User:Kyra-D24/Nike (mythology)

Nike is the Greek goddess of victory who personifies triumph in any field including art, music, war, and athletics. She is often portrayed in Greek art as Winged Victory in the motion of flight, however she can also appear without wings as "Wingless Victory" when she is being portrayed as an attribute of another deity such as Athena. In Greek literature Nike is described as both an attribute and attendant to the gods Zeus and Athena. Nike gained this honored role beside Zeus during the Titanomachy where she offered her allegiance to Zeus during the war with the Titans. At Athens, Nike became a servant to Athena as well as an attribute of her due to her prominent status in her patron city. The fusion of the two goddesses at Athens has contributed to the ambiguity surrounding Nike's origins. It is unclear whether she originated from a character trait of the Greek goddess Athena or has always existed as an independent deity. Her origin story in Greek mytholog y is also slightly ambiguous, with the Theogony claiming Nike to be the daughter of Styx and Pallas while the Homeric Hymns describe Ares as being Nike's father.

Etymology
* keep as is

*** fix citations for pictures (zeus)!!***

Origins of Nike
Nike and Athena are both associated with victory, which has resulted in contestation over the origins of Nike. According to a paper by Harrison (as cited in Sikes, 1895) Nike was once a facet of the Greek goddess Athena, who was composed of Boulaia (good council), Ergane (skilled handcraft), and Nike (victory). According to this theory, Nike eventually broke off from Athena to form her own distinct personality. Baudrillart, in another paper (as cited in Sikes, 1895), shares a similar view that Nike was once a part of Athena and separated from her around the 5th century. However, he holds that the Athena Nike personality continued to exist alongside the distinct Nike personality. In contrast to Harrison and Baudrillart's views, E.E. Sikes believed that Nike was always a distinct personality from Athena. According to Sikes, Nike existed as an independent deity from Athena since Nike represented victory in musical, athletic, and military competitions and Athena's authority was limited to strictly military victories. Sikes postulates that the theory that Nike first originated from Athena arose from the confusion of the two goddesses at Athens where Athena Nike and Nike existed alongside each other.

In Greek mythology Nike, the personification of victory, has two possible origin stories. According to Hesiod's Theogony, "Styx, daughter of Oceanus, in union with Pallas, bore... trim-ankled Victory [Nike]..." as well as her sisters Zelus (Zeal or Aspiration), Kratos (Strength), and Bia (Power). This lineage is also supported by the Bibliotheca where "...Nice, Cratos, Zelos, and Bia" are described as the children of the Titans Pallas and Styx. In another source, Homeric Hymn 8, Ares the God of War is portrayed as the "...father of warlike Victory."

Mythology
Nike is often portrayed in literature in close association with Zeus or Athena. She is typically described as either an attendant of the Greek Gods Zeus and Athena or as a facet of their personalities. According to the Theogony Nike, Zelus, Kratos, and Bia "...will not live apart from Zeus... nor go except where the god goes before them, but they sit for ever beside heavy-booming Zeus." Nike and her siblings achieved these honorable positions by Zeus's side during the Titanomachy. During the war with the Titans Zeus called all the gods to Olympus to determine their allegiance. He declared that any god that chose to align with him against Kronos would receive his honor and favor. Of the gods, Styx and her children were the first to declare their loyalty to Zeus and as a result Zeus granted her and her children his favor. For Styx he gave her the honor of being "...the great oath of the gods..." For her children Zeus granted them his eternal favor by allowing them "...to dwell with him for all time." As a result, Nike is often portrayed in literature in association with Zeus since she holds an honorable position by his side: "Victory... in golden Olympus, standing beside Zeus..." In Nonnos' Dionysiaca, Nike is described as an emissary of Athena who was sent to aid Zeus in his battle against Typhon. When the many snake-headed giant Typhon laid siege to Olympus in the final days of the Titanomachy, Nike reproached Zeus for his hesitancy in confronting Typhon and urged him to gather his thunderbolts in preparation to defend Olympus. In her speech she mentions all the gods that have given up and fled the battle including Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Hephaistos. She also mentions the possible repercussions of allowing Typhon to win, which includes the destruction of Olympus and the rape and enslavement Zeus's daughters Athena and Artemis. When in the morning Typhon again issued his challenge, Zeus gathered the clouds around himself for armor and answered the monster's threats. Nike, described as Victory, led Zeus into battle as Eris, Strife, led Typhon. During the fighting Nike used her shield to protect Zeus while he fought with his thunderbolts and frigid rain. By assaulting Typhon with fire and ice, Zeus was able to defeat the monster and claim victory over the Titans. As Zeus rode off from the battlefield, Nike followed him driving her father's chariot. In the Theogony, this battle is described in a different manner. Zeus is neither hesitant nor fearful and Nike makes no appearance to encourage or aid Zeus in the fighting.

Nike is also depicted in literature as a goddess who judges the excellence of gods and mortals in competition. This role of assessing the greatness of skill of a god or mortal is most evident in war, where Nike is often depicted on the side of the victor granting them the victory. An example if this is in Ovid's Metamorphoses book 8 where the fate of the war between Megara and Crete hung in "...suspense; so, Victory day by day between them hovered on uncertain wings." However, Nike's role of judging excellence is not limited to strictly military prowess. Instead, Nike observes victory in any field including musical, athletic, and or military competitions. For instance in Pindar Nemean 5, the victorious athlete Euthymenes of Aegina has "twice fallen into the arms of Victory" and achieved fame. In Bacchylides Ode 12 Nike encourages Teisias of Aegina to compete in the wrestling matches at Nemea. In both these examples Nike is associated with victory in an athletic competition rather than only a military competition. Typically, Nike is the one who bestows the victor with the prize. In Bacchylides Ode 11 she is introduced with the stock epithet "giver of swift gifts..." However, Nike is also represented in some sources as the prize in a contest to symbolize victory: "... the blossoms of glory-bringing Victory nurture for men golden, conspicuous fame throughout their lives..." In this source Nike is portrayed as a garland of flowers to be bestowed upon the victor during the Panhellenic Games.

Depiction in Art
Nike alone is often depicted in Greek art winged and carrying a symbol of victory, such as a wreath or palm frond. Statues of her attempt to evoke a sense of flight. In the Archaic period of ancient Greek sculpture Nike often appears in a "kneeling run" pose or "knielaufen" pose with her head turned to the side to look at the viewer as her body swiftly rushes forward. The marble statue of Nike, possibly designed by Arkhermos of Chios and found at Delos, dates to around 550 BCE and exemplifies this style of pose. Nike's right arm is outstretched at an angle while her left arm is bent so that her hand rests upon her upper thigh. Her wings are attached to her upper back and her body runs to the side while her head is turned to observe the viewer instead of the place she is running to. Richard Neer proposes that this posture with the running stance, wings, and flowing garments were meant to evoke the swift speed of the goddess. As time goes on Nike's legs begin to straighten and her movement becomes a more subtle alighting movement with a slight forward component. An example of a transitional phase in movement from the "kneeling run" to the alighting and striding pose is Paionios's statue of Nike discovered in the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. This statue of Nike was made of Parian marble and was dedicated to Zeus by the Messenians and Naupaktians around 420 BCE during the Classical period. The statue originally stood near the temple of Zeus on a 8.45m high, three sided pillar. The statue itself was roughly two meters high and was orientated to face the east. Instead of flying sideways, Paionios's Nike advances forward with feet just alighting upon the ground. At her feet an eagle is shown to fly to the viewer's left as Nike moves forward with left leg stepping down to touch the earth. Her left arm is raised and once held her himation, or outer robe, as it blew out behind her in the wind. Fragments of Nike's face, forearms, and wings are missing, however, pieces of her wings can still be seen attached to her shoulders. In this statue of Nike from the fifth century the goddess's alighting motion is towards the viewer as opposed to the sideways running motion of earlier statues. Additionally, Paionios's Nike has adopted a striding stance as opposed to a pinwheel-type running stance. By changing Nike's stance, Paionios has relinquished depiction of Nike's swift speed in favor of depicting her in a forward alighting motion that directly engages the viewer. By the mid Classical period and the start of the Hellenistic period, statues of Nike begin to portray her with legs almost completely straight in an alighting pose meant to evoke an appearance out of nothing rather than a hurtling into view. This slight forward and downward motion is illustrated in the Capitoline Nike (460 BCE) from Magna Grecia. This statue was made of Thasian marble and showed the goddess standing almost completely straight with a slight lean forwards to indicate Nike's downward and slight forward alighting motion. Although her wings are lost, the roots of them can still be seen behind her shoulders. The straight lines of her garments imply weightiness and the pull of gravity during her gentle descent. The slight overfold of her peplos across the midsection also evokes the sense of a small wind blowing upwards from her soft descent. Additionally, both of her feet are placed side by side in a standing pose rather than a striding pose. All these details suggest Nike is appearing and making a graceful descent to the earth rather than dashing sideways into view. The statue of Nike from the Temple of Neptune at Corfu also implies a gently appearance out of nothing rather than a hurtling from somewhere. This statue is speculated to be from the Hellenistic period according to Andrew Parkin. The statue is made of white marble and is seventy-three centimeters tall. Nike herself is posed atop a globe, which is acting as the base. While Nike's forearms and wings are missing the sockets for attaching her wings can be seen on her back. The goddess is standing with both legs straight and together. Her head is bent downwards slightly so that her gaze rests on the ground rather than the viewer. As a result of this, her body also leans slightly downwards. Her winged, straight, and slightly bent posture evokes the appearance that she is looking down at where to place her feet as she descends. The Nike of Corfu also has a hollowed out back which has resulted in Parkin, C. Vermeule, and D. Von Bothmer to hypothesize that the statue was originally mounted on another base or the statue was intended to fit into the hand of a larger deity.

During the Classical period, statuettes of Nike were often placed in the hands of larger deities. One such example is Pheidias's statue of Zeus at Olympia. According to Pausanias's Description of Greece, the statue of Zeus "...holds Victory in ivory and gold..." in his right hand and a scepter with an eagle perched atop it in his left hand. Pheidias's cult statue of Athena from the Parthenon in Athens also held a smaller Nike statuette in one hand and a spear in the other. According to Pausanias, this Nike statue was roughly four cubits tall (about seventy-two inches). Both Nike statues in Zeus's and Athena's hands were winged. Nike typically appears without wings in Greek sculpture when she is being represented as an attribute of another deity, such as Athena. The Athena Nike statue within the the Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis depicts the Greek goddess wingless and seated with a pomegranate in her right hand and her helmet in her left hand. According to Andrew Stewart the doffed helmet and pomegranate are symbols of assistance, fertility, and peace. According to Suidas, Athena Nike without wings represents calm civility while the pomegranate represents prosperity and the doffed helmet represents peace. Pausanias in his Description of Greece provides a different interpretation for why Athena Nike is depicted as "Wingless Victory." According to his interpretation, the Athenians constructed the statue of Athena Nike without wings so that she would never leave the city of Athens.

Athena Nike
In Athens Nike was often honored alongside Athena or as an attribute of Athena, where she was called Athena Nike. According to Sikes, Nike was worshipped as a facet of Athena because Athena was Athens's patron goddess and thus held greater power in her own city and acropolis. Since Athena held greater power in Athens, she acquired some of the functions traditionally only Nike possessed as well as her title of Victory. Thus, the two goddesses merged into one to form the Athena Nike personality. The distinct Nike personality continued to coexist alongside the Athena Nike personality and became a servant to Athena, or a "Lady of Victory" according to Sikes. The three votive processions on the parapet of the Temple of Athena Nike display this relationship between Athena and Nike. On both the north and south sides an array of winged Nikes are shown carrying offerings to Athena who sat seated at the west end of each stream of Nike. As a result of the merging of the two goddesses Athena Nike was worshipped as a goddess of victory in Athens, particularly military victory. 

The Priestesses of Athena Nike
The cult of Athena Nike was functioning as early as the beginning of the sixth century. However, there remains significant debate over whether the cult of Athena Nike in its earlier years had its own priestess, no priestess, or if it shared a priestess with a nearby cult. The earliest substantial evidence for a priestess of Athena Nike is provided in a decree named IG i^3 35 passed in the early fifth century by the Athenian Demos. This decree proposed a plan for a new temple and priestess for Athena Nike. The decree was unusual because it broke with Athenian tradition by handing over control of the cult to the state and instituting a democratic selection of the next priestess of Athena Nike by lot from all Athenian women. According to Michael Laughy, the priesthood was traditionally controlled by a genos or family clan who selected the next priestess from one of their heirs. For example, the priestess of Athena Polias was the heir of the aristocratic Eteoboutadai genos, since they controlled the priesthood for Athena Polias. Thus, the process of selecting a priestess in Athens was not traditionally a democratic process by all Athenian women. This decree was also significant, according to Josine Blok, because it gave all Athenian women access to influential and prominent cultic roles in the Athenian city-state during a time when Athenian women's freedoms were fairly limited. The final unusual aspect of the decree was that it broke with Athenian tradition by handing over responsibility of the priesthood from the genos to the state. According to Laughy, ancestral practice played a key role in how Athenian cultic rituals and sacrifices were performed. Thus, a break in custom to transfer religious authority from the genos to the state was exceptional for Athens during that time as it transformed the cult of Athena Nike into a polis-cult, a cult funded and overseen by the Athenian city-state.

While the decree does not state the identity of the new priestess, a verse epitaph on a marble stele funerary monument reveals that the first priestess of Athena Nike to be selected democratically by lot was Myrrhine, daughter of Kallimachos. According to decree IG i^3 36, she would have received a stipend of fifty drachmas paid for by the kolakretai and a portion of the sacrafice. While neither decrees specified the tenure of her office, Blok proposes that Myrrhine would have likely served for life since that was the tradition for Athenian women serving in cultic offices. Her responsibilities are described in the Myrrhine epigram (IG i^3 1330) and include maintaining the sanctuary and its statues.

Contemporary usage

 * The sports equipment company Nike, Inc., is named after the goddess Nike. The Nike company's primary product is shoes. The goddess Nike is usually depicted as barefoot and/or winged.
 * Project Nike, an American anti-aircraft missile system, is named after the goddess Nike. 
 * Since Giuseppe Cassioli's design for 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 laurel crown in her left. 
 * The Honda motorcycle company's wing logo was inspired by the goddess Nike. 
 * The 1988 U.S. Commemorative $5 Gold Coin (commemorating the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea) has a depiction of Nike on the obverse by engraver Elizabeth Jones. 

ME
Cult
 * role women played in cult
 * festivals, daily life
 * priestess of athena nike
 * cult of athena nike as a polis cult (role of politics / state in cult)

The Democratic Selection of the Priestess of Athena Nike

 * how the democratic slection came about
 * the first priestess of athena nike
 * what rites did the priesstess perform

History
Festivals


 * Panathenaic festival = msot imporant

In literature Nike is often associated with victory in athletic, musical, and military victories.

* punctuation before citation

* change order (put everything including quotes) about Nike parentage in one paragraph. Everything (including quotes) about Nike's job / role in greek mythology in another paragraph. Put the quotes in as part of the sentence and introduce them with a colon or saying for example

* break up block text quotation (makes it easier for reader to understand what is going on when quotations are next to example)

* nike = depicted with wings when she's along and wingless with other Gods (athena at athena nike sanctuary)

* for citations fix the theogony one (say translated by author's name and put the date of translation by that author's name), for E.E. Sikes citation, use his article citation for all the counter arguments because they were in his article.)


 * summarize NIKE'S role in battle of titas, providing only a little and relevant background info.

Άπτερος Νίκη translates to Apteros Niki or Athena Nike, but also Wingless Victory as coined by Pausanias in his book Description of Greece.

E.E. Sikes has suggested that Nike originally represented victory in war, but was revived in Olympia around the 5th century to represent victory in athletic and musical contests. He cites Pindar, Isthmian Ode 2 as evidence for his assertion. In the story Nike “ nursed him [the victorious athlete] on her bosom in their land." He also cites Imhoof-Blumer’s article where Nike’s appearance on the coins of cities in Elis and Sicily coincided with their successes in the Panhellenic games around the sixth century. E.E. Sikes further specifies that Athena had no authority in the Olympic games and that this role of determining the victor and awarding the prize was reserved for Zeus and Nike.

Nike in literature quotes

ABOUT NIKE AND VICTORY IN LITERATURE
 * note: write about nike's primary depiction in association with vicotrs in music and athletic competitions then provide quotes. then write about nike's depiction fighting in battles or in association with victorious fighters and provide quotes. do the same for when nike is winged (alone) and not winged (with other gods)

Nike also gained the honored role of being Zeus's and Athena's charioteer.CITATION (in scenes of the Wars of the Giants Nike appears as the charioteer of Zeus)

Theogony, Lines 399-431: "He [Zeus] made her [Styx] to be the great oath of the gods, and her children to dwell with him for all time ." Theogony, Lines 366-399: "Styx, daughter of Oceanus, in union with Pallas, bore Aspiration and trim-ankled Victory in her halls, and Power and Strength, outstanding children, who will not live apart from Zeus... nor go except where the god goes before them, but they sit for ever beside heavy-booming Zeus ."
 * delete quotation and find one for evidence of nike as zeus's charioteer

Dionysiaca, V. 103-129: "Victory turned a tripling foot for the pleasure of Zeus..."

Dionysiaca, V. 103-129: "Zeus... turned his golden chariot toward the round of the ethereal stars, while Victory by his side drove her father's team..."

Dionysiaca, II. 195-220: "Zeus was alone, when Victory came to comfort him... she had the form of Leto."

Dionysiaca, II. 356-384: "Victory led Zeus into battle."

Nike as the embodiment of song after Zeus' victory against Typhon (Dionysiaca, II 694-712): "With Zeus victorious, the other gods came home to Olympus... Athena came into heaven unarmed... with Ares turned Comus, and Victory for Song"

Bacchylides Ode 12 (Teisias of Aegina wrestling at Nemea): "For to the prosperous island of Aegina queenly Victory commands me to go, to my hospitable friends, and... the strong-limbed wrestling at Nemea."

Bacchylides Ode 10 (Athenian Foot Race at Isthmus):

Bacchylides Ode 11: "Victory, giver of swift gifts... in golden Olympus, standing beside Zeus, you judge the achievement of excellence for immortals and mortals alike."

Hesiod's Theogony

 * Titans Oceanus and Tethys give birth to the nymphs among whom is Styx (ocean nymph, goddess of the river), who rules over them
 * Styx and Pallas have Nike, Bia, Kratos, Zelus
 * Nike = Victory, "trim-ankled Victory" pg.14
 * Zelus = Zeal / Aspiration
 * Bia = Power
 * Kratos = Strength
 * Styx's children (listed above) will live by Zeus's side and follow where he goes (they will not separate from him)
 * Titanomachy (series of battles fought between the younger generation of greek gods, olympians, and the older generation of greek gods, the titans)
 * Styx sided with Zeus during the 10 year series of battles
 * Styx brings her children and is the first to come to Olympus and side with Zeus against the Titans (her father advised her to go)
 * Zeus called all gods to Olympus and said whoever sided with him against the titans (lead by Kronos) would receive privilege and honor (if they already have it he will not take it away, if they do not have it he will grant it to them)
 * Zeus grants Styx and her children this honor
 * Styx's name becomes the oath that all the Gods swear upon
 * Her children are given the honor of having Zeus's favor (being by his side) forever

Bibliotheca

 * Zeus grants Styx the honor of having any oath the gods swear, swear by her name, the River Styx
 * for the aid and loyalty she and her children gave Zeus during the battle with the titans
 * the River Styx is in the underworld (Hades' domain)

The Cult of Athena Nike

 * panathenaic festival (mythical founder = erichthonius, son of athena and hephaestus god of the forge. when athena went to get new weaponry from hephaestus he was overcome by her beauty and tried to rape her. a drop of his semen falls on athena's leg which she quickly brushes off onto the earth, where hephaestus springs forth to life

Depiction in Art
https://www.theoi.com/Text/Pausanias1A.html

Pedley, J. G. (1982). A Group of Early Sixth Century Korai and the Workshop on Chios. American Journal of Archaeology, 86(2), 183–191. https://doi.org/10.2307/504831

When with another god or goddess Nike is often depicted wingless. However, when Nike is by herself she is often depicted with wings.

Nike as a smaller goddess in a larger god / goddess's hand


 * Statuette of Nike (Hellenistic period), Temple of Neptune at Corfu
 * winged
 * postulated that she stood in larger god / godess's hand
 * Statuette of Nike on hand of Pheidias' statue of Zeus, Temple of Zeus at Olympia
 * Statuette of Nike on hand of Pheidias's statue of Athena, Parthenon

Nike winged

Nike not winged


 * Athens (temple for Athena Nike) had a wingless Athena Nike so that she would always stay with their city and bring them glory and victory
 * Nike alone was winged

Nike as an attendant of the gods

outliers

 * parapet at temple of athena