Nike Goddess of Victory

Nike goddess of Victory was the daughter of the titan Pallas and of Styx. In fact, she represented the personification of victory, both in war and in pacific competitions. There are no specific myths concerning her.

Anyway, there is a story about her mother, Styx, who brought her four children: Nike (the Victory), Zelus (Rivalry), Bia (Force) and Kratos (Strentgh) as allies for Zeus in his war against the Titans. They became the sentinels of Zeus, while Nike goddess of Victory was the charioteer.

In many Greek sculptures, she is respresented as a winged woman, on a chariot. Very often she holds a crown in her hand or she crowns a winner.

Sometimes, Nike was represented as a friend of the Greek goddess Athena, however in Athens this was just another name used for the goddess of wisdom.

The following statue is one of the most well-known representations, the so called Nike of Samothrace or Winged Victory.

The Nike of Samothrace, G...

And this is another representation of Nike, from her temple in Ephesus, Turkey. You will notice her traditional attributes: the wings and the wreath she holds in her hand: