Nike of Samothrace (Winged Victory)
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace, c. 190 B.C.E., Gray Lartos marble (boat), Parian marble (statue), 328 cm high (Louvre Museum, Paris).
A conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.
This sculpture has always filled me with emotion. The first time I saw it live, I don't think I breathed.
Me too. I think its placement also contributes to its effect, especially since you're first seeing her from the bottom of the stairs. It is magnificent.
I can only imagine.. I will see her one day
Now you're the kind of human the planet needs. people that really care about even the smallest things. Closing Olympic ceremony brought me here after a lot of googling and Microsoft copilot AI explanations. Whoever she was, the wings are a sign she was a daughter of the gods, Mabe Zeus himself. FYI in the bible, God gave Noah an angel to help steer the boat (Not sure how), looks like "Nike of Samothrace" (this sculpture) is doing the same.
I hope you guys are doing well! You make my day brighter every time you post a new video!
Absolutely my favourite statue of all times! Thank you for discussing the way she stands so tall. I hope to see her someday in real and appreciate her powerful stance.
I burst into tears when I saw this at the Louvre.
Watching videos like this is always so heartbreaking. So much has been taken from the Greeks who’ve dealt with so many hardships throughout the centuries. So many valuable and priceless artifacts removed and looted over the centuries.
Εγώ είμαι από εκεί που ανήκει το άγαλμα δηλαδή από την Σαμοθράκη...με λένε Γιάννη η Γάλλοι το πήραν δηλαδή το έκλεψαν
Oh, my goodness. Perhaps the British should return the Rosetta Stone to its original location as well. Maybe every single artifact and piece of art throughout the entirety of the world should be returned to its particular hole in the ground whence it came. Things happen. Stuff is removed and taken elsewhere. If the statue was found today and carted off to another country's museum, I'd agree it should be returned. But the Nike was found in 1863. It's a little late to talk about "repatriation." The nation of Greece as it is know today is hardly the same as the "Greece" of 150 years ago, let alone over 2,000 years ago. Also, the island of Samothrace was not part of Greece at the time of its discovery. It was ruled by the Turks. Shouldn't Turkey have a greater claim to the statue?
@@lanceash Oh my goodness.. shut the hell up 🥵 We say this about any relic that has been taken away from foreigners that have never ruled over the place they took the artifact away from. The British, French, ... have stolen a lot and try to thrive off the history of these places. It was only really possible to create a Greek state with the help of those same British, French, German etc. Philhellenes. People who try to claim the history as theirs by depicting Greeks as nordic people and also completely abolishing the fact that we have interacted with Persians, Phonecians, etc. and have eastern influences still in today's culture, as much as we did 2000 years ago. And yet, a large part of the Greek mainland and the islands has only managed to become a part of the Greek state with the fall of the ottoman empire. These same philhellenes don't care at all about us modern Greeks. If it wasn't for these people who were stuck in the past, who knows what would have happened to us.
@@panagisnic5241 I honor your truth.
@lanceash because you find something that is not yours, is no justification for taking possession and claiming ownership; if so, its value has lost something tragically.
I could listen to you too talk art for 20 mins in a stretch. Love the channel.
I am just in the midst of working on a 3D model to share online later and came across this. Talk about inspiration and timing. Excellent episode, as always. Thanks Smarthistory!
My favorite Hellenistic piece! I love your work this is a great video!
I keep a marble statue of the Nike on my desk. One of my favorite works of Greek art.
Where did you get it?
So you’re turning back towards false gods and leaving the one and only Creator of all things?
I love how you explain where it was originally to be seen.
proud to be from Samothrace!!!
I live in an old castle and we have a replica of this statue in our inner backyard. Always loved this statue but never knew who it was.
I read a book about Greek mythology not to long ago and after got into different gods a little bit and when I heard about Nike I almost instantly loved her.
A few minutes ago I was looking out of the window at the statue and wondering who it was based on. I’d known before but when I googled it I was so happy to find out it was her.
I can only imagine how idyllic and even more stunning this must have looked in its original naturalistic setting. It would have been a real eye catcher for many including those compelled to do it harm. This time we were fortunate not to have to rely on a Roman copy of which I imagine there were a few. The sensual quality of the piece is clearly evident in the way that the fabric, wet with sea spray as the ship's bow plows through a stormy sea, clings to the body. If the sculptor had been even more capable of defying gravity there would be shimmering droplets streaming down as they trail away from the edges of her windblown drapery.
Maybe there were.
Simply breathtaking. This is a kind of greatness today's artists don't aspire to do, and cannot do.
There are artist who do aspire to but present society and the art world would ignore and suppress such artists and their efforts.
@@Sunicarus if artists today were making art of this quality, there’s no way they could be “suppressed”
@@dionf3858 The artist would be willfully ignored which I consider a form of suppression.
@@Sunicarus but if they produced art to this near impossible standard they wouldn’t be ignored
@@dionf3858 We'll have to disagree on that
It's pretty amazing how the wings managed to remain instact
Well one wing (her left wing) was more or less intact or at least could be reconstructed. The other wing is a reverse cast of that one.
Exquisite! A timely tribute to the eternal freedom of the spirit even during the censored times we live in (Lack of freedom to travel and lack of freedom of speech).
Such amazing naturalism. And I love the subtle pinkish white...
The hellenistic period is really incredible.
Iconic. Given this ancient culture is the major source of inspiration for the West, there needs to be a complete restoration or a replica.
I went to Paris on Sept. 2019 and went to the Louvre but didn't go in. I told myself I had to go back to see the Mona Lisa so I went back to Paris in March of 2020. Spent over five hours in the Louvre. That place is huge. Hope to go a third time one day.
Their feet are missing but the mounting sugests that the victory is landing on the ship and one of their feet is just begining stepping on the ship. to me that detail makes it even better.
this is so beautiful
Thank you for a beautiful video.
Very nice.....thx both of you
So thumotic. I'd say that the spirit that inspired this sculpture has been lost, too.
I remember seeing her for the first time and falling in love with her. Gets me emotional every time
It's cool and abstract because the core express enough
Walking up those stairs she is a sight to behold ❤️❤️❤️
Is it thought possible that her head and other missing components might be found someday, or is it more likely permanently lost?
Thanks so much.
This is the first time I've heard of an art piece in collaboration with nature (i.e. wind direction being part of the illusion). It's a cool technique. I wonder how many more examples like this exist today.
There are Italian renaissance paintings the take account of the direction of the sunlight that enters a church and that replicate that direction in the depiction of light in the pictorial space.
@@smarthistory-art-history 🥰 I love this channel so much, lol. Thank you! That sounds amazing and I'll be on the lookout for this technique as I watch your videos on the Italian renaissance.
It’s nice listening to new history thx for the hellp
Victory is flying fast (this is what the robes seem to tell) either for communicating a victory that has been acomplish or for brining victory to Greeks.
The feeling of flight (of exposure to wind) is superb
In Polish modernist poetry it was beautiful piece of poem by Zbigniew Herbert about she's Nike presence called: "Nike, która się wacha" ("The indifference of Nike").
I'm wondering... What's the song used in every intro??? I must find it. At this point it's the theme song of this channel.
It's called "Buddy" - we found it on Garageband years ago :)
@@smarthistory-art-history Thanks!
The placement in the Louvre is stunning. The photos don’t do it Justice. Standing at those stairs with her awaiting at the top, it’s like God placed her there.
Wow amazing
Nike is simultaneously the most and least known Greek god today
A Stupendous survivor..we all should be that lucky....I've already lost my head and Arms..🕊 🌿🌍🌿🕊
I wonder if the head and arms, had they survived, would have made the whole thing less impressive.
Found myself wondering the same.
Right for some reason it looks intriguing just the way it is, I feel a head and arms would make it look basic it’s interesting
and it is now almost a certainty, that this statue, one of my fav hellenistic bits,
was garishly (to our eyes) painted
in a way it's a tragedy that Nike has become seperated from her cult, her cliffs in Samothrace, her story...and taken to a museum in a different country. weird cultural imperialism that goes on in history
Blackpink used this statue in their music video “how you like that” but replaced the wings with knives and crystals.
the louvre should give this statue back to greece
Victory
Although I'm a follower of your videos and I really appreciate the work you do, I believe that, firstly;
'winged victory' is not the correct translation of
Nike of Samothrace.. and secondly;
the way you pronouncing 'Nike'... people will think that the ancient Hellenic people borrow the name from the synonymous American tennis sues company.
We should pronouncing it as NIKKI, NOT NIKE
I think!!!
Η Φτερωτή Νίκη τής Σαμοθράκης
Or,
Η "Νίκη" τής Σαμοθράκης
...because it was stolen from the northern island of Samothrace..
Sorry guys..
Thank you for reaching out and for your kind words about Smarthistory. Nike of Samothrace is the most common title for the sculpture in English and Winged Victory is the translated title used by the Musée du Louvre. The shoe company Nike was of course named for the goddess adding millions of running and jumping feet to her legacy.
computer printed to scale in my foyer - perfecto!
😲😲😲😲😲😲
"Wing"=Wi+in+g...
Wi(We)=Up=Heaven...
In=People...
What barbaric times those were, for someone to ruin such beauty.. Such a gift that we can see it ☺️
Its remind me of blackpink