Nike (Mythology) Information
In Greek mythology, Nike (Greek: Νίκη, "Victory", pronounced [níːkɛː]) was a goddess who personified victory, also 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)[citation needed],[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.
| Greek deities series | |
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| Primordial deities | |
| Titans and Olympians | |
| Aquatic deities | |
| Chthonic deities | |
| Other deities | |
| Personified concepts | |
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 amongst others: Nicholas, Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas, Nicole, Ike, Niki, Nikita, Nika, Niketas, 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]
- The Nike of Paeonius was featured as part of the design of the medals of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
- 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.
- A statue of Nike can be also seen in Warsaw, Poland. It was built in 1964 to protect the capital of Poland.
- In the Keys to the Kingdom series, the character Suzy Turquoise Blue was mistaken for being the goddess Nike.
See also
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.
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External links
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Categories: Personification in Greek mythology | Greek goddesses | War goddesses | Victory | Greek Antiquity in art and culture |
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