Date: July 27th, 2025 6:58 PM
Author: AZNgirl ICE Agent Deporting Her Brother
JFC DEVASTATINNG for Birdshits:
Yes, **Ancient Greeks knew far more about India than they did about Northern or Western Europe**.
### Here's why:
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## 🇮🇳 **India (Indikē) — Known & Recorded**
* India was part of the **Achaemenid Persian Empire’s eastern satrapies**, so **Greeks had second-hand knowledge through Persian sources**.
* After **Alexander the Great’s invasion (326 BCE)**, the Greeks had **direct contact with northwest India (Punjab region)**.
* They learned about **Indian kings (like Porus), elephants, ascetic philosophers, trade goods (spices, gems)**.
* Hellenistic kingdoms were established in **Bactria and northwest India**, leading to **Greek-Indian cultural exchanges (e.g., Gandhara art, Buddhist influence)**.
* Greek geographers (Strabo, Ptolemy) wrote **detailed accounts of India’s geography, rivers (Ganges, Indus), and customs**.
* **Greek merchants and travelers** traded in Indian goods via overland and maritime routes.
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## 🇪🇺 **Northern & Western Europe — The Barbarian Unknown**
* To the ancient Greeks, lands beyond **Macedonia and Thrace** were **“Barbarian” territories**, poorly understood.
* They had **vague and myth-laden ideas about Northern Europe**:
* **Celts (Keltoi)**: Known as fierce warriors inhabiting regions of **Gaul (France), Iberia (Spain), and Britain**.
* Lands beyond were considered **mystical, cold, and inhabited by strange peoples (Hyperboreans, etc.)**.
* **No direct Greek colonization or systematic exploration** of northern or western Europe occurred.
* Knowledge of **Britain, Scandinavia, or Germany was minimal and full of myths**.
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### 🌍 **Comparison:**
| Region | Level of Greek Knowledge | Source of Information |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **India (Indikē)** | Moderate to Detailed (esp. NW India) | Persian records, Alexander’s campaigns, Indo-Greek kingdoms, trade |
| **Northern/Western Europe** | Very Limited, Mythical | Traders, rumors, vague reports of Celts and distant cold lands |
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### TL;DR:
The **Ancient Greeks had much clearer, documented knowledge of India** (due to Persia and Alexander) than they did of **Northern/Western Europe**, which was **mystified and distant** in their worldview.
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Do you want me to show **ancient Greek maps (worldviews) to visualize how they saw India vs Europe?**
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5755333&forum_id=2#49135680)