Olympus

<p>- Olympus is the home of the Greek gods much like Amravati of the Hindu devas. <br>- Zeus leader of Olympians wields a thunderbolt like Indra and rides an eagle like Vishnu. <br>- The feats of the Greek hero Heracles known to Romans as Hercules reminded many of Krishna as did his name 'Hari-kula-esha' or lord of the Hari clan. <br>- The Greek epic of a husband sailing across the sea with a thousand ships to bring his wife Helen back from Troy seems strikingly similar to the story of Ram rescuing Sita from Lanka. <br>Is there a connection between Greek and Hindu mythology then? Does it have something to do with a common Indo-European root? Or maybe an exchange of ideas in the centuries that followed the arrival of Alexander the Great when Greek emissaries travelled to the kingdoms of Mathura and Magadha? <br>In this book mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik turns his attention to ancient Greek tales and explores a new world of stories. Long have Europeans and Americans retold Indic mythologies. It is time for Indians to reverse the gaze.</p>