Jump to content

Agathoclea: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
mNo edit summary
Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit
mNo edit summary
Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Line 6: Line 6:
{{Infobox royalty
{{Infobox royalty
| name =Agathokleia
| name =Agathokleia
| succession =[[Indo-Greek]] [[Empress]]
| succession =[[Indo-Greek]] [[Queen]] of the [[Indo-Greek|Euthydemian Empire]]
| image =Agathokleia portrait.jpg
| image =Agathokleia portrait.jpg
| caption = Portrait of Agathokleia
| caption = Portrait of Agathokleia
Line 31: Line 31:
[[File:Coin of Agathokleia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Coin of Agathokleia.<br>'''Obv:''' Queen Agathokleia in profile.<br>'''Rev:''': Greek straight bow and arrow container.]]
[[File:Coin of Agathokleia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Coin of Agathokleia.<br>'''Obv:''' Queen Agathokleia in profile.<br>'''Rev:''': Greek straight bow and arrow container.]]
[[File:Strato I Soter with the Divine Agathokleia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Gold coin of [[Strato I]], with the "Divine Agathokleia".]]
[[File:Strato I Soter with the Divine Agathokleia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Gold coin of [[Strato I]], with the "Divine Agathokleia".]]
'''Agathoclia I Theatropos''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Ἀγαθόκλεια Θεότροπος}}; the [[epithet]] possibly means ''the Goddess-like'') was an [[Indo-Greek]] queen who ruled in parts of northern India in the 2nd-century BC as regent for her son [[Strato I]].
'''Agathoclea I Theatropos''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Ἀγαθόκλεια Θεότροπος}}; the [[epithet]] possibly means ''the Goddess-like'') was an [[Indo-Greek]] queen who ruled in parts of northern India in the 2nd-century BC as regent for her son [[Strato I]].


==Date and genealogy==
==Date and genealogy==

Revision as of 23:45, 2 August 2021

Agathokleia
Portrait of Agathokleia
Indo-Greek Queen of the Euthydemian Empire
Reign110–100 BCE
SuccessorStrato I
BornGandhara
DiedGandhara or Punjab
Burial
Stupas in Gandhara
SpouseMenander I
IssueStrato I
DynastyEuthydemid
Drachm of Agathokleia, with Strato I standing in armour.
Coin of Agathokleia.
Obv: Queen Agathokleia in profile.
Rev:: Greek straight bow and arrow container.
Gold coin of Strato I, with the "Divine Agathokleia".

Agathoclea I Theatropos (Greek: Ἀγαθόκλεια Θεότροπος; the epithet possibly means the Goddess-like) was an Indo-Greek queen who ruled in parts of northern India in the 2nd-century BC as regent for her son Strato I.

Date and genealogy

The traditional view, introduced by Tarn and defended as late as 1998 by Bopearachchi, is that Agathokleia was the widow of Menander I. She may also have been the daughter of Agathokles.[1] In the civil wars after Menander's death, the Indo-Greek empire was divided, with Agathokleia and her young son Strato maintaining themselves in the eastern territories of Gandhara and Punjab.

Coin of Straton and Agotokleia.

The modern view, embraced by R. C. Senior and probably more solid since it is founded on numismatical analyses, suggests that Agathokleia was a later queen, perhaps ruling from 110 BC–100 BC or slightly later. In this case, Agathokleia was likely the widow of another king, possibly Nicias or Theophilus. In either case, Agathokleia was among the first women to rule a Hellenistic Kingdom, in the period following the reign of Alexander the Great.

Some of her subjects may have been reluctant to accept an infant king with a queen regent: unlike the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Kingdoms, almost all Indo-Greek rulers were depicted as grown men. This was probably because the kings were required to command armies, as can be seen on their coins where they are often depicted with helmets and spears. Agathokleia seems to have associated herself with Athena, the goddess of war. Athena was also the dynastic deity of the family of Menander, and Agathokleia's prominent position suggests that she was herself the daughter of a king, though she was probably too late to have been a daughter of the Bactrian king Agathocles.

Coinage

Coin of Strato I and Agathokleia.
Obv: Conjugate busts of Strato and Agathokleia. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΣΤΡΑΤΩΝΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕΙΑΣ "Of Saviour King Strato, and Agathokleia".
Rev: Athena throwing thunderbolt. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATASARA DHARMIKASA STRATASA "King Strato, Saviour and Just (="of the Dharma")".

The coins of Agathokleia and Strato were all bilingual, and Agathokleia's name appears more often in the Greek legend than in the Indian.

(See Strato I for details of legends.)

Most of Agathokleia's coins were struck jointly with her son Strato, though on their first issues, he is not featured on the portrait.

Silver: Bust of Agathokleia/walking king

Bust of Strato and Agathokleia conjoined/Athena Alkidemos

Bronzes: Bust of either helmeted Athena or Agathokleia as a personification of this goddess/sitting Herakles

The later king Heliokles II overstruck some of Agathokleia's coins.

See also

References

  1. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. 1970. p. 406. ISBN 978-0-521-23448-1.

Sources

  • W. W. Tarn. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Third Edition. Cambridge: University Press, 1966.
Preceded by Indo-Greek ruler in Gandhara and Punjab Succeeded by