Apollodotus I
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Obv.: Bust of Apollodotus I wearing kausia, with bead and reel border.
Rev.: Athena holding Nike, who crowns the king’s name. Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟΥ "King Apollodotus".
Apollodotus I was an Indo-Greek king between 180 and 160 BCE who ruled the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, from Taxila in Punjab to the areas of Sindh and possibly Gujarat.[1]
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[edit] Ruler of the Indo-Greek kingdom
Apollodotus was one of the generals of Demetrius I of Bactria, the Greco-Bactrian king who invaded northwestern India around 180 BCE. He was probably a member of the royal house, and may have been a brother of Demetrius.
Apollodotus was a contemporary of Menander I, although it seems the reign of Apollodotus preceded that of Menander, who was the general in charge of the Eastern territories during his reign.
The usurper Eucratides probably killed Apollodotus when he invaded the western territories of the Indo-Greeks around 160 BCE. Eventually Menander managed to repell Eucratides beyond the Hindu-Kush, took the title of King, and ruled alone nearly all the northwestern area of the Indian sub-continent.
[edit] An abundant multi-cultural coinage
Obv: Sacred elephant with decorative belt. Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ "Saviour King Apollodotus".
Rev: Bull with Kharoshti legend MAHARAJASA TRATARASA APALADATASA "Saviour King Apollodotus".
Actual size: 15 mm, 1.4 grams.
The coinage of Apollodotus is, together with that of Menander, one of the most abundant of the Indo-Greek kings. It is found mainly in the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Gujarat, indicating the southern limit of the Indo-Greek expansion in India. This is confirmed by the Periplus, a 1st century CE document on trade in the Indian Ocean, which describes the remnants of Greek presence (shrines, barracks, wells, coinage) in the strategic port of Barygaza (Bharuch) in Gujarat. Strabo (XI) also describes the occupation of Patalene (Indus Delta country) and the region of Kathiawar peninsula by the Greeks.
Apollodotus also issued a great number of bilingual Indian-standard square coins. Beside the usual royal title, the exact significance of the animals depicted on the coins is unclear. The sacred elephant may be the symbol of the city of Taxila, or possibly the symbol of the white elephant who reputedly entered in dream the womb the mother of the Buddha, Queen Maya, which would make it a symbol of Buddhism, one of the central religion of the Indo-Greek territories.
Similarly, the sacred bull on the reverse may be a symbol of a city (Pushkhalavati), or a depiction of Shiva, making it a symbol of Hinduism, the other major religion at that time. The bull is often represented in a clearly erectile state, which reinforces its interpretation as a representation of Shiva. Conversely, this also reinforces the interpretation of the elephant as a religious symbol. Alternatively, the Bull, according to Foucher, represents the birth of the Buddha, as it happened during the month of Vaicakha (April-May), known to Buddhists as Vesak, under the zodiacal sign of the Taurus, during the full moon.[2] The enlightenment and passing of the Buddha also occured during the Taurus full moon.
Before their design was eventually simplified, some of the earlier coins of king Apollodotus directly associate the elephant with Buddhist symbolism, such as the stupa hill surmounted by a star, also seen, for example on the coins of the Mauryan Empire or those of the later Kuninda kingdom.
| Preceded by: (In Paropamisadae) Agathocles (In Gandhara) Pantaleon |
Indo-Greek Ruler (Paropamisadae, Arachosia, Gandhara, Punjab) ( 180-160 BCE) |
Succeeded by: Antimachus II |
[edit] Gallery
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[edit] Notes
- ^ The 1st century CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes numerous Greek buildings and fortifications in Barigaza, although mistakenly attributing them to Alexander (who never went this far south), and the circulation of Indo-Greek coinage in the region:
- "The metropolis of this country is Minnagara, from which much cotton cloth is brought down to Barygaza. In these places there remain even to the present time signs of the expedition of Alexander, such as ancient shrines, walls of forts and great wells." Periplus, Chap. 41
- "To the present day ancient drachmae are current in Barygaza, coming from this country, bearing inscriptions in Greek letters, and the devices of those who reigned after Alexander, Apollodorus (sic) and Menander." Periplus Chap. 47 Periplus
- ^ "The beginnings of Buddhist Art" Alfred Foucher, Plate I
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
- Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
- Seleucid Empire
- Greco-Buddhism
- Indo-Scythians
- Indo-Parthian Kingdom
- Kushan Empire
[edit] References
- "The Greeks in Bactria and India" W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press
