The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c25.s1.3

v1.c25.s1.3

Some ground for thinking that at least the smaller Athenian imitations were not unfamiliar in the north of India is furnished by a notable series of silver drachms of Attic weight (Pl. I, 17), for the actual finding of which in the Punjab General Cunningham is able to vouch. They are struck from regularly adjusted dies (↑↓), and these dies have been cut by a Greek artist who signs himself M or MN. The obverse shows the head of a warrior wearing a close-fitting helmet, wreathed with olive, while the reverse has a cock standing to right with a caduceus behind. The legend is ΣΩ. Apart from the circumstance that a unique trihemiobol in the Berlin Museum has the head of Athena, instead of that of a warrior, the coins leave a general impression of having been designed after an Athenian prototype. This and the absence of a royal title go to indicate a date not long subsequent to Alexander's expedition, a conclusion which in its turn fits in well with the current interpretation of the inscription. Sophytes (Saubhūti) has been by universal consent identified with the Sopeithes of Arrian (VI, 2, 2) and Strabo (xv, 699). If this view is right, his coins may be regarded as a very direct memorial of Greek influence in India.