Bharat and Greece lie several thousands of miles apart. Yet, they share a very close cultural bond with each other
The ancient Greek culture and the Hindu civilization are indeed very old. The Hindu and the Hellenic mythology shares a lot of fascinating similarities.
The Greek and the Hindu Gods may differ in their physical features but strangely, they share a lot of similarities in their attributes and powers.
To throw some light on these cultural links, a number of DNA researches have been conducted and active research is still going on in this regard.
Are the Hindu and the Hellenic divinities one and the same? So, let us discuss about them in detail.
The Trimurtis or the holy Trinity of the Hindu pantheon, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara are considered to be the most powerful and the supreme among all the devatas in Hinduism.
Similarly, the Greeks also have their own Trinity which comprises of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades who are considered the most powerful and the most important Greek Gods.
Coming to the next divinities, Krishna and Achilles
Shri Krishna played a significant role in the great Mahabharata war.
After the Kurukshetra war came to an end, grieved Gandhari, curses Shri Krishna and His yadava clan to perish within 36 years.
One day, while Krishna was resting under a tree, Jara, a hunter who was in the hunt of a deer, mistakenly strikes his poisonous arrow at Krishna's feet.
Eventually, Shree Krishna dies and leaves the mortal world when He was around 125 years old.
In the Greek mythology, Achilles, a great Greek warrior, played a crucial role in the Trojan war.
When Achilles was an infant, his mother Thetis dipped him in the holy river Styx to make him immortal.
She held him by one of his heels, thus one of Achilles' heel which couldn't come in contact with the holy waters remained vulnerable.
Later, Achilles dies when a poisonous arrow strikes his feet.
The cause of Achilles death is very similar to that of Shree Krishna's death.
Indra and Zeus
According to the Vedas, Indra dev is the king of the Devas and the ruler of Heaven.
He is the god of rain, lightning and thunder.
Similarly, in the Greek mythology, Zeus is the king of gods and He is the God of sky, lightning and thunder.
Indra weilds a weapon named Vajrayudh and the weapon of Zeus too looks very similar to that of Indra's Vajrayudh.
Saptarshis and Seven sisters
According to the Vedas, Saptarishis, the mind born sons or the manasaputras of Brahma dev are the seven great ancient sages who are said to be the seven bright stars which can even control the Sun.
They are identified as a cluster of seven stars of the Ursa major constellation.
Similarly, in the Greek mythology, these seven stars are referred to as Pleiades, which means pigeons.
As per the Greek legend, it is said that to save the virginity of the seven sisters from a hunter named Orion,
Lord Zeus turns them into seven pigeons and they fly into the sky and remain there as a cluster of seven stars.
Yamadharma Raja and Hades .
According to Hinduism, Yama, the deity of death and afterlife is the one who punishes the mortals in their afterlife according to one's deeds.
In the Greek mythology, Hades is the God of death and similarly he too punishes the departed souls in their afterlife according to the sins committed
Manmadha and Eros
Manmadha, the God of love and desire shoots his arrows of love at people's heart and makes them fall in love.
Similarly in the Greek mythology, Eros, the God of love and desire, shoots his arrows of love at people's heart and would make them fall madly in love with each other.
Surya Deva and Helios
In Hinduism, Surya dev, the Sun deity is depicted riding a chariot drawn by seven horses.
In the ancient Greek mythology too, Helios, the sun God is depicted as riding a horse drawn chariot through the sky.
In Hinduism, Kubera is revered as the deva of wealth.
Similarly, in Greek mythology, Plutus is the God of wealth.
The equivalent of Varuna, the God of water in the Greek mythology is Lord Anemos.
The descriptions and attributes of Naarada closely resembles that of Hermes
Saraswati Devi is known as Goddess Athena and
Lakshmi devi as Goddess Hera in the ancient Greek mythology.
A pertinent doubt that strikes my mind is that many Indian students are taught about the Trojan war, the Iliad and the Odyssey in the school curriculum.
Is there any possibility that in Greece, school students are taught about our great epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana?
Leave about Greece, atleast in India are the school children being taught about our own itihasas and puranas?
Why do you think, here in India, school children are deliberately being taught about the legends of other cultures instead of our own epics and itihasa-puranas?
What do you think the reason is?
Is it due to the colonial rule and the Macaulay's educational system or are there any other reasons?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!