2017-03-24 Fri

Since ancient times we have seen various Gods and Goddess on Coins and Seals.

Indo-Greek rulers were probably first to depict or portray themselves and deities on them though Indian Historians credit Kushan to do so. Let’s not go into this as it’s a matter of debate and needs in depth research.

Athena was a heroic Goddess worshiped in Ancient Greece religion. She is given the epithet Pallas. She stands for wisdom, craft, and war. The city of Athens was named after her. She is the deity of Athens and she is also depicted on Silver tetradrachm coins with her attribute Owl on the reverse. Popularly known as Minerva in Roman mythology, she is also seen on the Roman coins.

The Indo-Greeks were quite innovative when it came to the depiction of their beloved Goddess Athena on Coins. All rulers tried portraying her in various postures.

The early Indo-Greek rulers like Demetrius II depicted her standing on coins while Apollodotus I depicted her seated on a throne. Menander I tried showing her in different poses and variations. Apart from showing her standing, holding a Gorgon-faced shield in her left hand and thunderbolt in other; he also issued Bronze coins with her bust. But the most mesmerizing is the Silver coin where he portrayed the bust of Athena on the obverse and Owl on the reverse. This is only seen on the coins of Menander I which is almost similar to the Greek concept of coins portraying Athena with her attribute.

There are various dynasties issued coins with Goddesses on them. Kushans and Guptas were the best to portray Sri Lakshmi or Ardoksho. In India, GoddessLakshmi is the most commonly portrayed on coins. Few of the PMC’s of Saurashtra also has goddess Gaja Lakshmi of them (Rajgor 625, type 411b).