When Dionysos met the Buddha. A Reading on Interculturality, Identity and Globalization at the Crossroad between India and Late-Hellenism: Sociological and Legal-Philosophical Implications

The following contribution seeks to draw some sociological and philosophical reflections while rereading some remarkable chapters of the late-Hellenistic era in the Indian sub-continent. Despite the distance in time, and the scarcity of direct literary sources – partially rebalanced by rich archeological and numismatic findings, and by accurate historical research – the years between Alexander the Great’s death (323 B.C.) and the fall of the last Greek king in India (Strato III, 10 A.D.) offer a portray of extraordinary vitality and encounter between peoples and cultures, that, placed in a situation of intense exchange and contacts, help reflecting on sociological phenomena that still today challenge our contemporary societies.