Information about Nike (mythology)

This article discusses the Greek Goddess. For the sports apparel and equipment company, see Nike, Inc.

Greek deities series
Primordial deities
Titans and Olympians
Aquatic deities
Chthonic deities
Other deities
Personified concepts
Muses Nemesis Moirae Cratos Zelus Nike Metis Charites Oneiroi	Adrasteia Horae Bia Eros Apate Themis Eris Thanatos Hypnos

In Greek mythology, Nike (Greek Νίκη, pronounced [níːkɛː], meaning "Victory") , was a goddess who personified triumph. She was the daughter of Pallas (Warrior) and Styx (Hatred), and the sister of Cratos (Strength), Bia (Violence), and Zelus (Rivalry). Nike and her siblings were all attendants of Zeus. According to myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the coming Titan War. Nike assumed the role of the gods' personal charioteer, a role often portrayed in classical art. Her Roman counterpart is Victoria.

Nike is seen with wings in statues and paintings. Most Greek deities had shed their wings by Classical times.

Worship

Worship of the goddess Nike included processions, libations, or sacrifice that were performed to bring the favour of Nike. Petitions in the form of prayers could be presented to the priestesses who would communicate them to the goddess. If an answer was received from the goddess it would be presented to the petitioner. Temples were also used like banks and could store coins for safekeeping. The great statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon in Athens is thought to have depicted Nike standing in the hand. This Nike was made of solid gold, which was (along with the gold plating of the Parthenos statue) the Athenian state's official gold deposit in the form of a "sacred treasury". The Parthenon complex included a Temple of Athena Nike, built around 410 BC. The Athenians also dedicated a statue to Nike at Delphi. The statue of Zeus at Olympia reportedly also depicted Nike. On occasions, Athena was depicted with Nike's attributes. According to Pausanias, the statue of Athena Nike depicted a wingless Nike ("Nike Apteros"), supposedly so that the statue could never leave the city of Athens. This temple has also provided a famous surviving depiction of the goddess, Nike unfastening her sandal ("Nike Slancio"), which was originally part of the temple parapet and is now on display in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. The headless statue "Winged Victory of Samothrace" is featured in the Louvre. Nike is also in the hand of Athena in the temple of Zeus in malaki.