Menander I, 155-130 BC, Drachm

Menander I Soter, AR Drachm, c. 155–130 BC, uncertain mint; 2.40 g, 18 mm. Diademed and draped bust right; BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ MENANΔPOY (“of King Menander the Saviour”). Athena Alkidemos advancing left, hurling thunderbolt and holding shield; Kharoshthi legend Maharajasa tratarasa Menamdrasa. Struck on a round flan to the Indian-weight drachm standard, with bilingual legends in Greek and Kharoshthi. Bopearachchi 7b; HGC 12, 187.

Menander I (c. 155–130 BC), generally identified with the “Milinda” of the Buddhist Milindapañha, ruled an Indo‑Greek kingdom spanning parts of Gandhara and the Punjab. His silver coinage standardized a bilingual format with Greek obverse and Kharoshthi reverse legends, evidencing administrative accommodation to diverse populations and facilitating circulation across cultural boundaries. The Athena Alkidemos reverse became a recurring device for Indo‑Greek rulers, marking the transmission of Hellenistic iconography into South Asia.