Person

Megasthenes

c. 350–290 BCE · 4th century BCE

Megasthenes was a Greek historian and diplomat sent by the Seleucid king Seleucus I as envoy to the court of Chandragupta Maurya at Pataliputra around 300 BCE. His Indica, known only from quotations by later writers such as Arrian, Strabo and Diodorus, described Indian geography, cities, peoples and a society of seven classes, and was the main Western source on India for centuries.

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Mentioned in 2 state histories

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Megasthenes. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/megasthenes
MLA
“Megasthenes.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/megasthenes. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Megasthenes.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/megasthenes.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Megasthenes’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/megasthenes (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻