporary
or the post-Eratosthenian evidence and testimonies concerning India. Hence there arise
two questions: (a) Are there really no allusions to the reality of Arrian's contemporary
knowledge of the subcontinent? (b) What is the intention of the Indike, which is written
by the author from Nicomedia always looking back to the age of Alexander? If we view

? Aus der Herrschergeschichte Alt-Indiens?, 97. sent by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Chin.: An?
Jahresbericht des Realgymnasiums, Graz, 1968-69, tun) to the Chinese court is mentioned in the
p. 29; Peters, op. cit., pp. 560-65. annals of the Han dynasty (cf. F. Hirth, China
<74) Basham, op. cit., p. 432. Cf. also Sale and the Roman Orient, Shanghai, 1885, p. 42).
tore, op. cit., pp. 246 ff. But the archaeological discoveries (coins of An?
(75) In view of all that historical evidence toninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius) in Oc-eo in
it is impossible to agree with H. Treidler the Mekong delta are exciting nevertheless (cf.
(?Baktrien?, KIPauly, 1, 1964, col. 814) that the M. Wheeler, Der Fernhandel des r?mischen
Bactrians were, in Hadrian's time, ? ihrer Selb? Reiches, M?nchen-Wien, 1965, pp. 172 ff.; J.
st?ndigkeit nicht ganz beraubt ?. Villiers, S?dostasien vor der Kolonialzeit, Frank?
(76) It is remarkable that a Roman embassy furt, 1965, p. 67).

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the chronology of Flavius Arrianus' (77) works as assumed by myself (78) ? an attempt
which must be without any doubt most hypothetical (79) ?, we can figure out that he
wrote his TvSixrj ovyyQayr\ after the 'Avd?aaig, i.e. after 145 A.D. But that implies, too,
his knowing of all three Indian embassies enumerated above. That there actually exists
a very close connection between the Anabasis and the Indike one can see by the references
Arrian gives in the Anabasis to the Indike and vice versa.
After the description of India's mountains and rivers and after a comparison with
Egypt and the Istros he says {an. V 6,8): xavxd \ioi ev too jtapovTi Jteol 'IvScov t% x^QaS
lelfr/?vy xa bk ?Xka djtoxeiodco eg tt)v Tv8ixt)v g'uyyQacpyjv (80). Regarding the report of
the punishment of some rebellious Brahmans in Musicanus' kingdom he states (an. VI
16,5): VTtSQ d>v eyo) xf\q ooqnag, et br\ xic, eativ, ev tfj 3Iv8ixfj ^uyyoaqpf) 8t)Xcog(o (81).
In the Indike there are references to the Anabasis (82), but it is in some respects pecul?
iar: not within the first part (chap. 1-17), which in fact is concerned exclusively with
India, since the second part (chap. 18-43) deals with the Paraplus of Nearchus, i.e. with
the voyage made by the Cretan captain from the Indus along the coast to Persia. He calls
his History of Alexander 'Attixt) ^vyyoaqpr) {Ind. 19,8), ?llr\ ouyyocuprj (Ind. 23,6;
40,1), pie^cov cuyyoaqprj (Ind. 21,8), and alloc, Xoyog (Ind. 32,1). One can already realize

(77) For the just recently discussed problem
of Arrian's name cf. P. A. Stadter, ?Flavius
Arrianus: The New Xenophon ?, GRBS, 8, 1967,
pp. 155-61; G. W. Bowersock, ?A New In?
scription of Arrian ?, ibid., pp. 279 f.; M. Th.
MlTSOS, ? 'ett'.ypacpai ?% xou Siwypaqpixofli jiouosiou IP
'Em?auptas?, Archaiologik?n Deltion, 25, 1970,
pp. 29 f.; H. Solin, Beitr?ge zur Kenntnis der
griechischen Personennamen in Rom, Helsinki,
1971, pp. 81 f.; E. N. Borza, ? Some Notes on
Arrian's Name?, Athens Annals of Archaeology,
5, 1972, pp. 99-102.
(78) Cf. infra the Chronological Table of Ar?
rian's Biography and Works: E. Schwartz, ? Ar
rianos?, RE, II, 1896, cols. 1230-47 (= Grie?
chische Geschichtsschreiber, Leipzig, 1959, pp.
130-55); K. Hartmann, ? Arrian und Epiktet ?,
Neue Jahrb?cher f?r das klassische Altertum, 8,
1905, pp. 248-75; Id., ?Flavius Arrianus und
Kaiser Hadrian?, Programm des Gymnasiums
St. Anna, Augsburg, 1907, pp. 3-38; A. Brink?
mann, ? Die Meteorologie Arrians ?, Rheinisches
Museum f?r Philologie, 13-74, 1920-25, pp. 373
401, 25-63 (abbr.: Brinkmann); D. Magie, Roman
Rule in Asia Minor, 2, Princeton, 1950 (abbr.:
Magie); J. D. M. Derrett, ?The History of
Palladius on the Races of India and the Brah
mans ?, Classica et mediaevalia, 21, 1960, pp. 64
135 (abbr.: Derrett); G. Wirth, ?3Appiav?c 6
<pa?ao9os?, Klio, 41, 1963, pp. 221-33; Id.,
?Anmerkungen zur Arrianbiographie. Appian
Arrian-Lukian?, Historia, 13, 1964, pp. 209-45
(abbr.: Wirth); G. Ch. Hansen, ?Alexander
und die Brahmanen?, Klio, 43-45, 1965, pp.
351-80 (abbr.: Hansen); F. Millar, ?Epictetus
and the Imperial Court?, Journal of Roman
Studies, 55, 1965, pp. 141-48 (abbr.: Millar);
J. H. Oliver, ?Arrian and the Gellii of Co?
rinth?, GRBS, 11, 1970, pp. 335-38 (abbr.:
Oliver); E. L. Bowie, ? Greeks and Their Past
in the Second Sophistic ?, Past and Present, 46,
1970, pp. 3-41 (abbr.: Bowie); G. Schepens,
? Arrian's View of His Task as Alexander-Histo?
rian ?, Ancient Society, 2, 1971, pp. 254-68, and
the brilliant article by A. B. Bos worth, ? Arrian's
Literary Development?, The Classical Quarterly,
n.s., 22, 1972, pp. 163-85 (abbr.: Bosworth).
(79) It is impossible to examine here the
arguments Bosworth presents in favour of his
dating. I hope to get down to this problem
elsewhere in the near future. But even Bosworth
(p. 185) confesses: ? Any reconstruction is spec?
ulative and hazardous ?.
(80) I.e.: ? This for the present must be all I
have to say about India; the rest must be put
aside for my Indian History? (transl. by E. I.
Robson, Arrian, II, Cambridge, Mass.-London,
1966).
(81) I.e.: ?The wisdom of these men, such
as it is, I shall discuss in my Indian History ?
(transl. by Rob son).
(82) Cf. the survey of the cross-references,
infra.

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from these passages how closely the two works are connected with each other and how
much the Indike is intended to be especially familiar with the epoch and the actions of
Arrian's admired hero ? Alexander (83). And an interesting passage of the Anabasis (V
5,1) refers to the literary sources (84) and the structure of the Indike Arrian had in mind:
*AXka V7ZS.Q 9Iv8o)v I8ia }ioi yEygd^exai oaa JtiatotaTa ec, dqp^yrjaiv 01 re c,vv 3AA,e;dv8pcp
oxQaxEvoavxEg xal 6 exjteoutXeuaac; ifjc, \iEydXy\q daXaaarjc, to xat* 'IvSoug Neao/oc,, 8Jtl 8s oaa
MeyaadevTjc, re xal T5 q a to a?eVnc,, 8oxl^ico av8oe, %WEyQatydxr[V, xai vo^ii^a atta Tv8oIc, eati
xal ei br\ tiva atojta ?cpa avxofti qnjetai xat tov Jtapdjdouv avxbv xf^q e;co ^akdaar\q (85).
Arrian speaks first of all about the Indike being a monograph substantially parallel
with the Anabasis, in the second place about its sources and in the third place he gives
a general survey of its contents. The sources he quotes are the early Alexander his?
torians. The mention of Nearchus sounds like an emphasis; we are getting used to it
reading the Anabasis and especially the second part of the Indike. But it is an important
fact that the Bithynian refers to post-Alexandrian writers on Indian subjects, namely to
Megasthenes and Eratosthenes, whom he calls boxi\i(D d'v8oe. Other authors Arrian used in
composing the Indike are: Ctesias, Aristobulus, and Onesicritus. That means that the
following authorities in Indicis are quoted by Arrian in both works (86). One pre-Alexan
drian (Ctesias), four Alexandrians (Ptolemy, Aristobulus, Nearchus, Onesicritus), and two
post-Alexandrians (Megasthenes, Eratosthenes). But there is no single reference in the Ana?
basis or the Indike to men like Daemachus, Dionysius, Iambulus, Eudoxus of Cyzicus,
Hippalus or to a more or less contemporary non-literary source. In respect of content, the
above-mentioned passage of the Anabasis corresponds roughly with the Indike. The vo^i^ia
are treated in chap. 5,7-12,16-17, the atojta ?cpa in 6,13-16, while the second part deals
with Nearchus' nagdTtXovg tfjg ecio $aldooir\<;.
In order to show how much Arrian intended to describe India only with a view

(83) Ind., 43,14: o5to? \ioi 6 X?yog dvaysvp*^00?
qpepcov xai auzbQ ig 3AXe?av8pov xov ?DiXturcou , x6v
MaxsS?va (cf. H. Truempner, De Arriani religione,
Bonnae, 1950, pp. 123-33; A. B. Breebaart,
Enige historiografische aspect en van Arrianus'
Anabasis Alexandri, Leiden, 1960, pp. 98 ff., 126
ff.; H. Montgomery, Gedanke und Tat. Zur
Erz?hlungstechnik bei Herodot, Thukydides,
Xenophon und Arrian, Lund, 1965, pp. 217 ff.;
Schepens, op. cit., p. 262.
(84) Cf. Schwartz, op. cit., cols. 1246 f.;
J. Meunier, ? Les sources de la monographie
d'Arrien sur Finde?, Musee Beige, 1922, pp.
5-24; P. Chantraine, Atrien. Ulnde, 2nd ed.,
Paris, 1952, pp. 5 ff. Details of the lndike'%
structure, contents, sources, and language will be
fully discussed in my forthcoming commentary
on chap. 1-17.
(85) I.e.: ? However, about India I shall
write a special monograph, based on all the
most reliable facts from Alexander's fellow-cam?
paigners and Nearchus, who coasted along the
part of the Great Sea which lies towards India,
adding besides all that Megasthenes and Erato?
sthenes, who are both men of repute, have
written; the customs of India, any strange beasts
which live there, and the voyage round it by the
Outer Sea? (transl. by Robson).
(86) For the sources of the Anabasis cf. W.
Capelle, Arrian. Alexanders des Grossen Sie?
geszug durch Asien, Z?rich, 1950, pp. 30-56; L.
Pearson, The Lost Histories of Alexander the
Great, {Philological Monographs, 20), New York
London, 1960, pp. 107 ff., 150 ff., 166 ff., 188
ff.; Montgomery, op. cit., pp. 220-27'; E. Badian,
?Alexander the Great?, Classical World, 65,
1971, pp. 37 ff, 46 f, 49 ff.; J. Seibert, Alexan?
der der Grosse (Ertr?ge der Forschung, 10),
Darmstadt, 1972, pp. 3-23, 38 ff.

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to Alexander's campaign and the time immediately following Alexander, it is advisable to
look at some passages in the Indike. In 3,4 after speaking of the Mauryan residence, Pa
libothra, as India's eastern border, he states according to Eratosthenes: td Se ejiixetva
oftxeti obaairccog atoexea. That this statement was not in accordance with the actual
knowledge of Arrian's time and not even of an earlier one we can gather from Strabo
(XV 1,4 C 686) and Eratosthenes (Strab. XV 1,11 C 689). The latter agrees with Arrian
in scorning the authors {pyjjiac, oaoi dveyoatyav (Ind. 3,4): td S3 ejtexeiva atoxaajico Xau?dvetcu
8id tcov dvdjdcov toav ex $a\dxxr[<; 8id xov Tdyyov jiOTaptoii [xexQi IlaXi??frQcov (87). It
is quite clear that there existed, particularly from the 1st century A.D. onwards, a
Periplus literature written for practical purposes and used by sailors and merchants. And
we possess a significant and eloquent example: the Periplus maris Erythraei (8S). But it
was never regarded as a work of high-brow literature in antiquity, as Dihle (89) has pointed
out very plausibly. On the other hand there was no great name such as one of the
famous Alexander historians, Megasthenes or Eratosthenes (90), who dealt with that sort
of historico-geographical matter, namely the literary description of the historical events
and the geographical ethnology of central, southern or eastern India (i.e. the region from
Palibothra to the delta of the Ganges). It appears that this literary criterion ? apart
from Arrian's main intention to write a book on India constantly with regard to Alex?
ander ? was one of the reasons for his not using that kind of information when he
composed his monograph. Otherwise he would have examined carefully the contemporary
evidence of this "Gebrauchsliteratur" or the events he must have heard about. If we
recall the sources Arrian used in the Anabasis, we can only find established authors like
Ptolemy, Aristobulus, Onesicritus, Nearchus, but not Clitarchus, Chares, Anaximenes of
Lampsacus or Callisthenes (91). And that is also the case in the Indike (92). So Arrian

(87) I.e.: ? The extent of the parts beyond
Palibothra is a matter of guess, depending upon
the voyages made from the sea on the Ganges
to Palibothra ? (transl. by Jones).
(88) For the most problematical dating (Dihle
[1st cent. A.D.], D. C. Sircar [120-130 A.D.],
Altheim-Stiehl [c. 210 A.D.], Pirenne [c. 225
230 A.D.]) of this important document cf. Al
theim, Stiehl, Die Araber in der Alten Welt,
1, cit., pp. 40-64; F. Lasserre, ? Periplus Maris
Erythraei?, KIPauly, 4, 1970, cols. 641 f.;
Schwarz, ? Neue Perspektiven in den griechisch?
indischen Beziehungen?, cit., p. 20, and the
reply to G. Ch. Hansen's review (Goettingische
Gelehrte Anzeigen, 220, 1968, pp. 42-48) of
Dihle's Umstrittene Daten by Altheim, Stiehl,
Die Araber in der Alten Welt, cit., 5/2, Berlin,
1969, pp. 536-41.
(89) ? The Conception of India in Hellenistic
and Roman Literature?, cit., p. 17; Umstrittene
Daten, cit., pp. 25-35.
(90) Or Apollodorus of Artemita (cf. Altheim,
Stiehl, Geschichte Mittelasiens im Altertum, cit.,
pp. 359-79), who is called {ibid., p. 359) a
? Geschichtsschreiber von Rang?, or rather a
universal historian like Pompeius Trogus (cf. O.
Seel, Eine r?mische Weltgeschichte. Studien zum
Text der Epitome des Iustinus und zur His tor ik
des Pompe jus Trogus, N?rnberg, 1972), whose
accounts of the Indo-Bactrian history must have
been very important (cf. M. Bussagli, ? Indian
Events in Trogus Pompeius ?, EW, 7, 1956, pp.
229-42) and whose sources seem to differ from
the common ones (cf. Schwarz, ?Aus der
Herrschergeschichte Alt-Indiens ?, cit., p. 34; Id.,
? Candragupta-Sandrakottos ?, cit., p. 97).
(91) Gf. K. Latte (?Ein neues Arrianfrag
ment ?, Nachrichten von der Akademie der Wis?
senschaften in G?ttingen, 1950, 3, p. 26) who
demonstrates Arrian's method of using only the
most reliable authors.
(92) Quite another picture one gets of Ptole

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 tried to be an honest writer applying to honest sources. And as Strabo (XV 1,4 C 686)
puts it, these practically-minded men mentioned as nXiovxeq ejxjtopixoi were ovbev ngbq
lotopiav tcov tojtcov XQ1!^1^01'

According to his main plan Arrian says in Ind. 4,1 (cf. 6,1): ?XX? ov \ioi axgenkq
VTtEQ tcov ejtixeiva 'Yydoioq noxa\xov ia/ygioaoQai, oti ox> Jtpocco xov cYcpdoioq fjM)ev
\AXe;av8pog (93). And that ? history stops with Alexander ? one can read in Ind. 5,1:
?XX? 3AXe;av5Qov yap atpatevaai en 9lvbovg \iovvov (94). This sentence, which ? by
reason of Seleucus' expedition to the Indus valley ? is not necessarily derived from
Megasthenes at all, shows Arrian's typical lack of interest in the historical development
after Alexander: i.e. Seleucus I, Antiochus III, Demetrius of Bactria, Menandrus of S?
gala, the Arsacids, and the Kus?nas.
The following passage in the Indike (2,8) is of some interest. Having spoken about
the Indus delta, which is called Patala (95) in the Indian tongue (Ind. 2,7), Arrian says:
t& u.ev Jtpog \izgv]\i?gir\q xard U&xaXi xs xat xov *lvbov xdq ex?oXdg co*f8r] ngoq re
9Aa8;ocv8qov xal Maxe??vcov xai jtoMcov cEUi]vcov (96). Here Alexander and the Mace?
donians mean the well-known conquest along the Indus and Nearchus' voyage. But the
jtoMo! "EXXnveg cannot be the few Greeks stationed in that area by Alexander (an. VI
20,5), they must be, in particular, the Greeks of the subsequent centuries around the
cities of natdXa (Ptol. VII 1,59) D, Mivvdyapa (Peripl. m.r. 38,41, Ptol. VII 1,61
[Btvdyapa]) (98), Bap?apix?v (Peripl. m.r. 38,39,41, Ptol. VII 1,59 [Bap?dpa]) (") and
the South around the famous trading port of Bapvyc^a (Skr.: Bharukaccha) (10?),
mentioned by Ptolemy (VII 1,62) and the Periplus maris Erythraei (41,47) where we read
that in those days drachmas bearing Greek inscriptions and referring to the Indo-Greek

my, the geographer, a younger contemporary of
Arrian, whose ? Wissen von Indien ist von eigener
und zeitbedingter Art ? (F. Altheim, P. Schna?
bel, ?Ptolemaeus und Indien?, in Altheim,
Weltgeschichte Asiens im griechischen Zeitalter,
1, ciL, p. 44), and Ptolemy himself (I 17,1.2.4)
asserts that he knows contemporary India as a
result of inquiries made by himself. For Ptolemy's
knowledge of India cf. further J. W. McCrindle,
S. Majumdar, Ancient India as Described by
Ptolemy, Calcutta, 1927; A. Berthelot, UAsie
ancienne centrale et sud-orientale d'apres Pto
lemee, Paris, 1930, pp. 181-371; W. H. Stahl,
Ptolemy's Geography: A Select Bibliography, New
York, 1953, pp. 50-57.
(93) I.e.: ?As for the yonder side of the
Hyphasis, I cannot speak with confidence, since
Alexander did not proceed beyond the Hyphasis ?
(transl. by Rob son).
(94) I.e.: ? It was in fact Alexander only
who actually invaded India ? (transl. by Rob son).
(*5) Cf. H. T. Lambrick, Sind: A General
Introduction, Hyderabad, 1964, pp. 107-15; B.
Prakash, Political and Social Movements in
Ancient Punjab, Delhi-Pa tna-Varanasi, 1964,
p. 46.
(96) I.e.: ? The southern part near Patala and
the mouths of the Indus were surveyed by Alexan?
der and the Macedonians and many Greeks?
(transl. by Rob son).
(97) Cf. L. Renou, La geographie de Ptolemee.
LTnde (VII 1-4), Paris, 1925, p. 85, s.v.; but
Lambrick, op. cit., p. 142.
(98) Cf. Fabricius, op. cit., pp. 150 (79c),
153 (83d); Lambrick, op. cit., p. 136; Rawlin
son, Intercourse, cit., pp. 114 f.
(99) Cf. Fabricius, op. cit., p. 150 (79b);
Lambrick, op. cit., pp. 134 ff., 142.
(10?) Cf. Renou, op. cit., p. 77, s.v.-, Tarn,
The Greeks in Bactria and India, cit., pp. 149
ff., 362-73; Srivastava, op. cit., pp. 87 ff.;
Rawlinson, Intercourse, cit., pp. 116 f.

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 rulers Apollodotus and Menandrus were current in that area. This reference in the Indike
seems to enable us to catch a very slight glimpse of the periods after Alexander, which,
I think, is also the case in two other passages. In Ind. 5,3 Arrian states: dM' ovbk
Meyaadevr]? itoXkr\v 8oxeei \ioi ejteXdelv tfjc, TvSgov x^Q1!^ nkr\v ye < Sr) > oxi nXevva r\ ot
?>vv 9AXe;dv8pq> reo OiXiJUtou ejteMhWreg (101). And in Ind. 7,1: s&vea Se Tv8ixd etxoai xal
sxatov td astavta Xeyei Meyaodevi]*;, 8uoiv 8eovra, xal nolXa fxev elvai e?vea Tv8ixd xal avxbq
Gv\iyEQO[iai Meyaadevei, to 8e aToexeg ov% eyw elxdaai ojtcog expiadcbv dveyoai^ev, ox>8e jtoXXootov
\iigoq xf\q Tv8c5v yr\q iaeAdcov, ovbs 8jci[ii|tr]g Jtdai toic, yeveaiv zovar\q eg dMrjXovc, (102). That
implies not only a criticism of Alexander and of his companions' records, but also a criticism
of Megasthenes. Arrian therefore did know that India was larger than described in Megas?
thenes' reports and that a huge number of tribes dwelled there (103). The last sentence strikes
the reader in a way. Under Candragupta (i.e. at the time when Megasthenes was ambassador
at his court) India was, for the first time in her history, in a broad sense united just as under
Bindus?ra and above all under Asoka. But after the break-up of the Mauryan empire there did
not actually survive any strong connection between the subcontinent's North and South,
West and East. The various Indian realms and principalities existed separately from the
2nd century B.C. onwards as the Indo-Greeks and Kus?nas in the North-West, the local
kingdoms in the Ganges Valley, in Central India, in the South (104), and in Ceylon. Maybe
Arrian's statement drops a hint in that direction. The Bithynian writer gives clear refer?
ences to his own time (105) in Ind. 4,15.16, where he declares among other things that he
has noticed the Enos and the Saos. And reporting the story of Hercules' discovery of the
sea pearl (106) he writes according to Megasthenes (8,9 [cf. 38,33): ovriva (scilicet xaivov
eI8o; %6o\iov yvvaixT]iov) xal etc; xovxo en oi T8 e~ Tv8cov xr\q X^Q^IS Ta dycoyi^a Jtap3 f\\ieaq
dyiveovTeg ajtovSfj coveouevoi exxc^o-uai, xal 'EMi^vcov 8e JtaXai xal Tcojiaicov vfiv oaoi
jtoXiwreavoi xal 8\)8ai^ioveg [xe^ovi en ajtovSfj (oveovtai, tov [AaoyaoiTTjv 8r| tov daXaaaiov outgo
tfj Tv8o5v yXcooar\ xaXeo^xevov (l07).
There seems to exist still another kind of allusion to our author's own days, but it
is a little more difficult to get at. It is the story of Dionysus' glorious conquest of India

(101) I.e.: ? But not even Megasthenes, so far
as I can see, travelled over any large part of
India; yet a good deal more than the followers
of Alexander son of Philip did? (transl. by
Rob son).
(102) I.e.: ? Megasthenes states that there are
one hundred and eighteen Indian tribes. That
there are many, I agree with Megasthenes; but
I cannot conjecture how he learnt and recorded
the exact number, when he never visited any
great part of India, and since these different races
have not much intercourse one with another?
(transl. by Rob son).
(103) Cf. Herod. Ill 98,3.94,2; V 3,1, PUn.
nat. hist. VI 58,60 (Seneca); Lassen, op. cit.,
II 1, p. 693.
(104) Cf. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History
of South India, 3rd ed, Oxford, 1966, pp.
82-114.
(105) Three times Rome is mentioned in the
Anabasis (III 5,7; V 7,2; VII 15,5 [cf. Bosworth,
op. cit., p. 175]).
(106) Cf. Rommel, ? Mapyaptxa: >, RE, XIV,
1930, cols. 1685 f, 1690, 1694.
(107) I.e.: ?And thus, even to our day, those
who bring exports from India to our country
purchase these jewels at great price and export
them, and all Greeks in old time, and Romans
now who are rich and prosperous, are more
eager to buy the sea pearl, as it is called in
the Indian tongue? (transl. by Robson).

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 (Ind. 1.5.7.8.9) repeated comparatively often in the Indike. In Alexander's ruler cult there
was a very strong parallelism between Alexander and Dionysus (108) (respectively Hercules).
Arrian was, as we know, a close friend and admirer of Hadrian (109), and all his life he was
devoted to him (110). Moreover we have to remember that Hadrian was celebrated as
an incarnation of Dionysus, he was the veo<; Ai6vvoo<; in the East of the empire (lxl). I
suppose the line Dionysus-Alexander-Hadrian on the one hand and Arrian's devotion to
Alexander and the venerated emperor of the prime of his life on the other hand are
not accidental. Perhaps the Nicomedian thought of an internal affinity of the god, the
hero of the past, and the great Caesar of contemporary history, when he was devoting
himself to the description of the Macedonian's deeds. According to this proposed inter?
pretation the Anabasis/Indike turns out to be like a subtle homage to Hadrian.
Even if the retrospective method represents the "Zeitgeist" (112) in the historiography
of Arrian's epoch, we have seen that he wrote consciously looking back to Alexander. But
there are some unconscious anachronisms in the Indike and some conscious references to
his own days, facts which must not be overlooked in properly interpreting the most
precious monograph of antiquity on India we possess.

(108) Cf. Plut. de fort. Rom. 10 (332 A),
13 (326 B); Truempner, op. cit., pp. 143-49
(for Hercules: pp. 134-43); L. Edmund, ?The
Religiosity of Alexander?, GRBS, 12, 1971, pp.
374 ff.; Seibert, op. cit., pp. 192-202, 204-6.
(109) Cf. Hartmann, ?Flavius Arrianus und
Kaiser Hadrian?, cit., pp. 5, 13; St. Perowne,
Hadrian. Sein Leben und seine Zeit, M?nchen,
1966, pp. 112 f.
(110) Schwartz, op. cit., col. 1246, calls
Arrian ? den Mann, der seine besten Jahre dem
Kaiser geopfert hatte ?.
i111) Cf. Magie, op. cit., 1, pp. 617 f.; 2, pp.
477 f.; G. W. Bowersock, Greek Sophists in
the Roman Empire, Oxford, 1969, p. 52. For the
equation Antinous-Dionysus cf. Ch. W. Clair
mont, Die Bildnisse des Antinous. Ein Beitrag
zur Portr?tplastik unter Kaiser Hadrian, Rom,
1966, p. 33; for the line Dionysus-Hercules-Trajan
Hadrian: W. Weber, Untersuchungen zur Ge?
schichte des Kaisers Hadrianus, Leipzig, 1907,
pp. 129 f, 171; and for Hadrian-Alexander: B.
d'Orgeval, Uempereur Hadrien, Paris, 1950,
pp. 21 f.
(112) Cf. Lesky, op. cit., p. 946. Dihle (? The
Conception of India in Hellenistic and Roman
Literature ?, cit., p. 17) states that the authors of
the imperial period (i.e. Strabo, Pliny, Arrian,
Curtius Rufus), ? whose writings were published
mainly for literary and stylistic reasons, took
their information about India almost entirely from
early Hellenistic sources ?. But comparing Ar?
rian's Indike with those authors one must realize
that their writings are interspersed, here and
there, with contemporary knowledge (for example
Curtius Rufus and the Periplus maris Erythraei
[cf. Altheim, Stiehl, Die Araber in der Alten
Welt, 1, cit., pp. 40 ff.]) which cannot be found
to that extent in the monograph. Therefore Arrian
alone fulfils absolutely Dihle's (op. cit., p. 20)
conclusion: ? India was to all intents and
purposes the country Alexander subjugated and
Megasthenes lived in, and nothing else?.

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 Chronological Table of Arrian's Biography and Works

95 A. born in Nicomedia
(Bosworth 181,184 = c. 85)
98-117 Traianus Indian embassy
112/117-116/120 A. disciple of
Epictetus {Bosworth 184)
117-138 Hadrianus Indian embassy
A. enters the public service -(Ilspi Ttov Bpaxp*v<f'v ? [Roos XXXIV f..
121-124/130 A. consul suffectus Derrett 73 ff., but Hansen 364])
(Millar 142 = c. 130)
124/125 Hadrian in Nicopolis
(Epictetus)
127 A. friend of L. Gellius Iustus E pis tula ad Gellium
(Oliver 337) (IIp?? MaaaaXiQv?v stuoxoXtq)
(Timoleon)
(Dion)
(Tilliboros)
125/131 A. visits Noricum and TlzpLnXouz E'j?sLvou ITdvxou (c. 130/131)
Pannonia (but Bosworth 171 f.) (Two periploi [Bosworth 173])
135 Epictetus' death
131-137 A. legatus pro praetore in Tsxvyj xaxTtxig (c. 136)
Cappadocia (Magie 1593 = ('Uavnaj ioxopta [bosworth 185"])
134-137) sy.xa?t? xax3 3AXavwv
138 A. leaves, at about the time of Ataxpi?xl 'Etoxx^tod after 138
Hadrian's death, the public 'Ef)(sipt?iov (Wirth 225,
service and retires to Athens but Bosworth
183)
138-161 Antoninus Pius Indian embassy KuvYjysTix?g (Bosworth 185)
(Ilspi xopiYjxwv cpOascog xs xal
aoaxdostos xat cpaajidxwv
subdivision: Ikpt {isxswpcov
[Brinkmann 56 f.])
(Parthica)
145/146 A. archon eponymos in Athens
(Oliver 338, Bosworth 183) -Anabasis (after 148 [Wirth 221, 224, 231],
about 155 [Bowie 24 ff.], before A.'s
senatorial career [Bosworth 178, 183])

-Indike
(Ta [isx9 *AXsgav8pov)
(Bithynica [completion])

161-180 Marcus Aurelius Roman embassy to China

c. 165 Lucian already knows
A.'s works (Wirth 245)
166/167 A. prytanis (according
to Bosworth 181 f. not
169/170 the historian A.)
c. 175 A.'s death
after 180 Lucian's *AXe?av5po$ %
cjjs'jd?fiavxis (WlRTH 234:
? a homage to Arrian ?)

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 Cross-references in the

Anabasis and the Indike

V 5,1
V 6,8
VI 16,5

? History stops Conscious references to

with Alexander? Unconscious anachronisms Arrian>s dme
Ind. 3,4 Ind. 2,8 Ind. 4,15
3,5 5,3 4,16
4,1 7,1 8,9
5,7 38,3
6,1

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