Apollodotus I was an Indo-Greek king between 180 and 160 BC who ruled the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, from Taxila in Punjab to the areas of Sindh and Gujarat.

Ruler of the Indo-Greek kingdom

Apollodotus was one of the generals of Demetrius I of Bactria, the Greco-Bactrian king who invaded northern India around 180 BC. 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 BC. 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.

An abundant multi-cultural coinage

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 AD 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.

Indian-standard coin of Apollodotus I.

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: 15mm, 1.4 grams.

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 cow on the reverse may be a symbol of a city (Pushkhalavati), or a depiction of Shiva's cow, making it a symbol of Brahmanism, the other major religion at that time.

Links

Coins of Apollodotus (http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/baktria/kings/apollodotos_I/t.html)

More coins of Apollodotus (http://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?results=100&search=Apollodotos+I+NOT+II+NOT+Philoxenos&Thumb=1)

• Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
  
• Seleucid Empire
  
• Greco-Buddhism
  
• Indo-Scythians
  
• Indo-Parthian Kingdom
  
• Kushan Empire
  

References

The Greeks in Bactria and India (Cambridge Library Collection - Classics) , W.W. Tarn,