Nike (mythology)

In Greek mythology and ancient religion, Nike () is the personification of the abstract concept of victory. She was the goddess of victory in battle, as well as in other kinds of contests. According to Hesiod's'' Theogony'', she is the daughter of Styx and the Titan Pallas, and the sister of similar personifications: Zelus, Kratos, and Bia (i.e. Rivalry, Strength, and Force).

What little mythology Nike had involved her close association with the gods Zeus and Athena. She was one of the first gods to support Zeus in his overthrow of the Titans, and because of this Zeus always kept Nike with him. Nonnus makes her the attendant of Athena, and gives her a role in Zeus' victory over Typhon. In Athens, she was particularly associated with Athena, and the cult of Athena Nike. In art Nike is typically portrayed as winged and moving at great speed. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Victoria.

Etymology

The name derives from the Greek noun ''níkē'' meaning "victory", "upper hand n battle or contest. The word is of uncertain origin, probably related to ''neîkos'' "strife" and the verb ''neîkein'' "to quarrel"; ultimately also of uncertain, possibly pre-Greek, etymology. R. S. P. Beekes finds the word unrelated to Proto-Indo-European ''*ni-h₃kʷo-'' and sees no strong evidence for the proposed relation with and the Lithuanian ''ap-ni̇̀kti'' "to attack". In the Doric Greek dialect, the name was alternatively spelled as ''Níka''. The word gave several compounds in Ancient Greek, including the name '' Nikephoros'' "carrying away victory" and, through the verb ''nikáo'' "to win", it gave the epithet '' nikator'' "victor".

Family

Hesiod, in his ''Theogony'', has Nike as the daughter of Styx and the Titan Pallas, and the sister of Zelus, Kratos, and Bia. In one of the '' Homeric Hymns'', Ares the god of war is said to be the "father of warlike Victory ike. According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the Arcadians had a legend that Nike was the daughter of Pallas (the son of their legendary king Lycaon), to whom Zeus gave Athena when she was born to be raised by him, and so was Athena's foster-sister. Or like Athena, Nike could be thought of as the daughter of Zeus himself.

Mythology

Nike had little to no independent mythology. She was closely associated with both Zeus and Athena, and can appear as a constant companion or attribute of either god. In her earliest mention, by Hesiod, Nike is said to have received honors from Zeus for her support of Zeus in his overthrow of the Titans, but no details are given. Following Hesiod, Nike's next several mentions occur, not in connection with military victory, but rather in the granting of victory in other kinds of contests ( ''agones''), including athletic or theatrical competitions. The fifth-century AD Greek poet Nonnus gave Nike a minor role in Zeus' battle with Typhon.

Titanomachy

The first mention of Nike occurs in the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod (). According to Hesiod's account, in preparation for the Titanomachy, the Olympians' war against the Titans, Zeus called all the gods to Mount Olympus to determine their allegiance. He declared that any god that chose to align with him against Cronus would receive his honor and favor. The first to do so was Styx, who brought Zeus her children: Nike, the personification of victory, and her brothers Zelus, Kratos, and Bia, the personifications of glory, power and strength. Nike and her brothers all represented qualities which would be invaluable to Zeus in the coming war. As a result Zeus forever honored Nike and her brothers keeping them always with him. And as such, the qualities represented by Nike and her brothers would become attributes of Zeus himself.

Battle against Typhon

In Nonnos' '' Dionysiaca'', Nike comes to aid Zeus in his battle against the many snake-headed giant Typhon, who has stolen Zeus' weapons the thunderbolts and begun a concerted attack on the heavens and the seas. When Thyphon discovers that Zeus has, through trickery, retrieved his thunderbolts, Typhon renews his attack, laying waste to the earth. The day ends with Typhon unchallenged, while Zeus waits through the night for the approaching dawn.

Nike, in the form of Leto, finds Zeus alone waiting in the dark and reproaches him saying:

Nike expresses here her particular concerns (as her attendant) for Athena, the motherless maiden daughter of Zeus. She goes on to tell Zeus that many gods have already given up and fled the battle including Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. She also reminds Zeus of the terrible consequences if Typhon were to win, mentioning again the rape and enslavement of Athena, as well as that of Zeus' other maiden daughter Artemis.

When in the morning Typhon again issued his challenge, Zeus gathered the clouds around himself for armor and answered the monster's threats. Nike leads Zeus into battle, as Eris (Strife) leads Typhon. During the fighting, Nike "lifted her shield and held it before Zeus", while Zeus, armed with "his aegis-breastplate", attacked with his thunderbolts. After a long and cataclysmic battle, Zeus is able to defeat the monster and claim victory. As the victorious Zeus rides off the battlefield in his golden chariot, Nike is "by his side" driving "her father's team with the heavenly whip".

In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', this battle is described differently. There is no indication of Zeus being hesitant or fearful and Nike makes no appearance to encourage or aid Zeus in his battle with Typhon.

Athletic competitions

Nike is next encountered several times in the early fifth-century BC Greek lyric poetry of Bacchylides and Pindar. Bacchylides describes Nike as the "giver of sweet gifts", and standing next to Zeus judging "the achievement of excellence (''arete'')" for both gods and men. For both these poets, Nike is the giver of victory in athletic contests. Pindar has the victorious athlete collapse "into Victory's arms" or fall "on the knees of golden Victory". While Bacchylides has athletes winning honor and fame "by the will of Victory", or by "glory-bringing Victory".

Martial contexts

Nike, invoked together with Zeus, could also occur in the context of war and battle. The first mention of this is by mid-fifth-century historian Herodotus. In his description of the decisive Battle of Salamis (480 BC), he quotes an oracle which supposedly had predicted the victory of the Greeks over the Persians by the agency of "Zeus and august Victory (Nike)". And the names of Zeus and Nike continued to be used together as a military invocation through at least the end of the fourth-century BC. Xenophon reports that the watchword "Zeus Saviour and Victory ike was used at the Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC), while, according to Plutarch the similar watchword "Zeus and Victory ike was used at the Battle of Ipsus (301 BC).

Theatrical competitions

Nike could also be invoked in theatrical competitions, such as Athens' City Dionysia and Lenaia. Competitors, including the late fifth-century BC tragic playwright Euripides, and the late fourth-century BC comedic playwright Menander would sometimes included appeals to Nike at the close of their plays. Euripides concludes three of his plays with the appeal:

Three of Menander's plays contain a similar formulaic ending:

Cult

Evidence for a cult of Nike exists for several locations in Greece and Magna Graecia. The so-called " Decree of Themistocles" (the authenticity of which has been debated) mentions sacrifices offered to Zeus, Athena, Nike, and Poseidon. Vase paintings from the late Archaic show Nike in front of an altar or together with a sacrificial bull. Nike may also have been assimilated into the cult of other gods, such as Zeus at Olympia, and most prominently the cult of Athena Nike at Athens.

Zeus at Olympia

According to the geographer Pausanias there was an altar to Nike in Olympia between an altar of Zeus Katharsios ("Zeus Purifier") and Zeus Chthonios ("Zeus Underground"). From as early as 500 BC, Nike is a frequent appearance on the coinage of Elis. Such coins were minted at Olympia, and are assumed to be temple-coins. And, as such, are considered to be connected with the cult of Zeus at Olympia. The earliest of these (c. 510/490–471), show a flying eagle on the obverse, and, on the reverse, a winged Nike, wearing a long chiton, moving swiftly holding a wreathe in the hand of her outstretched arm.

Athena Nike

Athena Nike is a cult title of the goddess Athena, with whom Nike was closely associated and was perhaps popularly confused. The exact relationship between Nike and Athena Nike is uncertain. However, a cult title, such as Athena Nike, which joins the name of a major god with that of a more minor one known to have had their own independent cult suggests that such a fused title arose from the assimilation of an existing local cult by the major god.

Athena Nike had a sanctuary on the Acropolis of Athens from as early as the beginning of the sixth century BC. The title Athena Nike is first attested by an inscription on a block from an Archaic altar (dated 580–560 BC) found as part of the excavation and rebuilding of the southwest bastion upon which the current Classical (c. 420 BC) Temple of Athena Nike rests. This seems to have been the official title of the temple's goddess through the fifth and fourth centuries continuing into the Hellenistic period, although less formal texts, from as early as the fifth century BC, often refer to Athena Nike as simply Nike. In fact, the late fifth-century BC tragedian Euripides could refer to Athena herself as Nike.

Ancient sources refer to a cult image of Athena Nike in connection with the temple at Athens which, unlike the normally winged Nike, was wingless (''apteros''). Heliodorus (150 BC?) is said to have written in his book ''Concerning the Akropolis'' that the Athenians venerated a wingless statue of Nike Athena (a xoanon) which held a pomegranate in the right hand and a helmet in the left. Pausanias, writing in the second century AD, refers to the temple of Athena Nike as a temple of Nike Apteros, "Wingless Victory", which is the name he gives to an image of the goddess, without wings, which he says the Athenians had placed there. He explains that "the Athenians think that Victory, having no wings, will always remain where she is."

This cult image was part of the early sixth-century BC sanctuary which was destroyed by the Persians in 480–479 BC, although the image was preserved. It was later reinstalled inside the Classical Ionic temple which was surrounded on three sides by a sculpted parapet. Carved into the parapet, one on each of the sides of the bastion (north, west, and south), were three sets of winged Nikes (''Nikai''), although the remains of the parapet sculptures are fragmentary, they are thought to form three votive processions each moving toward a seated Athena. The three processions depicted Nikes, in the presence of Athena, erecting trophies and leading sacrificial bulls.

The sanctuary of the Classical Temple of Athena Nike was the most lavishly decorated of any in Athens. It was adorned with many depictions of battle and war, both historical and mythical, illustrating the subject of military victory under Athena's guidance. These sculptural themes establish that Athena Nike was worshipped as a goddess of war and the overseer of military victory by at least the fifth century BC. However, it is possible that previously she had been primarily associated with victory in Athletic competitions. The description, by Heliodorus, of the cult image holding a pomegranate suggests that, in the sixth century BC, Athena Nike was also associated with some aspect of fertility.

The priestess of Athena Nike

The earliest evidence for a priestess of Athena Nike is provided by a decree, ''IG'' I³ 35, passed by the Athenian ''Demos'' in third quarter of the fifth century BC. The decree orders the building of a temple and an altar stone for Athena Nike, and instituted the first "democratic priesthood", that is one that was funded by the state and with the priest or priestess (as in this case) being chosen by lot, a significant departure from Athenian tradition. The degree also orders that the priestess be paid a stipend of fifty drachmae, as well as a share of the sacrifices. A later decree, ''IG'' I³ 36, orders that the fifty drachmae stipend was to paid for by the kolakretai. Whether there was already a priestess of Athena Nike prior to this degree is unknown. A verse epitaph on a marble stele funerary monument (''IG'' I³ 1330) names Myrrhine, daughter of Kallimachos, as "the first to serve the sanctuary (ἔδος) of Athena Nike, and, out of all, she was chosen by the
luck of the draw."

Iconography

In art Nike is typically portrayed as winged, wearing a long robe, and moving at great speed. Although certain identification is usually not possible in the Archaic period, figures identified as likely to be depictions of Nike appear from the early sixth century BC on vases and as freestanding sculptures or acroteria. Nike images also appear on small bronzes (from c. 550 BC), and coins (from 510/490 BC).

Nike frequently appears in scenes depicting victorious deeds or participating in cult activities, such as victory sacrifices or the setting up of a tropaion (trophy). Although rare in the Archaic period, in the Classical and later periods, Nike can also appear as a companion or as an attribute to victory-giving deities, such as Zeus, and especially Athena.

There are so many impressive depictions of Nike that she "becomes an embodiment of Classical art".

Archaic period

In the Archaic period, Nike does not yet have a specific fixed iconography. Consequently she cannot always be reliably distinguished from other winged female figures, particularly the messenger-goddess Iris. Although some figures considered to be Nike are shown with a caduceus (kerykeion or herald's staff) or victory wreath, the caduceus is the primary attribute of Iris, and other winged female figures other than Nike can also be shown with wreaths.

Some early depictions of winged women have been identified as Nike based upon their juxtaposition with other images representing victory in athletic competition. Perhaps the earliest of these is found on the tondo of a Siana cup, by the C Painter, dated to the 2nd quarter of the 6th century BC. Its exterior depicts the return of a victorious athlete, while its interior depicts a winged women in the traditional knielauf (kneeling-run) pose heading right. In the Archaic period, this knielauf pose is the standard device for representing speed, and is characteristic of the figures identified as Nike. They rush off to the side, but do not look where they are going, instead they maintain direct address and engagement by turning their head to look at the viewer.

Such depictions lacking definitive attributes remain characteristic throughout the Archaic period. Nike's most important attribute, the victory wreath, gradually emerges in the second half of the sixth century BC, but remains rare. Other attributes associated with victory, the branch and tainia (head ribbon), also begin to appear in this period, while attributes associated with cultic acts, such as the phiale (libation bowl), oenochoe (wine jug), and thymiaterion (standing incense burner) appear sporadically as early as the turn of the fifth century BC.

Sculptural depictions of Nike in the Archaic period served primarily as votive offerings or dedications, and acroteria. Two of these, the Nike of Delos (c. 550 BC), attributed to Archermus, and the Nike of Callimachus (c. 480 BC), mark the beginning and the end of the period, and are considered representative. The Archermus Nike, a marble sculpture found at Delos, is generally considered the earliest sculptural Nike identified by inscription. It depicts a winged figure moving in swift flight to the left in knielauf posture. The upper torso faces frontally toward the viewer, and the head is crowned with a diadem. In the Callimachus Nike, a marble monument probably erected for the victory at Marathon (490 BC), the upper body, rather than being frontally oriented as in the Archermus Nike, is slightly turned to the right in the direction of flight, with the head looking backward. A second probably related fragment depicts a lower body in a very loose knielauf posture.

Also of significance are a collection of small bronzes that were found primarily on the Acropolis of Athens, and are associated with the cult of Athena-Nike (see above). Such bronzes typically were used as the crowns or supports for various implements.

Although Nike was already in close cultic association with Zeus and Athena, depictions of Nike in the company of these gods during the Archaic period (unlike subsequent periods) are rare. Probable examples include several amphorae (dating from c. 550 BC) which depict a small winged women, at the birth of Athena, standing (or running) beneath Zeus' throne. More frequently Nike was depicted among men in what can be interpreted as athletic or martial contexts.

Classical period

In the Classical period, Nikes's iconography becomes fully developed. Following the battle of Marathon, Nike becomes a particularly popular subject in vase painting, where she is frequently seen with her most common attributes the phiale (libation bowl) and oenochoe (jug), often pouring a libation over an altar. She is also seen in the context of both athletic and martial victory. Other attributes which, like the bowl or jug, occur only sporadically and rarely in the Archaic period such as the wreath, branch, tainia, thymiaterion, and caduceus (see above) become common during the fifth century BC. Additional symbols of victory, such as weapons, tripods, and musical instruments, or symbols of cult, such as baskets and torches, also become common. From the 4th century BC the palm frond becomes a common attribute.

The knielauf pose, characteristic during the Archaic period, is abandoned in the Classical period in favor of more naturalistic expressions of movement and speed, and engagement with the viewer. While Archaic Nikes, serving as architectural acroteria, rush off to the left or right, arms and legs churning in pinwheel-like fashion, their Classical counterparts seem rather to move forward and downward, toward the viewer, to alight on the tops of buildings.

Because Nike is a winged figure, Classical artists tried to evoke flight and make flying a defining characteristic. One of the first sculptures to achieve this illusion of flight is the Nike of Paros (c. 470 BC), where the goddess, seemingly weightless and floating forward, barely touches the ground with just the tip of her left foot, her body tilting forward. Here the artist has dispensed with the Archaic emphasis on speed for the sake of the natural direct address of moving toward the viewer, rather than laterally. Another particularly vivid example of the evocation of flight is the Nike of Paionios at Olympia. It is a Parian marble statue (c. 421 BC) by Paeonius of Mende, dedicated to Zeus by the Messenians and Naupactians in celebration of a victory over the Spartans in 425 BC at the Battle of Sphacteria. Wings held high above her head, Paeonius's Nike seems to swoop down. The sculptor has reintroduced the evocation of speed by having Nike's cloak, which she held with one or both outstretched arms, billow behind her like a sail, with the thin cloth covering her front pressed tightly against her body.

Popular subjects for Nike include depictions of her role as messenger of victory, erecting a tropaion (trophy), or as sacrificial servant, leading a bull to sacrifice, and, in the fifth century BC for the first time, she can be depicted in multiples like Eros. Examples of two Nikes leading a bull, or two Nikes erecting a tropaion, are among the many reliefs adorning the parapet of the Temple of Athena Nike (c. 420 BC). Another popular subject, for vase painters (especially Italian) from the second half of the fifth through the forth centuries BC, is Nike driving a chariot.

In the Classical period (unlike the Archaic) Nike is also often shown in the company of other gods, particularly Athena. Many vase paintings depict Nike standing next to Athena, as her assistant. She is depicted crowning Athena and driving Athena's chariot, and can appear in any mythical context involving Athena. While Nike is usually depicted as being the same size as the other deities in her company, she can also be shown in reduced form. A pair of small Nikes often stand on the columns flanking Athena on Panathenaic prize amphorae. On a tetradrachm from Camarina (c. 430/20-405 BC), a diminutive Nike crowns the charioteer Athena with a wreath. A small Nike crowns the newborn Athena on a marble puteal, or flies over her during Athena's contest with Poseidon for the patronage of Athens.

A diminutive Nike was also sometimes shown standing in the hand of other deities. One such example was the Statue of Zeus at Olympia (c. 435 BC) by the Greek sculptor Phidias. Pausanias describes the statue as follows:

Pheidias's cult statue of Athena from the Parthenon in Athens, ''Athena Parthenos'' (mid-fifth century BC), also held a smaller Nike in her right hand and a spear in the other. According to Pausanias, this Nike was roughly four cubits tall (about seventy-two inches). In contrast to the "flying" Nikes described above, these Nike apparently stood firmly on their feet.

Nike can appear in any context where victory is being alluded to, from the grand to the mundane. As part of the great mythological victory of the gods over the Giants, she can be shown driving Zeus' chariot. She is frequently depicted crowning victors, or otherwise glorifying the deeds of great heroes such as Heracles, Theseus, Achilles, and Diomedes. She appears in scenes involving war, warriors, and armed combat, however, she is equally at home in the context of agonistic victory such as that of athletic, musical, literary, or theatrical competitions, as well as the simple victories of everyday life.

Pergamon Altar

Nike is depicted on the second-century BC Pergamon Altar alongside Athena in the Gigantomachy, the warof the gods against the Giants. On the right side of the East frieze, Athena grabs a winged Giant (usually identified as Alcyoneus) by the hair. Below and to the right of Athena, the giant's mother Gaia rises from the ground, touching Athena's robe in supplication. Above Gaia, a winged Nike flies in to crown the victorious Athena.Kleiner
p. 153, fig. 5-80
Queyrel, pp. 52–53; Ridgway
p. 39pp. 59–60 n. 59
Grote
p. 883 (Nike 407)
Supporting the identification of this Giant as Alcyoneus, is the fragmentary inscription "neus", that may belong to this scene, for doubts concerning this identification, see Ridgway.

Possible origins

Nike and Athena are both associated with victory, which has resulted in contestation over the origins of Nike.Sikes 1895, p.280-283. According to a paper by Harrison (as cited in Sikes, 1895) Nike was once a facet of the Greek goddess Athena, who was composed of Boulaia (good council), Ergane (skilled handcraft), and Nike (victory). According to this theory, Nike eventually broke off from Athena to form her own distinct personality. Baudrillart, in another paper (as cited in Sikes, 1895), shares a similar view that Nike was once a part of Athena and separated from her around the 5th century. However, he holds that the Athena Nike personality continued to exist alongside the distinct Nike personality.Sikes 1895, p. 280-283. In contrast to Harrison and Baudrillart's views, E.E. Sikes believed that Nike was always a distinct personality from Athena. According to Sikes, Nike existed as an independent deity from Athena since Nike represented victory in musical, athletic, and military competitions and Athena's authority was limited to strictly military victories. Sikes postulates that the theory that Nike first originated from Athena arose from the confusion of the two goddesses at Athens where Athena Nike and Nike existed alongside each other.

Gallery

File:Circle of the Swing Painter - ABV 305 9 - young warrior arming - Nike between youths - Rhodos AM 15590 - 01.jpg, Nike between youths, amphora from Rhodes -520 BC
File:Niké condecora a un atleta (British Museum).jpg, Nike crowning an athlete on an amphora, 470-460 BC.
File:Winged Nike with libation bowl and kithara, lekythos, attributed to the Oionokles Painter, Greek-Attic, c. 460 BC, red-figure terracotta - Blanton Museum of Art - Austin, Texas - DSC07673.jpg, Nike with bowl and kithara, red-figured lekythos, 460 BC, Blanton Museum of Art.
File:Niké coronando a un escritor, British Museum.jpg, Nike crowning a young tragedian BC
File:Statue of Nike (4th cent. B.C.) in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens on 7 May 2018.jpg, Nike of Epidaurus statuette in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens BC
File:Skyphos lucano con nike che incorona un atleta, 370 ac ac..JPG, Nike crowning a young athlete BC
File:Nike statue, İstanbul.jpg, Nike statue from Pergamon in Istanbul.
File:Victoire de Samothrace - vue de gauche, détail de la statue.JPG, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, Louvre Museum.
File:Victoire ailée - 2.jpg, Statuette of Nike from Mysia, Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon.
File:3362 - Athens - Stoà of Attalus - Head of Nike - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 9 2009.jpg, Head of Nike, 2nd century AD, Museum of the Ancient Agora in Athens.
File:Las Incantadas Louvre Ma1391 side A.jpg, Nike column of Las Incantadas.
File:Giulio Romano - Victory, Janus, Chronos, and Gaea - WGA09625.jpg, Victory, Janus, Chronos and Gaea by Giulio Romano.
File:Schlossbruecke Berlin 23.JPG, '' Nike Crowns the Hero'', outdoor sculpture in Berlin.
File:Linderhof Palace 08 cropped.jpg, Statue of Nike in Linderhof Palace, Germany.

See also

* 307 Nike
* Altar of Victory
* Ángel de la Independencia
* '' Goddess of Victory: Nikke'', named after the goddess
* Nike of Paros
* Operation Niki
* The Temple of Athena Nike
* The University of Melbourne, which has Nike depicted in its emblem
* Winged Victory of Samothrace

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

* Arafat, Karim
s.v. Nike
published online 07 March 2016, in the
Oxford Classical Dictionary
', edited by Tim Whitmarsh, digital ed, New York, Oxford University Press. .

* Bäbler, Balbina
s.v. Nike, II. Iconography
i
''Brill's New Pauly Online''
Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and, Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry, published online: 2006.

* Bacchylides, ''Odes'', translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1991
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

* Blok, Josine, "The Priestess of Athena Nike: A new reading of ''IG'' I³ 35 and 36", in ''Kernos'' 27, pp. 99–126.
PDF

* Dionysius of Halicarnassus. ''Roman Antiquities, Volume I: Books 1-2'', translated by Earnest Cary. Loeb Classical Library No. 319. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1937.
Online version by Bill ThayerOnline version at Harvard University Press

* Euripides, '' Ion'', in ''Euripides: Trojan Women, Iphigenia among the Taurians, Ion'', edited and translated by David Kovacs, Loeb Classical Library No. 10, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1999.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Euripides, '' Iphigenia in Tauris'', in ''Euripides: Trojan Women, Iphigenia among the Taurians, Ion'', edited and translated by David Kovacs, Loeb Classical Library No. 10, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1999.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Euripides, ''Orestes'', in ''Euripides: Helen, Phoenician Women, Orestes'', edited and translated by David Kovacs, Loeb Classical Library No. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2002.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Euripides, '' The Phoenician Women'' in ''Euripides: Helen, Phoenician Women, Orestes'', edited and translated by David Kovacs, Loeb Classical Library No. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2002.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Falaschi, Eva, "From Athena Nike to Nike Apteros: Literary and Epigraphical Sources", in G. Adornato, I. Bald Romano, G. Cirucci, A. Poggio (eds.), ''Restaging Greek Artworks in Roman Times'', Milano: LED, 2018. .

* Fine, John V.A., ''The Ancient Greeks: A critical history'', Harvard University Press, 1983.

* Goulaki-Voutira, Alexandra
s.v. Nike (Introduction and Classical period)
in '' Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC)'' VI.1 KENTAUROI ET KENTAURIDES - OIAX, Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich, 1992.
Internet Archive

* Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996.
Internet Archive

* Grote, Ursula
s.v. Nike (Hellenistic period)
in '' Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC)'' VI.1 KENTAUROI ET KENTAURIDES - OIAX, Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich, 1992.
Internet Archive

* Hadziaslani, Cornelia
''Tōn Athēnēthen Athlōn''
Acropolis Restoration Service, Department of Information and Education, 2003. .

* Hard, Robin (2004), ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
Google Books

* Herodotus, ''Histories'', A. D. Godley (translator), Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1920;
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

* Hesiod, ''Theogony'', in ''Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia,'' Edited and translated by Glenn W. Most. Loeb Classical Library No. 57. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Himerius, ''Man and the Word: The Orations of Himerius'', translated and edited by Robert J. Penella, University of California Press, 2007. .

* '' Homeric Hymn'' 8 ''To Ares'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

* Hyginus, '' Fabulae'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960
Online version at ToposText

* Kleiner, Fred S., ''Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History, Fifteenth Edition'', Cengage Learning, 2016.
Internet Archive

* Laughy, Michael, "The Origins of the Democratic Priestess of Athena Nike", in ''Historia'' 67 2018 (4): 418–433. . .

* '' Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC)'' II.2 APHRODISIAS-ATHENA, Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich, 1981.
Internet Archive

* '' Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC)'' III.2 ATHERION-EROS, Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich, 1981.
Internet Archive

* '' Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC)'' VI.2 KENTAUROI ET KENTAURIDES - OIAX, Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich, 1992.
Internet Archive

* Lougovaya-Ast, Julia, "Myrrhine, the First Priestess of Athena Nike", in ''Phoenix'', Fall - Winter, 2006, Vol. 60, No. 3/4, pp. 211-225. .

* Mark, Ira, S., ''The Sanctuary of Athena Nike in Athens: Architectural stages and chronology'', Princeton and New Jersey: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens. 1993
Internet Archive

* Menander, '' Dyskolos'', in ''Menander: Aspis. Georgos. Dis Exapaton. Dyskolos. Encheiridion. Epitrepontes'', edited and translated by W. G. Arnott, Loeb Classical Library No. 132. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1979.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Menander, '' Sikyonioi'', in ''Menander: Samia. Sikyonioi. Synaristosai. Phasma. Unidentified Fragments'', edited and translated by W. G. Arnott, Loeb Classical Library 460. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2000.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Menander, '' Misoumenos'', in ''Menander: Heros. Theophoroumene. Karchedonios. Kitharistes. Kolax. Koneiazomenai. Leukadia. Misoumenos. Perikeiromene. Perinthia'', edited and translated by W. G. Arnott, Loeb Classical Library No. 459, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1997.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Moustaka, Aliki
s.v. Nike (Archaic period)
in '' Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC)'' VI.1 KENTAUROI ET KENTAURIDES - OIAX, Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich, 1992.
Internet Archive

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Online version at Harvard University PressInternet Archive (1940)

* Oakley, John H., ''A Guide to Scenes of Daly Life on Athenian Vases'', The University of Wisconsin Press, 2020. .

* Palagia, Olga, "Art as Trophy: the Nike of Paionios", in ''NAUPAKTOS: The Ancient City and its Significance During the Peloponnesian War and the Hellenistic Period'', O. Palagia (ed.), Athens, 2016.

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Internet Archive

* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

* Pindar, ''Nemean Odes. Isthmian Odes. Fragments'', Edited and translated by William H. Race. Loeb Classical Library No. 485. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997, revised 2012.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Plutarch, ''Lives, Volume IX: Demetrius and Antony. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius'', translated by Bernadotte Perrin, Loeb Classical Library No. 101. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1920.
Online version at Harvard University Press

* Pollitt, Jerome Jordan, ''Art and Experience in Classical Greece'', Cambridge University Press, 1972. .

* Queyrel, François, ''L'Autel de Pergame: Images et pouvoir en Grèce d'Asie'', Paris: Éditions A. et J. Picard, 2005. .

* Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo, ''Hellenistic Sculpture II: The Styles of ca. 1200-100 B.C.'', Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2000. .

* Scherf, Johannes
s.v. Nike, I. Mythology
i
''Brill's New Pauly Online''
Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and, Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry, published online: 2006.

* Seltman, Charles T., ''The Temple Coins of Olympia'', Cambridge: Bowes & Bowes, 1921
Internet Archive

* Sikes, E.E., "Nike and Athena Nike" in ''The Classical Review'', Jun., 1895, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 280-283. .

* Smith, William; '' A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities''. William Smith, LLD. William Wayte. G. E. Marindin. Albemarle Street, London. John Murray. 1890
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

* Stewart, Andrew F., "History, Myth, and Allegory in the Program of the Temple of Athena Nike, Athens", in, ''Studies in the History of Art'', 1985, Vol. 16, Symposium Papers IV: Pictorial Narrative in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, pp. 53–97. .

* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). .

* West, M. L. (1966), ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press. .

* West, M. L. (1988), ''Hesiod: Theogony ''and'' Works and Days'', Oxford University Press. .

* Xenophon, '' Anabasis''. Translated by Carleton L. Brownson. Revised by John Dillery. Loeb Classical Library No. 90. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1998. ISB
Online version at Harvard University Press

External links

The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Nike)

Goddess Nike

{{Authority control

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Greek war deities
Greek goddesses
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Children of Ares
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