Architectural element with centaur-sea serpents

Connections with the Worlds  of Greece and Rome

These sculptures and others in this gallery may call to mind Greek and Roman art. How did such sculptures come to be made so far from Greece and Rome?

Alexander the Great conquered the Persian empire in 330 BCE, and continued to march eastward toward India. Though he turned back before moving into India, his generals established Greek-ruled colonies in neighboring areas (in what are now Pakistan and Afghanistan).

Though the Greeks soon lost power, these areas continued to have some cultural links with the Greco-Roman world for more than five hundred years. For instance, the Greek language continued to be used for certain purposes, as can be seen from the Greek inscriptions on coins in the nearby case.

In the panel with five worshipers, the garments resemble Greco-Roman robes, and the column recalls Corinthian examples. Both the winged male figures and the centaur-sea serpents are also based on Greco-Roman models.