Artemidorus is a Greek name meaning "gift of
Artemis", and has traditionally been seen as an
Indo-Greek king. His remaining coins generally feature portraits of Artemidorus and Hellenistic deities and are typical of Indo-Greek rulers, but on a coin described by numismatician R. C. Senior, Artemidorus seems to claim to be the son of the
Indo-Scythian king
Maues. Not only does this coin enable a closer dating of Artemidorus; it also sheds new light on the transient ethnic identities during the decline of the Indo-Greek kingdom. While Maues was 'Great King of Kings', Artemidorus only styled himself King; it appears as though he ruled only a smaller part of his father's dominions. He was either challenged by or ruled in tandem with other kings such as
Menander II, whose coins have been found alongside his, and
Apollodotus II.
New evaluation In a 2009 article however,
Osmund Bopearachchi disputes the interpretation of the coin according to which Artemidorus would be son of Maues. The analysis of several similar coins in good condition reveals that the obverse should be read
rajatirajasa moasa putrasa ca artemidorosa, the
ca (pronounced "cha") meaning "and", which opens the way to a possible translation being "King of kings Maues, and the son of Artemidorus". This would suggest that the son of Artemidorus would have issued coins in the name of his father, recognizing at the same time the suzerainty of Maues. In that case, Artemidorus would have been a regular Indo-Greek king, whose son simply made a transition with the rule of Maues. ==Time of rule==