Nike Loosening Her Sandal
catalogue image
2014-00-00
Name/Title
Nike Loosening Her SandalEntry/Object ID
75G0909Description
Female figure, draped, winged, bending over to remove sandal on right foot. Head and left forearm missing.Type of Sculpture
ReliefArtwork Details
Medium
PlasterSubject
Athena NikeSubject Person
NikeSubject Place
Site
Temple of Athena Nike, AcropolisCity
AthensCountry
GreeceContext
A sculpted relief of a winged female figure, Nike, goddess of victory, that is part of a procession of Nikai engaged in activities to honour the goddess Athena. This procession decorated the parapet near the Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis at Athens. This amphiprostyle temple is perched on the southwest corner of the Acropolis and was originally designed by architect Kallikrates in the mid-5th c. BCE. It features delicate fluted Ionic columns at both front and back, and has a low pediment, the sculpted decorations of which do not survive. A sculpted frieze features a different theme on each of the temple’s four sides. Because the temple is perilously close to the edge of the Acropolis, a parapet was added in 410 BCE to protect visitors from accidental falls. The relief featuring the procession of Nikai decorates the area below this protective railing. Rendered in high Classical style, the body of the figure is fully visible, but Nike is turned slightly from the viewer, caught in the act of reaching towards the sandal on her right foot with her right hand. She is bent slightly forward, her right foot raised, knee bent, as she reaches to adjust the strap of her sandal. As though from the movement, her voluminous chiton appears to have slipped from her right shoulder, exposing it. The body is in high relief except for her wings, which are in lower relief to give the impression of being in the background. These have suffered some damage and the head is missing entirely. Two main debates concerning this figure pertain to its location on the parapet’s sculpted scene and the meaning of the pose depicted. No scholarly consensus has been achieved as to her location in the scene, though in general most scholars place this Nike on the southern side of the parapet. The nature of Nike’s movement is also a subject of debate, with most arguing that she must be untying her sandal, as it is impossible to tie a sandal with only one hand. Indeed, there was an artistic tradition in which a Nike was depicted loosening her sandals before entering a sacred place. Viewed with this in mind, the Nike from the temple of Athena Nike who is depicted adjusting her sandal may have been intended to remind visitors that they are entering a space where suppliants were to be barefoot.Collection
Classical GreeceMade/Created
Date made
420 BCE - 420 BCETime Period
ClassicalPlace
City
AthensCountry
GreeceEthnography
Cultural Region
Site
AcropolisCity
AthensCountry
GreeceCulture/Tribe
Greek - Classical