| Apollodotus I | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Apollodotus as shown on his coins | |
| Indo-Greek king | |
| Reign | 180–160 BC or between 174–165 BC |
| Predecessor | Agathocles of Bactria |
| Successor | Demetrius II of India |
| Born | Bactria inCentral Asia |
| Died | ca. 163–162 BC Ohind nearTaxila, India (modern dayPakistan) |
| Dynasty | Diodotid or Eucratid |
Apollodotus I (Greek:Ἀπολλόδοτος Α΄ ὁ Σωτήρ,Apollódotos ho Sōtḗr, "Apollodotus the Saviour"), known in Indian sources asApaladata, was anIndo-Greek king from 180 BC to 160 BC, or between 174 and 165 BC (first dating by OsmundBopearachchi and R. C. Senior, second dating by Boperachchi[1]) who ruled the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, fromTaxila in thePunjab region to the areas ofSindh and possiblyGujarat.[2]
Apollodotus whose name means "given byApollo",[3] was not the first to strike bilingual coins outside Bactria, but he was the first king who ruled in India only, and therefore the founder of the proper Indo-Greek kingdom. According toW. W. Tarn, Apollodotus I was one of the generals ofDemetrius I of Bactria, theGreco-Bactrian king who invaded northwesternIndia after 180 BC. Tarn was uncertain whether he was a member of the royal house. It is possible he was an illegitimate son ofEuthydemus, making him Demetrius’ half brother. Later authors largely agree with Tarn's analysis,[4] though with perhaps even more uncertainty regarding who the king was, for his coins do not give many hints.
Apollodotus likely ruled at the same time asAntimachus I andAntimachus II, or was succeeded in India byAntimachus II. It is also likely that king Antimachus II ruled the more western territories closer to Bactria. Eventually Apollodotus was succeeded byMenander I, and the two kings are mentioned by Pompejus Trogus as important Indo-Greek rulers.[5]
The 1st-2nd century ADPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea further testifies to the reign of Apollodotus and the influence of theIndo-Greeks in India:
"To the present day ancient drachmae are current inBarygaza, coming from this country, bearing inscriptions in Greek letters, and the devices of those who reigned after Alexander, Apollodorus [sic] andMenander."
— Periplus Chap. 47.[6]
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 andGujarat, indicating the southern limit of the Indo-Greek expansion in India. This is also suggested by thePeriplus, a 1st-century AD document on trade in theIndian 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). While Sindh may have come under his possession, it is not known whether Apollodotus advanced to Gujarat, where the Satavahanas ruled.
Apollodotus also issued a great number of bilingual Indian-standard square coins. Besides 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 ofTaxila, or possibly the symbol of the white elephant who reputedly entered the womb of the mother of theBuddha,Queen Maya, in a dream, which would make it a symbol ofBuddhism, one of the main religions of the Indo-Greek territories.
Similarly, the sacred bull on the reverse may be a symbol of a city (Pushkhalavati), or a depiction ofShiva, making it a symbol ofHinduism, 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 toFoucher, represents the birth of the Buddha, as it happened during the month ofVaicakha (April–May), known to Buddhists asVesak, under the zodiacal sign of theTaurus, during the full moon.[8] The enlightenment and passing of the Buddha also occurred 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 thestupa hill (arched-hill symbol) surmounted by a crescent or a star (theChaitya symbol), also seen, for example on the coins of theMauryan Empire, many local coins ofTaxila or those of the laterKuninda kingdom.[9]
Also thezebu bull on the reverse is often shown with anandipada taurine mark on its hump on the less-worn coins, which reinforces the role of the animal as a symbol, religious or geographic, rather than just the depiction of an animal for decorative purposes. The nandipada and the zebu bull are generally associated withNandi,Shiva's humped bull inHinduism.[10] The same association was made later on coins ofZeionises orVima Kadphises.[10] The elephant, pendant to the bull, and shown with a girdle on the obverse, also must have a symbolic role, possibly Buddhism, as it was associated with thestupa hill in the earliest coins of Apollodotus.[9]
Apollodotus experimented with different coin standards for his silver, until he settled for a standard lighter than the Attic which would prevail for centuries, though later rulers usually struck round coins instead of the square (typically Indian) shape of most of Apollodotus' silver. He issued a number of bronzes withApollo/tripod, that also were repeated for centuries.
Apollodotus also issued a small series of monolingual Attic tetradrachms, intended for export into Bactria. For these, Apollodotus I clearly used Bactrian celators to strike a realistic portrait of the king as an aged man in the Macedonian Greek hat calledkausia, with a reverse of sittingPallas Athene holdingNike, a common Hellenistic motif introduced by theDiadochLysimachus. On these coins, he used no epithet.
| Preceded by | Greco-Bactrian king (inParopamisade,Arachosia,Gandhara,Punjab) 180 – 160 BC | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by |