Hum/100 Journal Entry 2

Tia Jones

Journal Entry #2

Hum/100

September 21, 2015

Terry Jones

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, ca 190BCE

On April 15, 1863, an excavation on the Greek island of Samothrace, led by an amateur archaeologist named Charles Champoiseau, unearthed a large winged female statue carved from white Parian marble. The marble statue represents an over life-sized winged victory alighting on a ship’s prow, which is present in a scaled-down version as the Nike’s base. This work may

have originally been part of a monumental fountain installation. The statue was found, broken into several pieces, lying in a rectangular basin located on a windy ridge that overlooked the Samothracian Sanctuary of the Great Gods and, in the distance, the rough waters of the Aegean Sea. In the Hellenistic period, when the Nike was created, Samothrace was

known for both its mystery cult and its position on an important but stormy sea lane.

Known today as the Nike of Samothrace, the sculpture is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of antiquity, and replicas appear everywhere from its original location on Samothrace to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The original is dramatically displayed above the Daru staircase in the Louvre, in Paris.

Soon after its discovery, Champoiseau arranged for the sculpture to be sent to Paris. Dated at about 190 BC, experts were unable to identify the sculptor, but they did conclude that the sculpture had been erected to commemorate a naval victory by a Macedonian general.

The statue is celebrated for its dramatic and masterful display of movement and form. Many consider its lack of head and arms to add to its beauty. It certainly adds to its iconic appearance and its visual impact as it forces the viewer to use his or her imagination to complete the artwork. The Nike of Samothrace is one the Louvre’s most beloved treasures today. A plaster replica has stood in a museum on Samothrace’s Sanctuary of the Gods since the late 19th century....