Winged Nike In The Hellenistic Era Of Greek Art

In the Hellenistic Era of Greek Art, many sculptures featured dramatic, emotional, and theatrical sculptures. Specifically, the Winged Nike or The Nike Of Samothrace is a sculpture that represents victory and the deity Nike. The sculpture is presented on a base that is a prow of a ship with the goddess atop. The original placement was “…a hillside niche high above the theater in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods of Samothrace…” (Cothren, Stockstad). Her stance is powerful; her right leg pushed forward while the wings are thrusted backwards implying movement. The Nike’s clothing shows the wet drape technique, which allows the body to be covered but also give the allusion of a naked body underneath. The exact date is unknown, but it is estimated …show more content…
The mythology of Nike starts with her being the daughter of Pallas and the River Styx. Nike is sent to fight alongside Zeus against the Titans. An important detail about Nike presented in art is that when she is seen without wings she is in the presence of Athena, and when she is winged, she is a separate goddess. Over time, Nike became recognizable as a presence to hover above success of battles between gods but also in mundane activities. (Nike, Goddess of Victory in Ancient Greece). Nike is also seen in many other art works, often granting success to a victor with a wreath, torch, or a …show more content…
Scholars believe that it is one of the most important sculptures that portrays the characteristics of the Hellenistic Era best, and I agree. The mythology behind Nike reveals a lot about Greek culture. Other than the desire for perfection presented in art, it shows how important victory and success was in Greek culture. According to an organization that studies important women in Ancient Greek culture, the Greeks were a very competitive culture. They theorize that the word ‘gymnasium’ is equivalent to the word ‘school’ and “The competitive nature of the Greeks extended the training of the Greeks in the gymnasium from athletics to music, rhetoric, and even geometry” (Nike, Goddess of Victory in Ancient Greece). It is without doubt that the Greeks would want a sculpture to represent their competitive nature and to give recognition to the deity that would have given them the power to be competitive. The Nike is also important to modern day art because she has been replicated and placed in populated areas around the world like the Palace of Caesar in Las Vegas,