Megasthenes (c. 350 BCE-290 BCE) was a Greek traveller and geographer. He was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador sent by Seleucus I of Syria to the court of Sandrocottus of India.

His observations were recorded in Indica, a work that served as an important source to many later writers such as Strabo. He describes such features as the Himalayas and the island of Sri Lanka. He also described India's caste system.

External links

• Surviving text of Indica (http://www.mssc.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Foreign_Views/GreekRoman/Megasthenes-Indika.htm)