In Greek mythology, Nike (Greek Νίκη pronounced [níːkɛː], meaning Victory), was a goddess who personified triumph throughout the ages of the ancient Greek culture. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly A goddess is a Female Deity. Many Cultures have goddesses Often deities are part of a polytheistic system that includes several deities Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas (Titan) and Styx (Water), and the sister of Kratos (Strength), Bia (Force), and of Zelus (Rivalry). Pallas is a Titan associated with war His family tree is disputed In Greek mythology, Bia ( Ancient Greek: βία English translation: "Force" was the personification of force daughter of Pallas This Zelos is the Greek personification For other uses see Zelos. Nike and her siblings all became described as attendants of Zeus when his cult gained the position of the dominant deity of the Greek pantheon and the roles of older deities were changed in new myths. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology According to classical (later) myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the Titan War against the older deities. Titanomachy (epic poem In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy, or War of the Titans (Τιτανομαχία was the ten-year series of battles fought between Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer, a role in which she often is portrayed in Classical Greek art. The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of Carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples Her Roman counterpart is Victoria. In Roman mythology, Victoria was the personification/Goddess of victory Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance with Athenes goddess of war^[1]

Worship

Second century AD copy of the head of Nike - original by Paionios, 5th century BC.

Nike acroterion from the Temple of Artemis, Epidaurus, late 4th century BC. An acroterion or acroterium is an architectural ornament placed on a flat base called the acroter or Plinth, and mounted at the apex of the Pediment Epidaurus (Ἐπίδαυρος Epidavros) was a small city ( Polis) in ancient Greece, at the Saronic Gulf.

Reconstruction of Nike standing in the hand of the gigantic statue of Athena in the Parthenon.

Temples also were used as banks and could store coins for safekeeping. A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money The great statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon in Athens is thought to have depicted Nike standing in the hand of the gigantic statue. The Parthenon ( Ancient Greek:) is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's This Nike statue 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". Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79

The Parthenon complex also included a Temple of Athena Nike, built around 420 BC. Events By place Greece The young and popular Alcibiades is elected " Strategos " (one of a board of ten generals and The Athenians dedicated a statue to Nike at Delphi also. Delphi ( Greek,) ( pronounce and dialectal forms) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western The statue of Zeus at Olympia reportedly depicted Nike as well. Olympia ( Greek: Olympí'a or Olýmpia, older transliterations Olimpia, Olimbia) a sanctuary of ancient Greece 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. Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus

The Temple of Athena Nike has provided one of the most famous surviving depiction of the goddess, Nike unfastening her sandal ("Nike Slancio"), which originally was part of the temple parapet. This statue is now on display in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum located in Athens Greece on the archeological site of Acropolis. Another Nike statue, the headless Winged Victory of Samothrace, is featured in the Louvre. The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, is a third The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Nike also is depicted standing in the hand of another statue of Athena in the temple of Zeus in Malaki. A figure of Nike with a vessel was the design of the first FIFA World Cup trophy known also like Jules Rimet trophy. The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international Association football The World Cup is a Gold Trophy that is awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup.

Since 1928 Summer Olympics the obverse face of every Olympic medal Nike's figure appears holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an International Multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928

Miscellaneous

The well-known shoe and sports equipment company Nike, Inc. is named after the Greek goddess Nike, who represents athletic strength. Nike Inc ('naɪki ( is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States.

References

External links

• Theoi Project: Nike