ATHENA BEARING THUNDERBOLT~AN EXCEPTIONAL IMAGE OF THE GREEK GODDESS ON INDO- GREEK COINS

The Greek Kings of Bactria kept very close to their roots. Being away from their motherland,Greece, they felt a strong need to promote their knowledge and beliefs in the foreign lands which they ruled. Their Kingdoms were filled with the Greek culture and Religion. In cities ,such as Alexandreia of Oxus ( Ai-Khanoum) ,the Delphic Maxims were written in Greek- and for many centuries only those of Greek origin could be trained on how to use the lethal 'sarissa'; the famous longspear of the Macedonian Army. 

The close connection that the Greco-Bactrian Kings had with the Greek Gods is shown in their coinage.The rulers honoured their paternal Gods on every coin they made. And through this sign of respect, we have a very unusual depiction of the Goddess Athena on some of these coins. Athena is presented as Alkidemos, the Defender of the Kingdom, and instead of her familiar spear, she hurls a thunderbolt. The traditional, 'male' weapon of Zeus, is now wielded by His daughter, who is usually presented as ready for battle. 

This depiction of Athena was from Pella of Macedonia- the home of Alexander the Great. Athena Alkidemos protected the city of Pella by using a thunderbolt and Her armour.

This legacy of depicting Athena in a purely Macedonian way continued to exist in the Greek Kingdoms of Bactria, as a sign that the bonds between the Kings and their ancestral Gods and lands had never been severed. The Goddess continued to protect them in the lands that they conquered.

The coins used in this article were minted by the following kings ( from top to bottom) : Agathokleia and Straton, Polyxenos,Menander I, Epandros.