Nike (mythology)
| Nike | |
|---|---|
 Stone carving of the goddess Nike at the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, Turkey |
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| Goddess of victory | |
| Abode | Mount Olympus |
| Parents | Pallas and Styx |
| Siblings | Cratos, Bia, Zelus |
| Roman equivalent | Victoria |
| Greek deities series |
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| Primordial deities | |
| Titans and Olympians | |
| Aquatic deities | |
| Chthonic deities | |
| Other deities | |
| Personified concepts | |
In Greek mythology, Nike (Greek: Νίκη, "Victory", pronounced [níːkɛː]) was a goddess who personified victory throughout the ages of the ancient Greek culture. She is known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria. Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas (Titan) and Styx (Water),[1] and the sister of Kratos (Strength), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close companions of Zeus, the dominant deity of the Greek pantheon. According to classical (later) myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the Titan War against the older deities. Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer, a role in which she often is portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the victors with glory and fame.
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 of Athena, and is thought to have stood in Athena's outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon.[2] Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.[3]
Names stemming from Nike include Nicholas ("victory of the people"), Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas, Nicole, Ike, and Nicola.
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In popular culture
- The shoe and sports equipment company Nike, Inc. is named after the Greek goddess Nike, as was Project Nike, an American anti-aircraft missile system.
- A figure of Nike with a vessel was the design of the first FIFA World Cup trophy, known also as the Jules Rimet trophy.
- Since the 1928 Summer Olympics, the obverse face of every Olympic medal bears Nike's figure holding a palm frond in her right hand and a winner’s crown in her left.[4]
- In Kamichama Karin, Karin's dead cat Shi-chan had the goddess Nike inside her, and when Shi-chan died, Nike took over her body.
- In Tera Lynn Childs' young-adult novel Oh. My. Gods., the main character is a direct descendant of the goddess Nike.
- In The Darkest Prison by Gena Showalter, the Greek Nike, a guard of Tartarus who is the embodiment of strength, fell in love with the Titan Atlas, her male equivalent, when he was a prisoner at Tartarus.
- In the cult manga and homonym anime Saint Seiya, the statue of Athena holds in her right hand a little image of Nike, as it can be seen in many icons of the goddess. The little statue of Nike can be turned into a staff, which provides Athena certain victory.
- Statue of Nike can be also seen in Warsaw, Poland. It was built in 1964 to protect the capital of Poland.
See also
- Winged Victory of Samothrace
Notes
- ↑ Styx is the goddess of the underworld river Styx (water is not Nike's mother)
- ↑ Nike: Greek goddess of victory
- ↑ Sayles, Wayne G. (2007). Ancient Coin Collecting II. Krause Publications. pp. 149. ISBN 9780896895164. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=iAnweepmTSMC&pg=PA149&dq=Nike+greek&client=firefox-a.
- ↑ "Picture of 2004 Athens Games Medal". http://www.livingroom.org.au/olympics/archives/images/thumbnails/athens_medal.jpg. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
External links
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