Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c9.s26: 14. People
Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c9.s26
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14. People
c9.s26.1
The Indians, says Arrian, are slender and tall in person, and of much lighter build than other men.² Though some of them are dark in complexion, they neither have wooly hair, nor complexions so intensely dark as the Ethiopians, and the reason for this is found in the humid atmosphere of India.¹ Indians seldom suffered from disease and enjoyed long lives (Onesicritus gives 130 years, and even more) as they lived frugally and abstained from wine though they drank rice-beer commonly enough.² In the dominions of King Sophytes every new born baby was inspected when it was two months old by State officials and if any defect or deformation in its limbs was discovered it was ordered to be killed. 'In contracting marriages they do not seek an alliance with high birth, but make their choice by the looks, for beauty in children is a quality highly appreciated.' Curtius and Diodorus both give substantially the same account of this matter, obviously derived from a common source; we see from Strabo,³ who says the same things of Kathaians, that Onesicritus is the authority for these statements. But we cannot be sure whether he wrote down exactly what he saw in India, or idealised it in the light of very similar Spartan institutions known to him. He also stated that the handsomest man was chosen as king among these peoples, and that they sought to embellish the beauty of their persons by dyeing their beards and their garments with the colours of surprising beauty which the country produced. Megasthenes attributed the great artistic skill of the Indians to the pure air they inhaled and the very finest water they drank.⁴
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² Indika, xvii (p 221): also Inv. of India by Alexander, p. 85 on the stature of men in the Indus Valley.
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¹ Strabo, XV, 1, 24 (pp. 29-30): Arrian, Indika, vi (pp. 197-8).
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² Strabo, XV, 1, 45 (p. 52)—Meg. Frag. XXVIII (p. 69): also Strabo, XV, 1, 34 (p. 41), Arrian, Indika, XV. (p. 219).
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³ Curtius, IX, i (p. 219): Diod. XVII, 91 (pp. 279-80): Strabo, XV, 1,30 (p. 38). Here is Curtius' description of Sophytes and his sons as they came out of their capital city to meet Alexander; 'He was distinguished above all the other Indians by his tall and handsome figure. His royal robe, which flowed down to his very feet, was all inwrought with gold and purple. His sandals were of gold and studded with precious stones, and even his arms and wrists were curiously adorned with pearls. At his ears he wore pendents of precious stones which from their lustre and magnitude were of an inestimable value. His sceptre too was made of gold and set with beryls' (IX, 1, p. 220). Arrian, Indika, XVI (p. 220) cites Nearchus on Indians dyeing their beards. Some other writer cited by Strabo, XV, 1, 71 (pp. 76-7) asserts that Indians always wore white, contrary to what is said by others: he adds that they wore long hair and beards, and plaited the hair and bound it with a fillet.
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⁴ Diod. II, 36 (p. 31).
Linked texts (4)
- Γεωγραφικά — Στράβων, Ancient Greek
- Βιβλιοθήκη ἱστορική — Διόδωρος ὁ Σικελιώτης, Ancient Greek
- Ἰνδική — Λούκιος Φλάουιος Ἀρριανός, Ancient Greek
- Ἰνδικά — Μεγασθένης, Ancient Greek