Oesho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coin of the Kushan king Kanishka II with, on the reverse, a supposed depiction of Shiva and the word Oesho in modified Greek script.

Kushan worshipper with Shiva/Oesho, Bactria, 3rd century CE.^[1]

Oesho was a deity represented on the coins of several Kushan kings, and was apparently one of the titular deities of the dynasty.

The images were previously though to represent Shiva, but recent studies indicate that Oesho was Zoroastrian Vayu with admittedly many of the attributes of Shiva (H.Humbach, 1975, p.402-408. K.Tanabe, 1997, p.277, M.Carter, 1995, p.152. J.Cribb, 1997, p.40. References cited in "De l'Indus à l'Oxus".)

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Bopearachchi, Osmund (2003). De l'Indus à l'Oxus, Archéologie de l'Asie Centrale (in French). Lattes: Association imago-musée de Lattes. ISBN 2-9516679-2-2.