The Nike of Samothrace

The Nike of Samothrace

The Nike of Samothrace was discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace. The sculptor is thought the be Pythokritos of Rhodes. It is a marble sculpture from Ancient Greece which is 8 feet tall. It has been estimated to be from around 200-190 Before.Christ.  Since 1884, it has been displayed in the Louvre.  

The Winged Victory of Samothrace was created to both honor the Greek goddess Nike and to honor the victory of a sea battle. It represents the goddess as she descends from the sky to the triumphant fleet. You can see that the drapes Nike is wearing are being blown in the wind, as if standing out before the sea. Before the sculpture lost it's arms, it was believed that the right arm was raised, cupped around Nike's mouth to deliver shout of victory. The sculpture is also missing a head along with it's arms both of which have yet to be recovered, yet It is widely known as one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world.

It was found that the most likely battle to be commemorated by this statue is the battle of Cos, which occured in 255 BC, where Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia won over the fleet of Ptolemy II of Egypt. In April 1863, the fragments of the statue were discovered by a French archeologist named Charles Champoiseau who sent it to Paris the very same year. The statue has been reassembled in stages since it's discovery. Despite the obvious damage and incompleteness, it is well know as one of the great surviving masterpieces of sculpture from the Hellenistic Period, and from the entire Greco-Roman era. It is considered one of the greatest treasures in the Louvre, and since the late 19th century it has been displayed in the most dramatic fashion, at the head of the sweeping Daru staircase.

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