[German version]

As early as Herodotus, information about  India was compiled and a colourful picture was drawn of the morals and dietary habits of the Indians as well as the way in which they extracted gold (Hdt. 3,97-106), but it was not until the campaign of Alexander that Greece developed any sustained interest in India (Arr. Ind.; Diod. Sic. 2,35-42; Str. 15,1; Plin. HN 6,56-106). Extensive and regular trade in the early Hellenistic period hardly existed, although trading contacts may have led thro…