This study of the origins of the Gandharan style of ancient Indian sculpture focuses on three broad themes: the extent to which the sculpture drew from Graeco-Roman, Parthian, Central Asian, and Indian traditions; the extent to which Hellenization penetrated the east and the remarkable cultural resilience of Hellenism long after the political collapse of the Greek kingdoms; and the formulation of a native Gandharan style from the absorption, transformation, and rejection of stylistic elements at work in the Gandharan region.