Nike of Samothrace

Hellenistic embodiment of victory.

The winged goddess of Victory (Nike) overlooked the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on the Aegean island of Samothrace. Shortly after its discovery a pedestal in the form of a ship’s prow was found; it is likely that the sculpture, with the strong wind blowing through her garments, commemorated a naval victory. Part of her right hand was discovered in 1950.

The time at which she was discovered was the height of the power of European empires. This, combined with the theatrical pose and the melodrama, makes the Nike a favourite model for modern day victory motifs. The figure on the bonnet of a Rolls Royce is perhaps the best-known example

Number

376

Material

Marble from Lartos near Rhodes

Location of Original

Paris, Louvre 2369

Size

2.73m

Accession

Purchased in 1884 from the Louvre's casting service

References

Lippold: Griechische Plastik, 360 (n.13), pl. 126.4
Lehmann: Hesperia XXI (1952), 20
Encyclopédie Photographique de l'Art; Musée de Louvre III, 219
Walston: Catalogue of Casts in the Museum of Classical Archaeology (1889), 73, no.350
Pollitt: Art in the Hellenistic Age, 113, pl. 117
Knell: Die Nike von Samothrake
Mark, in Regional Schools in Hellenistic Sculpture (ed. Palagia & Coulson), 157

Date

c.200 BCE

Provenance

Found on Samothrace in 1863

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