Nike of Samothrace
(Winged Victory)
For the ancient Greeks, the goddess Nike represented the personification of victory.
Today, the Nike celebrates the victory of beauty, and symbolizes the ideals of perfection to which the ancient Hellenistic artists aspired.
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| About the Sculpture | |
The Victory - “Nike” in Greek - is shown as if she were just alighting on the prow of the ship … Scholars believe that this monument might have been an offering to thank the gods for a naval victory around 190 BC.
The statue was probably destroyed by an earthquake, since it was found in countless pieces in 1863. The right wing is a plaster copy of the left wing, the only one to have survived. The cement base beneath its feet is also modern; the statue initially stood on the sculpted prow of the ship.
"a timeless icon of Western art." -André Malraux