Megasthenes' Herakles


Megasthenes' Herakles is the conventional name of reference of an ancient Indian deity. Herakles was originally a classical Greek divinity. However, in the aftermath of Alexander the Great's conflicts in North-Western India, an Indian version of this classical Greek deity was identified by Megasthenes, who travelled to India as the ambassador of the Seleucids during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. Upon visiting Mathurai of the Early Pandyan Kingdom, he described the kingdom as being named after Pandaea, Herakles' only daughter.

Statement by Megasthenes

Megathenes in Indica reports on the Indian deity as similar to Herakles:

Megasthenes' Herakles as Vāsudeva-Krishna

Many scholars have suggested that the deity should be identified as Vāsudeva-Krishna. Edwin Francis Bryant comments the following in this regard:

Megasthenes' Herakles as Baladeva

associated Herakles primarily with Baladeva, Krishna's older sibling, but also indicated that Herakles could be associated with both:

Megasthenes' Herakles as Shiva

According to Quintus Curtius, the Sibae, whom he calls Sobii, occupied the country between the Hydaspes and the Akesines. They may have derived their name from the god Siva.
According to Dr. Schwanbeck and J. W. McCrindle, Megasthenes meant Siva when he mentioned Herakles in his book Indika