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Megasthenes' Indica: A New Translation of the Fragments with Commentary
This book provides a new translation of all the surviving portions of the description of India written by Megasthenes in about 310 BCE, the fullest account of Indian geography, history and customs available to the classical world. The Indica was a pioneering work of ethnography that exemplified a new direction in Hellenistic writing; India was little-known to the Greeks before the expedition of Alexander the Great in 326-325 BCE, and Megasthenes, who resided as an ambassador in the Maurya capital Pataliputra for some time, provided the classical world with most of what it knew about India.
Megasthenes' book, which became a classic in antiquity, now survives only in fragments preserved in other Greek and Latin authors. Stoneman's work offers a reliable and accessible version of all the writings that can plausibly be ascribed to Megasthenes. His subject ranges from detailed accounts of social structure and the royal household, to descriptions of elephant hunting and Indian philosophical ideas. His book is the only written source contemporary with the Maurya kingdom of Candragupta, since writing was not in use in India at this date. This translation provides a path to clearer understanding of Greek ethnography and a valuable resource on Indian history.
The book will be of value not only to classical scholars with an interest in Hellenistic history and cultural attitudes, and to their students, but also to scholars working on the early history of India, who have had to rely (unless they are also Greek scholars) on scattered and dated collections of evidence.
Megasthenes' book, which became a classic in antiquity, now survives only in fragments preserved in other Greek and Latin authors. Stoneman's work offers a reliable and accessible version of all the writings that can plausibly be ascribed to Megasthenes. His subject ranges from detailed accounts of social structure and the royal household, to descriptions of elephant hunting and Indian philosophical ideas. His book is the only written source contemporary with the Maurya kingdom of Candragupta, since writing was not in use in India at this date. This translation provides a path to clearer understanding of Greek ethnography and a valuable resource on Indian history.
The book will be of value not only to classical scholars with an interest in Hellenistic history and cultural attitudes, and to their students, but also to scholars working on the early history of India, who have had to rely (unless they are also Greek scholars) on scattered and dated collections of evidence.
- GenresHistory
158 pages, ebook
Published July 27, 2021
6 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Richard Stoneman
68 books19 followers"I was born just a few miles from Exeter and have been an Honorary Fellow in the department since 1996. I spent thirty years as a classics editor, most of those years for Routledge; since retiring from that role in 2006, and returning from London to live in Devon, I have been taking an active part in university affairs, including teaching, research and a planned conference.
The core of my research interests has been the continuity of the Greek world and Greek tradition up to the present day. I have written anthologies and travel guides reflecting this interest. Since the early 1980s the main focus of my research has been Alexander the Great, especially in later legend. I have recently participated in several international conferences on the Ancient Novel and on Philip and Alexander. I am currently writing a biography of Xerxes and a study of Megasthenes.
Besides Latin and Greek, my languages include fluent German and adequate French, Italian and Modern Greek. I am taking classes in Turkish and Persian.
I am also Chairman of Westminster Classic Tours (www.westminsterclassictours.com), a company which runs gület tours to classical sites around the Turkish coast and Greek Islands.
In 2009 I was appointed Consulting Editor in Classics to I.B. Tauris Publishers in London, and am actively seeking new authors for their classics programme, and for the series I edit, 'Understanding Classics'.
In 2010 I organised a conference at Exeter University, in conjunction with the Institute of Arab and islamic Studies, on 'The Alexander Romance in Persia and the East'. There were delegates from every continent."
The core of my research interests has been the continuity of the Greek world and Greek tradition up to the present day. I have written anthologies and travel guides reflecting this interest. Since the early 1980s the main focus of my research has been Alexander the Great, especially in later legend. I have recently participated in several international conferences on the Ancient Novel and on Philip and Alexander. I am currently writing a biography of Xerxes and a study of Megasthenes.
Besides Latin and Greek, my languages include fluent German and adequate French, Italian and Modern Greek. I am taking classes in Turkish and Persian.
I am also Chairman of Westminster Classic Tours (www.westminsterclassictours.com), a company which runs gület tours to classical sites around the Turkish coast and Greek Islands.
In 2009 I was appointed Consulting Editor in Classics to I.B. Tauris Publishers in London, and am actively seeking new authors for their classics programme, and for the series I edit, 'Understanding Classics'.
In 2010 I organised a conference at Exeter University, in conjunction with the Institute of Arab and islamic Studies, on 'The Alexander Romance in Persia and the East'. There were delegates from every continent."
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 19, 2025
Fascinating, this provides the first impressions of the Greeks as they encountered the Indians.
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