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hellenistic

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Marble sculpture of Nike (c. 190 BCE), the Greek goddess of victory, depicted alighting on the prow of a ship. Created to commemorate a Greek naval victory, likely in the context of the Battle of Myonnesus (190 BCE). Discovered on the island of Samothrace in 1863. Held at the Louvre, Paris.

Scholarly Significance

Anchor the Hellenistic sculpture cluster with the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a masterpiece of dynamic marble sculpture and one of the greatest surviving works of antiquity.

Notes

  • ·Discovered in April 1863 by Charles Champoiseau at the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace (modern Greece). The figure was found in over 200 fragments.
  • ·The sculpture depicts Nike (Victory) alighting on the prow of a trireme warship. Wind presses her garments against her body while her wings are spread behind her. The head and both arms are missing.
  • ·The ship prow base is carved from grey Lartos marble from Rhodes, while the figure itself is Pentelic marble from Attica.
  • ·The most widely accepted identification is that it commemorates a Rhodian naval victory at the Battle of Myonnesus (190 BCE) against the Seleucid fleet; some scholars propose earlier Rhodian victory contexts.
  • ·A fragment identified as the right hand was found at Samothrace in 1950 by Karl Lehmann and is displayed in a case near the statue.
  • ·Displayed at the top of the Daru staircase in the Louvre, one of the most visited spots in the museum. Removed for restoration 2013–2014.
  • ·The sculpture is a canonical example of Hellenistic mastery: the wet-drapery effect (conveying damp cloth pressed against the body by sea wind) demonstrates extraordinary technical command of marble carving.