Nike of Paionios, Olympia
The ancient Greeks are known for their magnificent sculpting skills and creations with the realism the pieces of art created. One of the many known sculptures from ancient Greece is the Nike of Paionios, known for its drapery. The Nike of Paionios is located in Olympia, Greece and is seen as a flying woman. It is a statue of the Greek goddess Nike, who was the goddess of victory for both war and peaceful competitions. Paionios of Mende from Thrace was a sculptor in the late 5th century who created the Nike statue from Parian marble. Parian marble is a fine-grained semi-translucent, pure white, and flawless marble that was highly prized by the ancient Greeks. The statue was created between 425 – 420 BCE, which is the Classical period in Greece and this time period is mostly known for Athens becoming more involved in both art and politics. The Classical period is most known for tragic poets, Socrates and the Parthenon.
The figure itself shows a women’s body that is landing down onto Earth gently with her left foot. Her dress is draped over her body, which would have been painted red and is flowing intricately behind her showing that the wind is blowing against her. The Nike statue that can be seen in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia in Greece shows that she is missing her wings and her lower left arm. Her face has also been broken off and her head is not fully attached at the neck. The Nike statue is 2.16m tall today but in Ancient Greece it would have been 12m tall including the pillars that were attached to it on either side.
The Nike of Paionios is unique in many different ways but mainly for how it was build and the material that was used to build it. The statue was created because of a war that was won and it was dedicated to Zeus. This explains why the statue was found outside of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia. A theory concerning the dedication of the statue is that the Messenians and Naupactians created it as a tribute to Zeus after they won a battle against Sparta. This is shown by the inscription found on the statue that states, “The Messenians and Naupactians dedicated this to Olympian Zeus, a tithe from the spoils of war. Paionios of Mende made this, and was victor [in the competition] to make the akroteria for the temple”. (University of Cambridge, 2017) What is unique about the Nike of Paionios is that the Parian marble used to make it was from the spoils of war and made out of other statues that had been torn down or destroyed. It is also unique because it tells us as historian’s information about military conflicts in the Peloponnese and how the culture of Ancient Greece viewed victories, but also defeats.
The Messenians and the Naupactians were careful not to mention ‘their enemies’ by name in the dedicational script to Zeus on the Nike of Paionios. This is because even though both of these people defeated the Spartans, they were still afraid of them. Later, a script was found by a writer named Pausanias, who was a traveler in the 2nd century AD, wrote, “But the Messenians themselves say that the offering is a trophy of the battle in which they fought on the Athenian side in the island of Sphacteria and that they refrained from inscribing the name of the enemy for fear of the Lacedaemonians (Spartans).” The placement of the statue shows a symbolic gesture of dominance against the Spartans. Even though the statue does not depict the Spartans by name, it was placed in Olympia outside the Temple of Zeus, which was considered Spartan ground. This demonstrates the political and cultural lives the Ancient Greeks lived in, where they were able to show victory for their winnings but careful not to show whom exactly they defeated for fear of revenge. This show just how politically complicated the Ancient Greeks had it even in the 5th century BCE.
One of the questions I have that may be answered in Greece is why did the Messenians and the Naupactians pick the goddess Nike to show their triumph rather then another god or goddess? I am looking forward to see the Nike of Paionios in person to see how weather damaged the sculpture is. Also I want to see the sculpting work of how Paionios of Mende made the goddess Nikes fabric drape and flow over her like the wind is still blowing on her. I am fascinated to see just now much detail and work this artist has put into this sculpture and how much of the detail has lasted through the thousands of years.
By: Teagan O’Halloran
Bibliography
Aaron J. Atsma. “Nike – Greek Goddess of Victory (Roman Victoria).” Theoi Project.
Accessed May 25, 2017. http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Nike.html
Mark Cartwright. “Nike of Paionios (Illustration).” Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Accessed May 26 2017. http://www.ancient.eu/image/445/
“Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases, Nike of Paionios.” University of
Cambridge. Last modified June 2017. http://museum.classics.cam.ac.uk/collections/casts/nike-paionios
“Nike of Paionios, Paionios.” Wikipedia. Last modified March 20 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paeonius
“Parian marble, Marble of Paros Island.” The Greek Island Specialists. Last modified
2014. http://www.greeka.com/cyclades/paros/paros-products/parian-marble.htm
