Nike
Nike was the winged goddess of victory in all domains — war, athletics, art.
The Myth of Nike
Nike was the winged goddess of victory, daughter of the Titan Pallas and the river goddess Styx. When Zeus called allies for the war against the Titans, Styx brought Nike and her siblings to fight for Olympus. In gratitude, Zeus kept Nike forever at his side, and she became inseparable from Athena — depicted standing in Athena's hand at the great statue in the Parthenon in Athens. She presided over victories in war and athletic competition alike, crowning champions at Olympia and Delphi. Her most famous image, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, shows her alighting on a ship's prow. The Romans called her Victoria, and her name endures in modern culture.
Parents
Pallas and Styx
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Nike sportswear brand and its swoosh logo represent this goddess's wing.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Nike
⚡ godGoddess of victory
The winged goddess of victory who flew across battlefields crowning the victors and who stood beside Zeus as his constant companion.
Victoria
⚡ godVictory, triumph, success
Roman goddess of victory, equivalent to the Greek Nike
Goddess of Victory
💭 conceptVictory, triumph, speed, strength
Nike personifies victory in both war and peaceful competition, flying above battlefields to crown the worthy.
Winged Victory of Samothrace
💭 conceptvictory, art
The monumental marble sculpture of Nike alighting on a ship's prow, created around 190 BC and now the most visited sculpture in the Louvre after the Venus de Milo.
Nike of Samothrace
💭 conceptHellenistic sculpture
A monumental winged marble sculpture of Nike, the goddess of victory, carved around 190 BCE and displayed at the Louvre since 1884
Athena
⚡ godGoddess of wisdom, craft, and strategic warfare
Athena was the goddess of wisdom, strategic war, and craftsmanship — born fully armoured from Zeus's head, she was the most respected and feared Olympian after Zeus himself.
Athena
⚡ godGoddess of wisdom and strategic warfare
The warrior-goddess born from Zeus's head who embodied strategic intelligence, craft, and the civilising arts of the city.
Enyo
⚡ godGoddess of war and destruction
Enyo was a goddess of war who delighted in bloodshed and the destruction of cities — she accompanied Ares and Eris into battle.
Pax
⚡ godPeace, harmony, prosperity
Roman goddess of peace and civic harmony, equivalent to the Greek Eirene
Minerva
⚡ godWisdom, strategy, crafts, education
Roman goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and the arts, equated with the Greek Athena
Eunice
🌿 nymphthe sea, victory
A Nereid whose name means "good victory," one of the fifty sea-nymph daughters of Nereus and Doris.
Bellona
⚡ godWar, destruction, battlefield fury
Roman goddess of war and destruction, companion or sister of Mars, equivalent to the Greek Enyo