Indo-Greek Strato I Soter AR Tetradrachm, Athena Alkidemos, c.105–80 BC

Strato I Soter, Tetradrachm, silver, Indo-Greek Kingdom, struck 105–80 BC at an uncertain royal mint; 9.45 g; 27 mm. Helmeted, diademed, and draped bust right with Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΣΤΡΑΤΩΝΟΣ. Reverse with Kharosthi legend MAHARAJASA PRAKACHASA TRATARASA; Athena Alkidemos standing left, hurling thunderbolt and holding shield; monogram below in the field. Bilingual issue on the Indian tetradrachm standard from an uncertain mint. Cited in Bopearachchi 28A; Mitchiner 2, 332a; HGC 12, 335. Strato I Soter ruled parts of the Punjab and Gandhara in the late 2nd to early 1st century BC, among the later Indo-Greek kings. His bilingual silver coinage on the Indian standard illustrates the integration of Hellenistic and South Asian monetary practices. The Athena Alkidemos type continues a Seleucid-derived emblem popularized by earlier Indo-Greek rulers such as Menander, and the paired Greek and Kharosthi legends provide epigraphic evidence for administrative communication with both Greek and local populations.