Nike (in ancient Greek: Nίκη, Nike, also known as Niche or Nice) is a character from Greek mythology, personifying victory. She is the daughter of the Titan Pallas and the Oceanid nymph Styx. Nike is depicted as a woman with wings, earning her the title of Winged Victory.
Nike, the goddess of victory, is first mentioned by Hesiod in the “Theogony” as the daughter of the Titan Pallas and Styx. She is honored alongside her siblings Zelos (Rivalry), Kratos (Power), and Bia (Force). Nike is celebrated for victories in athletic or artistic competitions, as well as in battles.
According to tradition, it was the sculptor Archermos who first represented her with wings. In fact, the wooden image of Nike preserved in the temple of Athena in Athens was wingless. According to classical mythology, Styx brought her four children to Zeus when he was gathering allies for the war against the Titans.
Zeus appointed Nike as the charioteer of his divine chariot (a role in which she is often depicted in Greek and classical art) and made all four of them sentinels of his throne.
Most other deities were not winged because they had lost their wings by the classical Greek period. Nike is closely associated with the goddess Athena, and the two are often depicted together, forming a strong bond. Nike is one of the most frequently seen figures on ancient Greek coins. This association led to the formation of the divine figure Athena Nike, to whom a temple in the Ionic order was dedicated.
This temple, built around 425 BC on the western side of the Acropolis near the Propylaea, housed an archaic cult statue representing Nike without wings. The traveler and geographer Pausanias, in the 2nd century AD, recounted that the Athenians had cut off her wings to ensure that the goddess, and therefore victory, would never leave their city.
