Peukolaos

Peucolaus

Peucolaus

Indo-Greek king

Peucolaus Soter Dicaeus (Ancient Greek: Πευκόλαος Σωτήρ Δίκαιος, romanized: Peukolaos Sōtēr Dikaios; epithets mean respectively, "the Saviour", "the Just") was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the area of Gandhara c. 90 BCE. His reign was probably short and insignificant, since he left only a few coins, but the relations of the latter Indo-Greek kings remain largely obscure.

Quick Facts Indo-Greek king, Reign ...
Peucolaos Tetradrachm. Obv Diademed king, legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ KAI ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ/ ΠΕΥΚΟΛΑΟΥ "King Peucolaus, the Just and the Saviour". Rev. Maharajasa dhramikasa tratarasa/ Piükulaäsa ""King Peucolaus, follower of the Dharma and Saviour". Zeus making a blessing gesture.[1]
Coin of Peucolaus. Obverse: Artemis standing facing, drawing arrow from quiver. Reverse: Goddess standing left, holding a flower and palm. Similar to the goddess of Pushkalavati on a coin of that city.[2]

His name could be interpreted as "The man from Pushkalavati". Pushkalavati was the historic capital of Gandhara located in the Valley of Peshawar.

Coinage

Peucolaus struck rare Indian standard silver coins with portrait in diadem, and a reverse of a standing Zeus, which resemble the reverse of contemporary kings Heliokles II and Archebios. The latter has overstruck two coins of Peucolaos.

He also issued bilingual bronzes with Artemis and a crowned woman with a palm branch, perhaps a city-goddess or a personification of Tyche, the deity for good luck.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Monnaies Greco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques", Osmund Bopearachchi, Bibliotheque Nationale, 1991, p.309
  2. [2]
    Di Castro, Angelo Andrea (January 2017). "Crowns, Horns and Goddesses Appropriation of Symbols in Gandhāra and Beyond". In Bapat, Jayant Bhalchandra; Mabbett, Ian (eds.). Conceiving the Goddess: transformation and appropriation in Indic religions. Monash University Publishing. pp. 38–39.

Bibliography

  • The Greeks in Bactria and India, W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
  • The Coin Types of the Indo-Greek Kings, 256-54 B.C., A. K. Narain
  • Le Roi Peukolaos
Preceded by Indo-Greek Ruler
(in Arachosia, Gandhara)
c. 90 BCE		 Succeeded by
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Peukolaos, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.