Inventory number
Ακρ. 994
Artist
The "B Master"
Category
Architectural sculpture
Period
Classical Period
Date
Around 410 BC
Dimensions
Height: 0.5 m
Length: 0.35 m
Material
Marble from Penteli
Location
First Floor, West
Slab fragments from the north side of the parapet that was constructed around the Temple of Athena Nike. They were found at different times and locations on the Acropolis.
Two winged Nikai adorn a trophy. The Nike to the viewer’s left is dressed in a long girded chiton with belts crossing over her chest. Standing on her tiptoes and with her left arm behind the trophy, she tries to reach its top and hang there a Corinthian-type helmet. In her lost today right hand she must have held the hammer with which she would have nailed the helmet. Her head is preserved only as a plaster cast as the original was lost during modern times. The Nike on the right approaches the trophy stepping with her right foot on a rock. On her thigh is an indiscernible object which she touches with the right hand.
The parapet enclosed the three sides of the bastion, on which the temple was built. It consisted of slabs approximately one meter in height whose outer surfaces were decorated with relief scenes visible by those ascending the Acropolis. The holes preserved on the upper surface of these slabs indicate that there was originally a metal railing, which further raised the height of the parapet.
The theme depicted on the parapet is a celebration of the military victories of the Athenians against their enemies, either Persians or other Greeks. The narrative is not continuous; instead it is composed of separate, individual scenes which – with slight variations – recur on each side of the parapet: winged Nikai lead bulls to sacrifice or hold weapons and adorn victory trophies with Greek or Persian armour. Among them sits goddess Athena, resting after victorious battles. The carving of the temple's sculptures was carried out by many different artists under the supervision of Agorakritos. These sculpted figures are highly representative of the end of the 5th cent. BC style called by archaeologists the "Rich Style".
In 1687 the temple and the parapet of Athena Nike were dismantled by the Ottomans and the material was used for the reinforcement of a gun emplacement and the fortification of the west side of the Acropolis against the attacks by the Venetians under the command of the general Francesco Morosini. Between 1835 and 1836 the gun emplacement was demolished and the Temple of Athena Nike was restored for the first time under the supervision of Ludwig Ross, the administrator of antiquities at the time. A second reconstruction was carried out in 1940, while a third was completed in 2010.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site
The use of your data is described in the privacy settings