Obverse: Elephant standing right, monogram
below. Inscription: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟΥ
ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ (‘of saviour king Apollodotus’).
Reverse: Zebu bull standing right.
Apollodotus I was one of the generals of
Demetrius I of Bactria, the Greco-Bactrian king
who invaded northern India in 180 BC. He
issued bilingual square coins and ruled an
Indo-Greek kingdom between 174-165 BC
that stretched from Taxila in the Punjab to
areas of Sindh. There are several theories
regarding the symbolism of the animals. The
elephant on the obverse may be a symbol of
the city of Taxila. Alternatively, it may refer to
the Buddhist legend in which a white elephant
enters the womb of Maya, the Buddha’s
mother, in a dream. The bull may also
represent a city or a depiction of the Hindu god
Shiva.
