NikeANCIENT_Samothrace

Nike (= Victoria), the personification of Victory. The image at right is the iconic sculpture known as "The Winged Victory of Samothrace", Louvre, MA 2369 tentatively attributed to Pythokritos of Rhodes (200 - 190 B.C.).

Click here for a view of the sculpture in its familiar setting, atop the Daru Staircase in the Louvre.

The Winged Victory of Olympia gets much less press than the Samothracian Nike does. The two sculptures are representatives of the same motif — the divine herald of the gods descends at high speed.Mythologically, Nike is the daughter of Pallas and Styx in Hesiod's Theogony (384). Athenian mythopoesis converted her into a manifestation of Athena, conflating the homonymous Pallas the son of Kreios (the Titan) and Pallas (i.e. Athena) the Olympian (who assumed the name of her childhood friend; cf. ML p. 182). Athenians worshipped Athena Nike. And, famously, Athena Parthenos holds Nike in her right hand. But the Phidian Zeus at Olympia also held a Nike in his right hand, while dancing Nikai (i.e. plural Nikes) were depicted in dance about the foot of his throne (Paus. 5.11.1-2).

Oh, yes: Nike shoe company is named after this goddess, as everybody knows.