The Winged Victory of Samothrace
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The Winged Victory of Samothrace
The ancient Greeks imagined Nike, the goddess of Victory, as a winged female figure who flew down to Earth to bring news of victory. This statue of the goddess was found on the island of Samothrace, in the northern Aegean Sea. Intended as an offering to the gods, it originally stood in a sanctuary where people went to pray for protection from the dangers of the sea. The sculpture conveys an extraordinary sense of movement: it looks as though the goddess has just landed on the prow of the ship where she stands proudly, her cloak billowing in the wind and her clothes clinging to her body in the ‘wet drapery’ effect that Greek sculptors were so fond of.
Three-quarter view
Worshippers at the Sanctuary of the Great Gods would have seen the goddess in three-quarter view; if you look at her from the front left-hand side, you will get the same perspective. Archaeologists think she was intended to be seen that way, because the right-hand side of the sculpture was less detailed – when ancient Greek sculptors worked on monumental structures, they didn’t waste time on the bits that people would never see!
