This study throws light on the origins of the Gandharan style of sculpture. Three broad themes discussed are the systematic analysis of how much Gandharan 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 absorption, transformation and rejection of stylistic elements at work in the Gandharan region.