Menander II

Menander was probably the son of Strato I, and the grandson of Menander I.

The coins of Menander II bear the mention "Menander the Just", and "King of the Dharma" in Kharoshti, suggesting that he adopted the Buddhist faith. They also depict the lion, symbol of Buddhism, as also seen on the pillars of the Mauryan King Ashoka. The presence of the Buddhist Dharma wheel has also been reported on one of his coins (Tarn). In general, the coins of Menander II are extremely few (the one with his portrait is unique), which tends to indicate a rather small rule.

standing, with spear and palm-branch, shield at her feet. The Greek legend reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ (King Menander the Just). The reverse shows a Buddhist lion. The Kharoshti legend reads MAHARAJASA DHARMIKASA MENADRASA (Menander, King of the Dharma).
The next king to represent the Buddhist lion on his coins is the Indo-Scythian king Maues, around 85 BCE, after the end of Menander II's reign.

There is a possibility that Menander II, rather than his grandfather Menander I, is actually the Buddhist Greek king referred to in the Milinda Panha. This point is unsolved however, since Greek sources (Plutarch (Praec. reip. ger. 28, 6)) relate that the great conqueror Menander I is the one who received the honour of burial in Buddhist stupas.

On the other hand, it also has been suggested that Menander II was not a separate king at all, but that, instead, Menander I changed his title to ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ "The Just" at the end of his life, following his conversion to Buddhism, which would be supported by the elder portraits found on Menander II's coins. It was however quite rare for a king to change his dynastic title, and the deity types found on Menander II's coins are quite different from those of Menander I: Athena with shield at her feet, or Nike standing.

More likely, Menander I may indeed have first supported Buddhism, like the other Indo-Greek kings, and was probably the main protagonist of the Milindapanha, on account of his described fame, and his grandson Menander II, a minor king, may have wholeheartedly embraced Buddhism, as examplified by his coins.

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