6.7: Nike of Samothrace

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Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker provide a description, historical perspective, and analysis of the Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace.

A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: http://pb.libretexts.org/temp/?p=2619

Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace, Lartos marble (ship) and Parian marble (figure), c. 190 BCE 3.28m high, Hellenistic Period (Musée du Louvre, Paris).

The sculpture was unearthed in 1863 after its discovery under the direction of Charles Champoiseau, the French Vice-Consul to Turkey. Please note that the theoretical reconstruction of the Nike as a trumpeter mentioned in the video has been largely abandoned; the monument is now thought to have been part of a fountain possibly commemorating a naval victory.