According to Coomaraswamy, the original depictions of the Buddha are usually aniconic figures such as lotus flowers or a bodhi tree (which the Buddha fasted under for forty-nine days). It wasn’t until possibly Greek or Eurasian influence did the image of the Buddha come to be. There are some Hellenistic features on the Buddha and a level of detail that is a large leap from the aniconic figures being used just a few years earlier (the beginning of the 1st-century C.E.). The most notable influence from Hellenistic art is the use of “wet drapery”. Images of the Buddha in robes resemble that of the Grecco-Roman figures from the same century (in the late 1st-century C.E.), with marble and stone made cloth looking like it was soaked in water falling onto the skin of the figure. In my personal opinion, whether or not this was just a coincidence or direct influence, it is safe to say that many cultures and societies from the early civilizations had overlaps in their ideas and art styles.
References
- Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. “The Origin of the Buddha Image.” The Art Bulletin 9, no. 4 (1927): 287-329 doi:10.2307/3046550
