Apollophanes Soter (

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: ;

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

means "the Saviour"; reigned c. 35 – 25 BCE) was an

Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...

king in the area of eastern and central

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in modern

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and

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Little is known about him, except for some of his remaining coins. The dating is Osmund Bopearachchi's, but R. C. Senior suggests approximately the same dates. Earlier scholars, such as Professor Ahmed Hasan Dani, W.W. Tarn and A.K. Narain dated Apollophanes considerably earlier, but the style and finding places of his coins make it clear that he belonged to the last line of eastern Indo-Greek kings, not long before they were overcome completely by pressure from the Indo-Scythians. He may have been a relative of Apollodotus II Soter since both kings share the epithet ''Soter'' (Saviour), have names related to Apollo and use Pallas Athene as their reverse.

Coins of Apollophanes

Apollophanes issued a few debased silver drachms of the type seen above, struck with a single monogram and of little artistic quality. He seems to have been an insignificant local ruler. Apollophanes wears what appears to be a

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ian helmet of the type seen on the

Alexander Mosaic The ''Alexander Mosaic,'' also known as the ''Battle of Issus Mosaic'', is a Roman mosaic, Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, Italy. It is typically dated between and Anno Domini, BC 100 and depicts a battle be ...

which he was the last Indo-Greek ruler to use. Apollophanes used exclusively a single "boxy" mint-mark, in keeping with late Indo-Greek kings.JSTOR article
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References

* ''The Greeks in Bactria and India'', W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press. * ''The Bactrian and Indus Greeks'', Ahmed Hasan Dani, Lahore Museum * ''The Indo-Greeks - Revisited and Supplemented'', A.K. Narain, BR Publishing Corporation * ''Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques'', Osmund Bopearachchi, Bibliothèque Nationale de France. {{Hellenistic rulers Indo-Greek kings 1st-century BC monarchs in Asia

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Coins of Apollophanes

See also

References

References