Earlier quoted context omitted.
except of course that some greeks were buddhist but whatever.
Ancient Greek Buddhists?
I believe they're likely referring to
Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
11–20 of 21 posts
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Despite destroying the Buddhas, they did not destroy the Greek antiquities My guess would be simply because Buddha is a symbol of a modern religion, whereas the Greek antiquities are not.
That doesn't make much sense; both predate Islam by over a millenium.
Buddhism remains practiced in the modern world on a significant level, ancient Greek polytheism is not. In that way, Buddha statues are a symbol of something that the Taliban is actively opposed to, whereas Greek antiquities, even to the extent that they contain specific religious content, generally are not.
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#13TL;DR It had something to do with a random dude named Alex
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#14Afghan here.
When I was a kid, my dad would tell me about our clan's origin story.
Basically, as Pashtuns (and some other ethnicities mixed in there), we trace our origins to Ancient Greece, and not just that, but as descendants of great greek conquerors who came and eventually settled on that land. Our origin story is all oral, (since my dad told me, and his dad told him, etc etc down the generations), so I am not sure how to corroborate them, but various things of the Afghan culture are linked to practices from Greece, etc.
I remember listening to his stories as a kid and not really caring, but now that I am older, they are really quite interesting!
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
But the author didn't get it right though. His conclusion- "By highlighting its Greek heritage, Afghanistan could claim a share of the classical origins of Europe and the West", aspiring to "the 'civilizational norms' of the developed world"- is a tired formula of western Orientalism. The Seleucid Greek culture has had an enduring impact on the people and culture of Afghanistan, as anyone can see by the Buddhas there…
> Greek culture wasn't some attempt to manufacture legitimacy for national boundaries in the '30s. Interestingly, it seems that the desire to inherit the legacy of Alexander the Great's feats is not limited to the people in his kingdom. Exactly. He kind of produced a real multi-cultural empire (even if the Greek element dominated some aspects) instead of mere subject nations, and those belonging to it respected it an…
I love the debate in ancient historical studies, that argues if those people that were "conquered" by Alexander and were subjects to later rulers (even though the often tried to deviate from this status by violent or nonviolent means), simply adapted to the new influence not because it was necessary, but because it was fashionable.
Just like a lot of people are fascinate by American culture today and therefore try to learn English or watch Hollywood movies.
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#16Afghan here. When I was a kid, my dad would tell me about our clan's origin story. Basically, as Pashtuns (and some other ethnicities mixed in there), we trace our origins to Ancient Greece, and not just that, but as descendants of great greek conquerors who came and eventually settled on that land. Our origin story is all oral, (since my dad told me, and his dad told him, etc etc down the generations), so I am not s…
Was your clan of the Hazara group ?
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#17[deleted]
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
But the author didn't get it right though. His conclusion- "By highlighting its Greek heritage, Afghanistan could claim a share of the classical origins of Europe and the West", aspiring to "the 'civilizational norms' of the developed world"- is a tired formula of western Orientalism. The Seleucid Greek culture has had an enduring impact on the people and culture of Afghanistan, as anyone can see by the Buddhas there…
except of course that some greeks were buddhist but whatever.
It was not that 'some greeks were buddhist" (an insignificant number might have been), but in that some buddhists in those areas were influenced by the ancient greeks / greek culture which arrived there with Alexander the Great.
So it's the other way around mostly. E.g. you can find statues of Buddha after that interaction that are clearly influenced by hellenic sculptures (in their look and aesthetics), but not the inverse (greek e.g. Apollo statues influenced by Buddhist statues).
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#19Afghan here. When I was a kid, my dad would tell me about our clan's origin story. Basically, as Pashtuns (and some other ethnicities mixed in there), we trace our origins to Ancient Greece, and not just that, but as descendants of great greek conquerors who came and eventually settled on that land. Our origin story is all oral, (since my dad told me, and his dad told him, etc etc down the generations), so I am not s…
Was your clan of the Hazara group ?
Pashtun primarily (I think > 80%?), although we have a mix of Haraza, some Nuristani, Turkmen, etc in our bloodlines. The Hazara mix comes primarily from the maternal sides though.
Re: Why is there ancient Greek text on Afghan banknotes?
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
except of course that some greeks were buddhist but whatever.
It was not that 'some greeks were buddhist" (an insignificant number might have been), but in that some buddhists in those areas were influenced by the ancient greeks / greek culture which arrived there with Alexander the Great. So it's the other way around mostly. E.g. you can find statues of Buddha after that interaction that are clearly influenced by hellenic sculptures (in their look and aesthetics), but not the…
True but some Greeks really were Buddhist. Remember Bactria is pretty far from Greece