Similarities in Greek and Hindu Mythology

Similarities in Greek and Hindu Mythology

 

 

Someone asked me to the elaborate on the similarities in Hindu and Greek mythology. So, here are some that I can think of.

            

i)               The most obvious and startling similarity - the war of Troy is fought over Helen when she runs away/is abducted by the Trojan Prince Paris. Well, as anyone who has read the Hindu epic the Ramayana or watched the Doordarshan TV series of the same name by Ramanand Sagar can tell you, the conflict between Lord Rama and King of Lanka, Ravana, is over Lady Sita, Lord Rama’s wife who Ravana abducts on his Vimana (flying machine).

 

ii)             The epic battle of Troy last 10 years. The battle of the Ramayana last 10 days culminating in Vijaya Dashami. The ancient Shastras tell us that in times of great stress and urgency, a day equals a year. In any case, nothing of import happens the first 9 years of the Trojan war. The Illiad basically describes about 10 days of important events where everything happens.

 

iii)           Much like the Greeks had to cross a sea to get to Troy, Lord Rama and his army of monkeys, who he recruits along the way, also have to cross a sea to reach Lanka. I guess in those days ships didn’t exist, so in a departure from the Greek myths, they instead make use of a floating stone bridge, which Lord Rama creates.

 

iv)           Achilles, central figure of the Iliad and the greatest warrior alive, is the son of the water Goddess Thetis and King Peleus. Bhisma Pitamaha, one of the most prominent figures of the Hindu epic the Mahabharata, is the son of water Goddess Ganga and King Shantanu.

 

v)             Swayambhars, where kings marry off their daughters to other kings or princes, after calling a gathering of all the most prominent kings and princes of the land are a feature of both Greek and Hindu mythology, with that (the Swayambhar) of Helen, Sita, and Draupadi being among the most prominent. [Ironically, Swayambhar means the bride gets to choose her own groom from this gathering. But, in almost all of these cases its her father who chooses the groom or sets the conditions for the selection of the groom.]

 

vi)           In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna acts as Arjun’s conscience, his charioteer both literally and figuratively. Pallas Athene plays a similar role in the Odyssey, with the role of Arjun being played by Odysseus.

 

vii)          Subterfuge plays a role in the downfall of Troy, and in the battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas in the Mahabharata, we also see time and again that the Pandavas are forced to resort to some underhanded methods to defeat the Kauravas. 

 

viii)        Achilles, we’re told is invulnerable except for his heel, and that’s where the arrow hits him. Duryodhana too, was invulnerable, except for one body region when he battled Bheema, and that’s where the blow fell.

 

These are just some of the similarities between Hindu and Greek mythology that I was able to think of in this sitting. I’m sure if I kept thinking I would be able to think of many more similarities. The question is why do all these similarities exist. Did one mythology steal/plagiarize from another? Did they both crop up independently? Are they both descended from an even more ancient common mythology? I’ll leave you to ponder these questions…