The Temple Of Athena Nike

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also referred to as the Nike of Samothrace, is a marble Hellenistic sculpture of The Greek goddess of victory, Nike. Created in 190 BC by an unknown artist and constructed with parian marble, it stands at 5.57 meters although the goddess herself stands only at 2.75 meters. The sculpture was discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace on a French exploration led by amateur archaeologist Charles Champoiseau. In its original setting, the Nike was mounted on the prow of a stone ship in a temple, and was assumed to be overlooking the sanctuary of the great gods on the island of Samothrace. The sculpture has been displayed at the most distinguished museum in the world, the Louvre, in Paris, since 1884. Even in its current condition, this sculpture continues to inspire many across the globe with its vision of victory and triumph.

“In ancient times, the Greeks held one of their most important festivals, The Olympic Games, in honour of the King of their gods, Zeus” (“Statue of Zeus at Olympia” 1). These games were first held in 776 BC, and were held at the “shrine to Zeus located on the western coast of Greece in a region called Peloponnesus” (“Statue of Zeus at Olympia” 1). A Greek artist by the name of Phidias, was commissioned to create the statue (“The Statue of Zeus at Olympia”). He began the masterpiece around 450 BC, and spent the next eight years completing it, creating a work of art out of ivory and gold (“The Statue of Zeus at Olympia”). When creating the statue, “Phidias worked in stone and bronze, he was the first to employ ivory and gold to represent the human face and form. No material so closely resembles the tint and the texture of the flesh as ivory; no metal could better represent the clothing and the hair then enameled gold” (Banks Ch. 6). Phidias made the core of the statue out of wood, and overlaid plates of both ivory and gold that he was able to fit together in such a way that not even the joints were visible (Banks Ch. 6). The statue upon completion, was place upon a substructure that was three steps high (Banks Ch. 6). “Thirty-six tall granite columns surrounded it, and three parts of its interior were separated by similar columns” (Banks Ch. 6). Around 170

The Greeks finished building an exquisite temple to their beloved goddess, Athena in the year 432 BCE. (Sayre 60). The name of this enriched, unique temple was the Parthenon. The Parthenon took the Greeks approximately fifteen years to complete and as Pericles stated, it was built to give gratitude to their goddess Athena for the salvation of their city, Athens and all of Greece in the Persian Wars (Sayre 60). It was also a symbol of their power and superiority among other cultures. It was something the Greeks took great pride in and recognized it to a great extent. The Parthenon was built on the highest point of the city of Athens to look over the precious Greek city. On the exterior walls of the Parthenon there was beautiful artwork that

The Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace is a powerful statue built by the Greeks around 190 BC. She was discovered on the Island of Samothrace in the northern Aegean. This statue stands at 10.76 feet which is very tall for a woman. She stood on the bow of a ship, poised and ready for action. The sculpture procures the strength and beauty of a woman. The pose, constitution, and her make up all contribute to the works powerful statement.

The city of Athens viewed the goddess Athena as their patron and protector. There were multiple instances in the city’s mythology where they believed that due to their dedication she successfully protected their territory and helped them to remain successful and prosperous. The entire city of Athens is dedicated to Athena. One of the main ways that they honored her was through elaborate temples or other forms of architecture. Athena was the goddess of several different things but architecture and mathematics were some aspects of her that could explain the way that they chose to honor her and why Athens was a center for progress in technology.

In ancient Greece, around 500 B.C.E, the culture was revolving around gods and goddesses. The lifestyles and actions of the people of Greece had an interdependence with the common belief of Hellenism. By understanding that many Greeks looked to their gods and goddesses in most aspects of their life, we can better understand how Greek culture worked as a whole. This can be seen specifically in Athens Greece. In Athens they looked to the Goddess Athena in particular because she was their patron Goddess. During this time a sculptor, named Phidias, sculpted a grand statue called the Athena Parthenos. The Athena Parthenos was viewed as an actual incarnation of the Goddess Athena, and symbolize victory in wars that ultimately create peace and harmony.

The Greek Gods were honored with temples gifts and statues. The most famous is probably the Athena Parthenos (see page 7). It was mode of ivory and gold and was housed in the Parthenon in Athens. The Athena Parthenos was made only by two people and is almost 12 meters (38 feet) high. It took about 9 whole years to complete. The Athena Parthenos held a human sized statue of Nike the Greek god of

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Figure 1) is a marble sculpture of a goddess, Nike, in Greek mythology which was discovered in the Greek island, Samothrace. The

In the late 19th century, the Seated Statue of Ramesses II was uncovered in the Temple of Harsaphes, Heracleopolis, by Sir William Flinders Petrie (Horne 1985, 22). Currently, it rests in the Mummies Gallery in the Egyptian section of the Penn Museum. The king sits heroically with his hands resting on his lap and wears the nemes headdress on his head. Made of quartzite sandstone, the statue sits at an impressive height of 226 cm, with a width of 74 cm and length of 149 cm. On his arms, there are faint traces of red and the nemes headdress has touches of blue and yellow. When it was originally crafted, the statue’s colors would have been more prominent than they currently are; there also would have been a false beard inset that has been lost to history.

One of the most valued pieces of art in the ancient Greek world is that of Athena Parthenos. The original statue was designed and sculpted by Phidias and placed in the parthenon in 438 B.C. The original chryselephantine statue was almost 40ft tall and was made out of ivory with gilded features. The sculpture stands tall, while wearing a tunic, an aegis, and helmet, while holding the god of victory, Nike, in her right hand and holding a spear in her left hand. There have been many replications of this statue, including one created during the Roman Period in the 2nd or 3rd century A.D. sculpted from stone and bronze. Details include a helmet with pegasoi on each side with the remains of a sphinx in the center. Athena’s hair falls in curls down her shoulders and snakes encircle her waist and tie in the

The temple stands on the remains of the Mycenaean fortification of cyclopean masonry. (Nike Temple) Which is made from pentelic marble is about 23 feet high, 27 feet long and 18 feet wide. The marble was not solid and strong but beautiful and elegant just like the goddess. The columns were 13 feet high and; the temple has four monolithic columns at the east and the west fronts. (The Temple of Athena Nike) On the side of the bastion around the temple of Athena Nike were protected by pentelic marble. (The Temple of Athena Nike) It constisted of 41.71 meters in length and slabs with beautiful, and detailed decoration on the exterior fieze. There are staircase leading form the propylaea to the sanctuary up to the colums. (The Temple of Athena Nike) The slabs are not part of a continuous narrative but each one is an independent scene. (The Temple of Athena Nike) The Frieze goes along all four sides of the temple and there are 14 different sections. (The Temple of Athena Nike) The East side of the frieze show the Olympian gods and the other three sides show battles scenes from different battles. Each battle lead them to a victory. The North frieze depicted a battle between Greeks entailing cavalry. (Sacred

Charles Champoiseau uncovered pieces of masterfully worked Parian marble in April of 1863.1 On Samothraki, the island from which Poseidon is said to have watched the fall of Troy, these segments of stone came together to form four main sections: a torso, a headless bust, a section of drapery, and a wing.2 The sections were shaped to be assembled though the use of cantilevering and metal dowels, allowing the sculptor to extend beyond medium’s gravitational limitations (fig. 2). Just one year later, the pieces were assembled (and those missing were remodeled), and the Greek goddess Nike was revealed at the Louvre.

The Temple of Athena Nike was built where it is for various strategic and religious reasons. Pericles rebuilt it as part of an effort to increase morale and renew culture during wartime. It was built over a previous temple to Athena, which was used for similar things. Utilized continuously by Bronze Age Greeks, the temple also served as a military base. References to Nike, the goddess of victory, also strengthened the luck associated with this structure and, therefore, its appeal as a fort. It also was arranged to face an altar to the east. Furthermore, the location affected the use of stone, as the natural shapes and quality of local marble inspired the Doric and Ionic orders. Thus, the Ancient Greeks had reasons for placing the Temple of Athena Nike where it still stands today. (Ancient-Greece.org)(Reidel, Brown.edu)

Agrippa, Augustus’ right-hand man, constructed this building as a temple to all the gods; however, a fire destroyed this temple in 80 CE and so Domitian built the reconstruction. The Pantheon we are familiar with has a significantly different design than the original one, and this is why this specific temple is so dislike to the rest of the Roman temples. Before it was burnt, the Pantheon stood in a podium at the end of a large rectangular court. The surroundings of this temple have changed in order to provide a unique experience to its visitors. For example, the temple has en enormous dome with a 27-foot oculus that opens to the sky. This oculus lets a shaft of light come through creating an emphasis wherever the reflection is. Visitors were driven nowhere but to the light at the center of the dome. This building was built for greeting foreign embassies, adjudicating disputes and hold court (Janson). Moreover, the Pantheon is extraordinary because of the potential and strength of concrete. Some other materials used in the process of building the temple include travertine, tufa, brick, and pumice. These materials varied in order to reduce its weight. The colored marble on the wall symbolized imperial authority. The sphere is though to symbolize eternity and perfection and the bronze panels symbolized a starry night sky.

The top if the column has a scroll like design. The Ionic order is mostly found in the eastern part of Greece and some of its islands along the coast (“Ancient Greece” 2). The base supports the columns. The capitol of the column has two volutes and they rest atop a band of palm-leaf ornaments (“Architecture in Ancient Greece” 1). “The most important feature of the Ionic order is the frieze” (“Architecture in Ancient Greece” 1). The area in ancient Greece where the Ionic order was most prevalent was around Greeks in Asia Minor and the Greek islands. A monument that includes the Ionic order columns is the temple of Athena Nike.