Buddhist art in its aniconic phase started shortly after the inception of Buddhism in the sixth to fifth century B.C.E. During this stage, which lasted up to the second or first century B.C.E., Buddha was represented symbolically rather than as a human.
Many symbols were used during the aniconic phase of Buddhist art to represent Buddha. These symbols included the wheel of law, which symbolizes the four noble truths taught by Buddha; the Bodhi tree, which represents Buddha's enlightenment; Buddha's footprint; the empty throne; and a lion, Shakya Lion being one of Buddha's names. The human form of Buddha was avoided out of respect for Buddha's sayings in the Dighanikaya, a Buddhist holy book, that discouraged the use of representations of him after his death.
The iconic phase of Buddhist art started in India during the first century B.C.E., mainly in Punjab and Mathura, regions of Pakistan and India. In this phase, the use of symbols continued alongside the representation of Buddha in human form. This stage coincided with the expansion of Buddhism throughout Asia, which caused each region to create its particular vision of Buddhist art. Important manifestations of Buddhist are found in Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, China and Japan.
The use of a human form to depict Buddha began with the conquests of Alexander the Great and the ensuing Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms. The Greek culture, with its focus on the human form and its concept of demigods seems to have influenced Buddhist art and coaxed it into using human forms. Hinduism, which also has a strong tradition of depicting gods in human form, seems to have also played an important role in bringing about the iconic phase of Buddhist art, especially through its influence in the Mathura region.