Victory of Samothrace

Statue of Victory. Handmade of alabaster,and painted in museum patina.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, is a marble Hellenistic sculpture of Nike (the Greek goddess of victory).  That was created in about the 2nd century BC. Since 1884, it has been prominently displayed at the Louvre and is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world.   H. W. Janson described it as “the greatest masterpiece of Hellenistic sculpture”.

The sculpture is one of a small number of major Hellenistic statues surviving in the original, rather than Roman copies. Only Winged Victory‘s right wing is not original, and was added by mirroring the left wing.

Description of Victory

The statue is 244 centimetres (8.01 ft) high. It was created not only to honour the goddess, Nike, but probably also to commemorate a naval action. It conveys a sense of action and triumph as well as portraying artful flowing drapery. As though the goddess were descending to alight upon the prow of a ship.. Rendered in grey and white Thasian and Parian marble, the figure originally formed part of the Samothrace temple complex dedicated to the Great gods, Megaloi Theoi. It stood on a rostral pedestal of gray marble from Lartos representing the prow of a ship (most likely a trihemiolia), and represents the goddess as she descends from the skies to the triumphant fleet.

Assessment, reception and influence