Apollodotus I

Apollodotus I
Portrait of Apollodotus as shown on his coins
Indo-Greek king
Reign180–160 BC or between 174–165 BC
PredecessorAgathocles of Bactria
SuccessorDemetrius II of India
BornBactria in Central Asia
Diedca. 163–62 BC
Ohind near Taxila, India (modern day Pakistan)
DynastyDiodotid or Eucratid
Attic Tetradrachm of Apollodotus I shown wearing a kausia hat. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟΥ, Basileōs Apollodotou, "of King Apollodotus". The reverse shows Athena holding Nike in right hand, spear in left, resting her left elbow on shield.

Apollodotus I (Greek: Ἀπολλόδοτος Α΄ ὁ Σωτήρ, Apollódotos ho Sōtḗr, "Apollodotus the Saviour"), known in Indian sources as Apaladata, was an Indo-Greek king from 180 BC to 160 BC, or between 174 and 165 BC (first dating by Osmund Bopearachchi and R. C. Senior, second dating by Boperachchi[1]) who ruled the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, from Taxila in the Punjab region to the areas of Sindh and possibly Gujarat.[2]

  1. ^ Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectively. Bopearachchi kept the earlier dating was as an alternative in SNG9, a later, though less comprehensive work.
  2. ^ The 1st century AD 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 the Great, Apollodotus I and Menander." Periplus Chap. 47 Periplus