2020-09-16 Wed

The first woman to rule the Hellenistic Kingdom is queen Agathokleia, she is popularly known as Agathokleia Theotropos. Queen Agathokleia was an Indo-Greek queen and ruled northern India around 2nd century BC as regent for her son king Strato I.

Queen Agathokleia issued gold, silver, copper, and bronze coins during her reign. On coins Agathokelia seem to associate herself with Athena; the Goddess of war, one fine example is the above-shown copper coin (image b). Most of her coins are the joint issued with her son Strato I. In the early issued his portrait is not depicted; he was shown standing in arms and holding the spear. Later on, the conjoined busts of both Agathokelia and Strato I were circulated.

Another Indo-Greek queen is Calliope or Kalliope, she was the wife of the King of the Eucratid dynasty Hermaeus. He ruled the Paropamisade in the Hindu-Kush region around 90 BCE. Queen Calliope appears on the coinage of her husband King Hermaeus. A silver drachma (image c) depicts the conjoined bust of both king and queen, this coin was circulated 90 to 70 BCE.

Image Courtesy: Classical Numismatic Gallery