In the case of Greek authors and place-names, I have followed the traditional practice of librarians and mapmakers, and I have translated them into Latin, so that it will be easier for the reader to find the places on maps and the authors in library catalogues. Otherwise, I have used the Ancient Greek spelling. Since this book is about the Greek and Indian imagination, I wanted to present their thoughts in their own words.
The vowels in both languages are pronounced as in most languages except modern English: long ā as in English ‘grand’, long ē as in English ‘great’, and long ī as in English ‘machine’. Sanskrit ṛ is a vowel, as in the slow, ironic pronunciation of the ‘r’ in English ‘great’ [girreat], so Sanskrit ṛta is pronounced [irrta]. The consonants g and s are pronounced hard, as in English ‘girl’ or ‘see’ (never soft as in ‘gin’ or ‘ease’). Sanskrit c is pronounced like English ‘ch’, Sanskrit ś and ṣ are like English ‘sh’.