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The Victory is considered one of the great surviving masterpieces of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic period, despite the fact that the figure is significantly damaged, missing its head and outstretched arms. By an unknown artist (presumably Rhodian in origin), the sculpture is thought to date from the period 220 BC - 190 BC (though some scholars date it as early as 250 BC or as late as 180 BC). Certainly, the parallels with figures and drapery from the Pergamon Altar (dated about 170 BC) seem strong. A partial inscription on the base of the statue includes the word "Rhodhios" (Rhodes), indicating that the statue was commissioned to celebrate a naval victory by Rhodes, at that time the most powerful maritime state in the AegeanGreece as seen from the island of Santorini The Aegean Sea ( Greek: Alpha;ιγαον Πλαγο&sigmaf Aigaion Pelagos Turkish: Ege denizi is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek penins. The Samothrace Archaeological Museum , however, says that the statue was an offering donated by the Macedonian general Demetrius I Poliorcetes after his naval victory at CyprusCyprus (in Greek Kypros Κυπρος; and in Turkish Kibris is an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, 113 kilometres (70 miles) south of Turkey and around 120 km west of Syrian coast. Name and position The English-langua. This would date the statue to 288 BCCenturies: 4th century BC 3rd century BC 2nd century BC Decades: 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 293 BC 292 BC 291 BC 290 BC 289 BC 288 BC 287 BC 286 BC 285 BC 284 BC 283 BC Events King Demetrius I o at the latest.
The statue stands on the prow of a ship, and probably served as part of an outdoor altar, representing the goddess as she descended from the skies to the triumphant fleet. Rendered in white Parian marble , the larger than life-sized figure (height 3.28 metres or 10.7 feet, including the wings) originally formed part of the Sanctuary of the Gods. Before losing her arms the Nike was probably blowing a victory paean on a trumpet. In 1950Events January January 5 US Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the USA January 6 The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with one of the statue's hands was found on Samothrace and is now in a glass case in the Louvre next to the podium on which the statue stands. The statue shows a mastery of form and movement which has impressed critics and artists since its discovery - the Nike of Samothrace is particularly admired for its naturalistic pose and rendering of the figure's draped garments, depicted as if rippling in a strong sea breeze.
The Victory is one of the Louvre's great treasures, and it is today displayed in the most dramatic fashion, at the head of the sweeping Daru Staircase. The loss of the head and arms, while regrettable in a sense, is held by many to enhance the statue's depiction of the supernatural.