Antialcidas

Antialcidas may have been a relative of the Greco-Bactrian king Heliocles I, but ruled after the fall of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. Several later kings may have been related to Antialcidas: Heliokles II, Amyntas, Diomedes and Hermaeus all struck coins with similar features. ==The Heliodorus inscription==

made by Antialcidas' Ambassador named Heliodorus in 113 BCE.|175x175px Though there are few sources for the late Indo-Greek history, Antialcidas is known from an inscription left on a pillar (the Heliodorus pillar), which was erected by his ambassador Heliodorus at the court of the Shunga king Bhagabhadra at Vidisha, near Sanchi. It states that he was a devotee of Vishnu, the Hindu god. A part of the inscription says: The Indo-Greeks and the Shungas seem to have reconciled and exchanged diplomatic missions around 113 BCE, as indicated by the Heliodorus pillar, which records the dispatch of a Greek ambassador named Heliodorus, from the court of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas, to the court of the Shunga emperor Bhagabhadra at the site of Vidisha in central India. A pillar known as the Heliodorus column stands at Besnagar, near Sanchi in Central India. Dating back to the first century BC, it features a Sanskrit inscription that offers valuable insight into the Indianization of the Greeks who had settled on the Indian frontier. The pillar illustrates how these Greeks absorbed Indian culture. The inscription has been translated as follows: ==Coins==

facing right. Reverse with Zeus Nikephoros seated to left, and Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΝΤΙΑΛΚΙΔΟΥ, Basileōs Nikēphorou Antialkidou, "Of Victorious King Antialcidas". and diadem. Reverse with Zeus Nikephoros seated slightly left, and Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΝΤΙΑΛΚΙΔΟΥ, Basileōs Nikēphorou Antialkidou, "Of Victorious King Antialcidas". Otherwise, Antialcidas is also known through his plentiful coins. He issued a number of bilingual Indian silver types: diademed, wearing a helmet with bull's horns or a flat kausia. He also appears throwing a spear. According to some interpretations (Grousset), the baby elephant may symbolize the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, who took the shape of a small elephant to enter the womb of his mother Queen Maya, a scene often depicted in Greco-Buddhist art. In that case the coin scene would represent a victory of Buddhism. According to other interpretations the elephant was the symbol of the city of Taxila. =="Mule coins" (overstrikes)==

There is a bronze which features the obverse of Lysias and the reverse of Antialcidas. This was interpreted by Tarn and other earlier scholars as though the two kings might have forged some kind of alliance, but later, a bronze with the opposite arrangement was found. Modern scholarship has however largely accepted that what was originally supposed to be a "joint issue" was in fact a mule; in other words, a mistake occurred in the process of overstriking the original coin, and it was accidentally issued with both king's standards. ==Gallery==

File:Antialkidas with Zeus giving wreath of victory to elephant.jpg|Antialcidas with Zeus directly giving wreath of victory to the elephant. With Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΝΤΙΑΛΚΙΔΟΥ, Basileōs Nikēphorou Antialkidou, "Of Victorious King Antialcidas". Obverse with Kharoshti legend: Maharajasa Jayadharasa Antialikitasa. File:Seal of king on elephant receiving wreath of victory.jpg|Gandhara seal of king on elephant receiving wreath of victory, a motif with some similarity to the coins of Antialcidas. The art is a mix of both Greek and Indian styles, which was characteristic of the region of Gandhara during the Hellenistic period. ==References==