The Nike of Paros is an early classical depiction of

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

from the 5th century BC (c. 480 BC). The white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

figure was found before 1885 on the island of

Paros Paros (; el, Πάρος; Venetian: ''Paro'') is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of ...

. It is currently on display at the

Archaeological Museum of Paros The Archaeological Museum of Paros is a museum located in Parikia on Paros, Greece. The museum was found in 1960 and consists of two rooms and an atrium. Museum plan Room A contains Archaic and Classical sculptures. Room B contains pottery, ...

Description

The female figure, originally winged, was depicted floating in mid-air, in an unbelted

peplos A peplos ( el, ὁ πέπλος) is a body-length garment established as typical attire for women in ancient Greece by circa 500 BC, during the late Archaic and Classical period. It was a long, rectangular cloth with the top edge folded down a ...

which hung open. The wings and this posture identify her as Nike. The head, left arm, lower right arm, most of the wings and the feet are missing. Even so, it can be recognised that the left leg is slightly further forward, while the right leg seems to have been pulled back. This posture in connection with the forward lean of the figure as a whole is also a characteristic posture in later depictions of Nike like the

Nike of Paionos Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

. In the classical period this posture replaced the archaic "kneeling run" as the usual way of depicting Nike. The forward slope of the body's axis, which is created mainly by the straightness of the upper body and the strong incline of the lower body to the left, would have made the whole figure tilt slightly and would have shifted all weight off the left leg. The left arm must be reconstructed as having stretched upwards, when the figure was fixed in place. It is the resulting disregard for the rules of gravity which gave the Nike of Paros the appearance of floating. A transition takes place then in statuary from a sideways to a forward moving figure, as a result of the change in pose. The original circumstances of this Nike's creation are not clearly known. Either she served as an

acroterion An acroterion, acroterium, or akroteria is an architectural ornament placed on a flat pedestal called the ''acroter'' or plinth, and mounted at the apex or corner of the pediment of a building in the classical style. An acroterion placed at th ...

or she must have been a victory monument. Although no Parian victory is known to have occurred around 470/60 BC, the fact that it is carved all the way round makes it more likely that it was a victory monument.Gulaki 1981,S. 39.

Bibliography

* Alexandra Gulaki. ''Klassische und Klassizistische Nikedarstellungen.'' Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Bonn 1981, pp. 36ff. * Cornelia Isler-Kerényi. ''Nike. Der Typus der laufenden Flügelfrau in archaischer Zeit.'' 1969, pp. 95ff. * Y. Kourayos. ''Paros. Antiparos.'' 2004, p. 88. * Cornelia Thöne. ''Ikonographische Studien zu Nike im 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr. Untersuchungen zur Wirkungsweise und Wesensart.'' Heidelberg 1999, {{ISBN, 3-9804648-2-2. * Ph. Zapheiropoulou. ''Paros.'' 1998, p. 50.

References

5th-century BC Greek sculptures Archaeological discoveries in Greece Paros