>Nikephoros1 at 11:39, 19 June 2021

2021-06-19T11:39:44Z

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{{about|the Indo-Greek queen|the 3rd-century BC mistress of Ptolemy IV|Agathoclea (mistress of Ptolemy IV)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more footnotes|date=December 2016}}
{{one source|date=December 2016}}
}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name =Agathokleia
|title=Queen Regent of India| succession =[[Indo-Greek]] Queen
| image =Strato_I_Soter_with_the_Divine_Agathokleia.jpg
| caption = Portrait of Agathokleia
| reign =110–100 BCE
| coronation =
| full name =
| predecessor =
| successor = [[Strato I]]
| spouse =[[Menander I]]
| issue = [[Strato I]]
| royal house =
| dynasty =Diodotid / Maurya
| father =
| mother =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Gandhara]]
| death_date =
| death_place =[[Gandhara]] or [[Punjab]]
| date of burial =
| place of burial = Stupas in [[Gandhara]]
| religion =
}}
[[File:Agathokleia drachm.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Drachm of Agathokleia, with [[Strato I]] standing in armour.]]
[[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".]]
'''Agatho Theotropos''', or '''Agathokleia''' ([[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==
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 [[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathokles]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |date=1970 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-23448-1 |page=406 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Oe1u1H_OSMC&pg=PA406 |language=en}}</ref> 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 region|Punjab]].

[[File:Whitehead Coins of the Punjab Museum Plate IX Straton and Agotokleia.jpg|thumb|left|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 [[King Nicias|Nicias]] or [[Theophilos (king)|Theophilus]]. In either case, Agathokleia was among the first women to rule a [[Hellenistic period|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 Empire|Seleucid]] and [[Ptolemaic dynasty|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 of Bactria|Agathocles]].

==Coinage==
[[File:Coin of Agathokleia & Strato.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Coin of [[Strato I]] and Agathokleia.<br>'''Obv:''' Conjugate busts of Strato and Agathokleia. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΣΤΡΑΤΩΝΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕΙΑΣ "Of Saviour King Strato, and Agathokleia".<br>'''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.

{{clear}}
{{Indo-Greek kings}}

==See also==
*[[Greco-Buddhism]]
*[[Indo-Scythians]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*W. W. Tarn. ''The Greeks in Bactria and India.'' Third Edition. Cambridge: University Press, 1966.

==External links==
*[http://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?results=100&search=Agathokleia+NOT+Menander&Thumb=1 Main coins of Agathokleia]
*[http://coinindia.com/galleries-agathocleia.html Web page of Agathokleia's coins]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Menander I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Indo-Greek Kingdom|Indo-Greek]] ruler in [[Gandhara]] and [[Punjab region|Punjab]]|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Strato I]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Hellenistic rulers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agathokleia}}
[[Category:Indo-Greek kings]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC women rulers]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC Greek people]]
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:Ancient Indian women]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women rulers]]

Agathokleia - Revision history

>Nikephoros1 at 11:39, 19 June 2021