Editing Demetrius I of Bactria (section)

===Elephant with the caduceus coinage===
[[File:Demetrios I with elephant and caduceus.jpg|thumb|Coin of Demetrius I with an elephant wearing a bell and raising trunk on the obverse, and the [[caduceus]] on the reverse.|280x280px]]
One of Demetrius' "elephant" types represents a rejoicing elephant, depicted on the front on the coin and surrounded by the royal bead-and-reel decoration, and therefore treated on the same level as a King. The elephant, one of the symbols of Buddhism and [[Gautama Buddha]], possibly represents the victory of [[Buddhism]] brought about by Demetrius. Alternatively, though, the elephant has been described as a possible symbol of the Indian capital of [[Taxila]] (Tarn), or as a symbol of India as a whole.

The reverse of the coin depicts the [[caduceus]], symbol of reconciliation between two fighting serpents, which is possibly a representation of peace between the Greeks and the [[Shunga Empire|Shunga]]s, and likewise between Buddhism and [[Hinduism]] (the [[caduceus]] also appears as a symbol of the [[punch-marked coins]] of the [[Maurya Empire]] in India, in the 3rd-2nd century BC).

Unambiguous Buddhist symbols are found on later Greek coins of [[Menander I]] or [[Menander II]], but the conquests of Demetrius I did influence the Buddhist religion in India.