Vedic influence in Greece

The Hindu Puranas gave a detailed description of the location for the source of the Nile . Lieutenant Speake constructed his map from the Puranas when he went on his expedition to search for the source of the Nile . The Puranas use the word “nila” to describe the Nile . Nila means blue in Sanskrit. A form of God which was half male and half female existed in ancient Egypt , where Osiris was the Male Human aspect of God and Isis was his female counterpart. A similar concept exists in the ancient Indian culture in the form of Ardhanareeshwara (Ardha=half, Nari=female, Eshwara=male)

There has been a great deal of exchange of ideas and philosophies between the ancient Greeks and the Egyptians. The Greek God Dionysus is considered to be the Egyptian God Osiris. Dionysus is often represented by the horns of a bull. We see the symbol of bull is used to connect both Osiris and Dionysus. As mentioned earlier Siva is associated with Bull in India. The Greeks in general believed in the “first cause” just like the Egyptians. They belief in one supreme personality who is termed as the “first cause” is identical to the Vedic principle of Vishnu. The religion propounded by Orpheus in ancient Greece associates God with a Goddess and promotes the worship of the two in one form. This is the concept of Sri Vaishnavism in which Lord Vishnu is worshiped together with goddess Lakshmi. The Goddess resides in the chest cavity of Lord Vishnu; Orpheus believed that the God and the Goddess shares a body and together created this universe. In Orphaeic religion other Gods are subordinate to this Supreme Being. All the other Gods along with living and non-living matter form the body of the Supreme Being. This is the Vedic concept of God as well.

References:

Religion of the ancient Greeks - m Le Clerc De Septchenes

The origin of pagan idolatry - George Stanley Faber

An analysis of the Egyptian Mythology: to which is subjoined a critical examination of the remains of Egyptian chronology - J.C. Prichard, M.D