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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 Eur

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 which matched the muscled aesthetic of Apollo statutes, as opposed to usual image of the sitting Buddhas in China. 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. After all, Sean Connery in the film "The Man who would be King" is one of the more famous depictions of Kipling's novella on wayward westerners trying to capture an Alexander glory from the locals, including Civilization V, Star Trek episodes, Jimmy Buffet songs, etc. Also: Once the Taliban took over, I think everyone can agree that they represented the polar opposite of modernity and ties to Europe. Despite destroying the Buddhas, they did not destroy the Greek antiquities or scrub the Greek from their money.

coldtea 10y ago
>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 and cherished this past more than e.g. countries conquered by the Roman empire did or countries colonized by the British etc.
- cavDXF 10y ago
  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.
contingencies 10y ago
tired formula of western Orientalism Well stated.
Koshkin 10y ago
> 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.
- cholantesh 10y ago
  That doesn't make much sense; both predate Islam by over a millenium.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    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.
    - cholantesh 10y ago
      I suppose I don't understand where the Taliban is coming from on this (presuming it's an accurate reflection of their thought process). Both the atheism of orthodox Buddhism and the polytheism of Greek antiquities are haraam.
gillianlish 10y ago
except of course that some greeks were buddhist but whatever.
- gydfi 10y ago
  Ancient Greek Buddhists?
  - grzm 10y ago
    I believe they're likely referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism
- coldtea 10y ago
  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).
  - command_codes 10y ago
    True but some Greeks really were Buddhist. Remember Bactria is pretty far from Greece

coldtea 10y ago

>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 and cherished this past more than e.g. countries conquered by the Roman empire did or countries colonized by the British etc.

cavDXF 10y ago
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.

contingencies 10y ago

tired formula of western Orientalism Well stated.

Koshkin 10y ago

> 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.

cholantesh 10y ago
That doesn't make much sense; both predate Islam by over a millenium.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  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.
  - cholantesh 10y ago
    I suppose I don't understand where the Taliban is coming from on this (presuming it's an accurate reflection of their thought process). Both the atheism of orthodox Buddhism and the polytheism of Greek antiquities are haraam.

gillianlish 10y ago

except of course that some greeks were buddhist but whatever.

gydfi 10y ago
Ancient Greek Buddhists?
- grzm 10y ago
  I believe they're likely referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism
coldtea 10y ago
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).
- command_codes 10y ago
  True but some Greeks really were Buddhist. Remember Bactria is pretty far from Greece