Dionysus’ Invasion of India Before Alexander the Great

Greek God Dionysus’ Invasion of India. Credit: Dan Sloan / Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0

According to past myths, Dionysus, the ancient Greek deity of wine, invaded India agelong earlier Alexander the Great was born.

Dionysus is an Ancient Greek deity and besides portion of the Roman pantheon. He was known arsenic Bacchus to the Romans and was connected with the Italian deity of fertility and wine, Liber Pater.

Interestingly, helium is besides associated with India and is often mentioned successful references of classical antiquity. According to myth, Dionysus, the vino god, arrived successful India and conquered the lands, founded cities, and established laws.

He besides introduced vino to Indians—as helium had to the Greeks—and taught them to sow the onshore portion helium supplied the seeds.

Dionysus’ narration to India accrued successful value aft Alexander the Great’s sojourn successful 327 BCE to a metropolis which the Greeks called Nysa, located betwixt the Cophenii River and the Indus River.

In mythology, this is known arsenic Dionysus’ birthplace, wherever helium was calved from the thigh of the Greek God Zeus aft his ain mother, Semele, who had yet to afloat make Dionysus successful her womb, was consumed successful the lightnings of Zeus erstwhile helium revealed his divinity to her.

Zeus saved his lad by sewing him up successful his thigh and keeping him determination until helium reached maturity. Hence, it is said that helium was calved doubly aft which helium was entrusted to the attraction of definite nymphs connected Mount Nysa. 

Alexander the Great and Mount Meru, India 

Dionysus Bacchus. Credit: Giovanni Francesco Romanelli/ Public Domain

In his enactment “The Anabasis of Alexander: Book VIII” (Indica), Arrian of Nicomedia, a Greek historiographer of the Roman period, who wrote of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, besides wrote:

The Nysaeans are not an Indian race, but portion of those who came with Dionysus to India; perchance adjacent of those Greeks who became past work successful the wars which Dionysus waged with Indians; perchance besides volunteers of the [neighboring] tribes whom Dionysus settled determination unneurotic with the Greeks, calling the state Nysaea from the upland Nysa, and the metropolis itself Nysa. And the upland adjacent the city, connected whose foothills Nysa is built, is called Merus due to the fact that of the incidental astatine Dionysus’ birth.

As per Richard Stoneman successful his publication “The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks”, Alexander and his troops placed the determination of Nysa connected a adjacent mountain. They named this Mount Meru due to the fact that “the babe Dionysos had been concealed successful the thigh (Greek: mēros, μηρός) of his begetter Zeus.”

Mentions of Mount Meru are rather communal successful Hindu scriptures. The spiritual texts Kurma Purana, for instance, states that Jambudvipa, a sanction utilized successful past sources successful notation to Greater India, lies successful the mediate of each mortal realms, and successful its halfway is the lofty Mount Meru, agleam arsenic gold.

Alexander and his troops regarded the information that Indians typically wore dapped covering and played the drums and cymbals arsenic impervious “that they were devotees of Dionysus” and adjacent viewed a festival similar Holi arsenic “a merry riot that [Dionysus] would person loved.”

Dionysus invades India

Triumph Of Dionysus. Credit: Public Domain

Nonnus of Panopolis was the astir notable Greek epic writer of the Imperial Roman era, who wrote “Dionysiaca”. In the thirteenth publication of his literate work, which helium composed successful the 5th period CE, Dionysus is ordered by Zeus to hole for warfare against the impious natives of India.

Rhea, who had cared for Dionysus arsenic a child, is ordered by the deity to hole troops for the conquest. The Dionysian army, comprised of a ample contingent of Bacchants, oregon Maenads, encounters the Indian troops led by Astraeus, an astrological deity successful Greek mythology, who is besides associated with the winds.

In an expedition against the Indians, Dionysus is said to person disguised the arms with which helium equipped his troops. They wore brushed raiment and fawn skins, and the spears were wrapped with ivy.

He gave the awesome for conflict by utilizing cymbals and drums alternatively of trumpets, and tampered with enemies by giving them vino truthful arsenic to divert their thoughts from warfare preparations to dancing. These, and different Bacchic orgies were employed successful the strategy of warfare, and frankincense India and assorted parts of the satellite were “conquered” by Dionysus.

According to Nonnus of Panopolis, the Indian service was annihilated by Bacchic forces, and Dionysus took pity connected his enemies. In sympathy, the deity transformed the adjacent Astacid Lake into wine.

The Indians past quenched their thirst successful the lake, and, tasting vino for the archetypal time, they became inebriated and fell asleep. The unconscious Indian troops were past bound and imprisoned by Dionysus’ forces.

While warfare was raging betwixt the Indians and the bacchants, different struggle was playing retired connected Mount Olympus betwixt the deities that sympathized with Dionysus and those that supported the Indians.

Hera defeated Artemis, and Athena, who sided with Dionysus, defeated Ares. Apollo confronted Poseidon, but some gods were enactment astatine easiness by Hermes to forestall immoderate further struggle from erupting.

Once these idiosyncratic duels were over, Dionysus made his mode backmost to Greece to instrumentality his spot connected Mount Olympus. However, Hera, inactive enraged, enlisted the assistance of the Giants to onslaught Dionysus.

Dionysus erstwhile again emerged victorious, making Hera’s last effort to forestall his ascendancy unsuccessful. This culminates successful his final, unobstructed homecoming to Olympus, during which helium is enthroned arsenic an Olympian god.

According to Philostratus, “Bacchus (Dionysos) dedicated astatine Apollo’s celebrated shrine astatine Delphi successful the bosom of Greece a discus of Indian metallic with the elemental inscription: Dionysos, lad of Semele and Zeus, from India, for Delphic Apollo.”

Worship of Dionysus successful India

Triumph Of Dionysus. Credit: Public Domain

In quoting Megasthenes, an past Greek historiographer and Indian ethnographer of the Hellenistic play who described India successful his enactment “Indica”, the Greek geographer Strabo points retired that determination were respective philosophers who were upland dwellers and worshipers of Dionysus arsenic good arsenic observers of definite Bacchanalian customs. In addition, determination were besides the Sramanas, who were Buddhist ascetics and abstained from wine.

Sir William Jones authored an effort connected the gods of Greece, India, and Italy, suggesting “correspondences betwixt Janus and Ganesha, Saturn and Manu oregon Satyavrata, Jupiter and Indra, Hermes and Narada, Ceres and Lakshmi, Dionysus and Rama, and Apollo and Krishna.”

As per Allan Dahlquist, writer of “Megastenes and Indian Religion, A Study successful Motives and Types”, Dionysus is related to “the non-Hindu Dravidian religion, arsenic exemplified by the religion of the Kotas of South India and the Oraons and others successful the Chota Nagpur-Orissa.”

Alternatively, Dionysus has besides been connected to Shiva, the Hindu deity. Regardless of the mentation to which 1 is partial oregon by which 1 is convinced, India and Greece person undoubtedly had an age-old transportation acknowledgment to the Greek deity Dionysus. This remained truthful up until the clip of the past classical Greek kingdom successful the world, which was located successful India.