Evidence from other civilisations Ancient India connected with other civilisations. King Darius I of Persia sent an explorer to travel along the Ganges River. Later, Alexander the Great tried to invade India in 334 BCE. Alexander’s stay was brief, but it had a signiýcant inþuence on Buddhist art. Before the Greeks, the Buddha wasn’t shown as human, but their art inspired Indian artists to create anthropomorphic depictions of the Buddha (see SOURCE3 ).
SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. What animal do the Indians use to travel through the desert in search of gold? 2. How do the Indians time their search for gold to avoid the giant ants? 3. According to the Persians’
SOURCE2 From The Histories by the Greek historian Herodotus, written about 440 BCE
[The Indians of the north-west] go out to fetch gold — for in this region there is a sandy desert ... the sand has a rich content of gold ... There is found in this desert a kind of ant of great size — bigger than a fox, but not so big as a dog ... [These] Indians plan their timetable so as to actually get their hands on the gold during the hottest part of the day, when the heat will have driven the ants underground ... When the Indians [on their camels] reach the place where the gold is, they ýll the bags they have brought with them with sand, and start for home again as fast as they can go; for the ants (if we may believe the Persians’ story) smell them and at once give chase; nothing in the world can touch these ants for speed, so not one of the Indians would get home alive if they did not make sure of a good start while the ants were mustering their forces.
story, what happens if the ants catch up to the Indians during their journey?
SOURCE3 Depiction of the Buddha from Gandhara
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator