Yona

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The "Yona" Greek king of India Menander (160–135 BCE). Inscription in Greek: Bασιλέως Σωτῆρος Μενάνδρου, lit. "of Saviour King Menander".

The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue "Yavana" in Sanskrit, are words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (Ancient Greek: Ἴωνες < Ἰάoνες < *Ἰάϝoνες), who were probably the first Greeks to be known in the East.

Both terms appear in ancient Sanskrit literature. Yavana appears for instance, in the Mahabharata, while Yona appears in texts such as the Sri Lankan chronicle Mahavamsa.

The Yona are mentioned in the Ashoka inscriptions, along with the Kambojas, as two societies where there are only nobles and slaves.[1]

Examples of direct association of these terms with the Greeks include:

In general, the words "Yoṇa" or "Yoṇaka" were the current Greek Hellenistic forms, while the term "Yavana" was the Indian word to designate the Greeks or the Indo-Greeks.[3]

Comparable terms in the Ancient Mediterranean world[]