Polyxenus Epiphanes Soter ( grc, Πολύξενος Ἐπιφανῆς Σωτήρ, Polyxenos Epiphanēs Sōtēr, "Polyxenus the Illustrious Saviour") was an

Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent ( ...

king who ruled briefly in western

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

or Gandhara.

Date

Osmund Bopearachchi Osmund Bopearachchi (born 1949) is a Sri Lankan historian and numismatist who has specialized notably standardized the coinage of the Indo-Greek and Greco-Bactrian kingdoms. He is currently Emeritus Director of the CNRS at the École Normale Sup ...

places Polyxenus c. 100 BCEBopearachchi (1998) and R. C. Senior c. 85–80 BCE.

Coinage

Polyxenus, whose portraits depict a diademed young man, struck silver coins which closely resemble those of

Strato I Straton or Strato may refer to: * Strato I, Indo-Greek king * Strato II, Indo-Greek king * Strato of Lampsacus (c. 335 – c. 269 BC), Greek philosopher * Straton of Sardis, Greek poet and anthologist * Abdashtart I (Straton I, 365–352 BC), king ...

. Both kings used the epithets

Soter Soter derives from the Greek epithet (''sōtēr''), meaning a saviour, a deliverer; initial capitalised ; fully capitalised ; feminine Soteira (Σώτειρα) or sometimes Soteria (Σωτηρία). Soter was used as: * a title of gods: Poseidon ...

Epiphanes and the reverse of Athena Alcidemus (fighting

Pallas Athene Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

), the emblem of the dynasty of

Menander I Menander I Soter ( grc, Μένανδρος Σωτήρ, Ménandros Sōtḗr, Menander the Saviour; pi, मिलिन्दो, Milinda), was a Greco-Bactrian and later Indo-Greek King (reigned c.165/155Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectivel ...

. Polyxenus also struck bronzes with Athena on the obverse and her

aegis The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...

on the reverse. He issued no Attic silver. His bronzes depict the head of Athena with a reverse of her

. Polyxenus' coins are few and feature only three monograms: these he shares with Strato I as well as Heliocles II and Archebius, according to Bopearachchi and RC Senior. He was therefore likely to have been a brief contestant for power in the central Indo-Greek kingdom after the presumably violent death of Straton I, who was possibly his father.

Notes

References

*Osmund Bopearachchi, ''Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum: American Numismatic Society, part 9, Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Coins'', 1998, American Numismatic Society, .

External links

Catalog of the coins of PolyxenusLe Roi Polyxène
Indo-Greek kings 1st-century BC rulers in Asia {{AncientGreece-bio-stub