Nike

Nike (nī'kē) [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of victory, daughter of Pallas and Styx. Often an attendant of Zeus or Athena, she also presided over all contests, athletic as well as military. She was a popular subject in art, usually represented as winged and bearing a wreath or palm branch. The Victory (or Nike) of Samothrace (Louvre) is one of the finest extant Greek sculptures. The Romans identified Nike with Victoria.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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