Nike of Samothrace
(Winged Victory)
200 190 BCE

In the distance in the Louvre Museum in Paris perched at the top of a staircase is the the Nike of Samothrace or Winged Victory.

Originally it stood on a hillside high above the city of Samothrace. It is as if she had just descended from the heavens and landed on the prow of a stone ship which formed the original base. She was perhaps made to commemorate an important naval victory.

This is certainly one of the masterpieces of the Hellenistic style. The wind sweeps through her drapery. The sculpture is very theatrical and it is thought that she had one of her missing arms high in the air. This work has been described as "poetry in motion".

Her forward thrust is balanced by the backward thrust of her wings. She is about
8 feet high.