Victoria
Roman goddess of victory, equivalent to the Greek Nike
The Myth of Victoria
Victoria was ubiquitous in Roman culture — her image appeared on coins, monuments, triumphal arches, and military standards across the empire. Her most famous cult object was the Altar of Victoria in the Roman Senate house, placed there by Augustus in 29 BC. Senators burned incense at this altar before each session, and its removal in 382 AD by the Christian emperor Gratian provoked one of the last great confrontations between paganism and Christianity, when the senator Symmachus pleaded eloquently but unsuccessfully for its return. Victoria was depicted as a winged woman holding a laurel wreath, descending from heaven to crown the victor. The Nike of Samothrace, though Greek, captures exactly how Romans imagined their Victoria.
Parents
Pallas and Styx
Symbols
Fun Fact
The removal of Victoria's altar from the Senate in 382 AD was one of the final battles between Roman paganism and Christianity
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
Nike was the winged goddess of victory in all domains — war, athletics, art.
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.
Pax
⚡ godPeace, harmony, prosperity
Roman goddess of peace and civic harmony, equivalent to the Greek Eirene
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.
Bellona
⚡ godWar, destruction, battlefield fury
Roman goddess of war and destruction, companion or sister of Mars, equivalent to the Greek Enyo
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
Goddess of Victory
💭 conceptVictory, triumph, speed, strength
Nike personifies victory in both war and peaceful competition, flying above battlefields to crown the worthy.
Venus
⚡ godLove, beauty, desire, fertility
Roman goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, identified with the Greek Aphrodite but also revered as ancestress of the Roman people
Minerva
⚡ godWisdom, strategy, crafts, education
Roman goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and the arts, equated with the Greek Athena
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.
Hera
⚡ godQueen of the gods and guardian of marriage
The queen of Olympus and goddess of marriage who defended the institution of matrimony with a wrath that shaped half the myths.
Jupiter
⚡ godKing of gods, sky, thunder
Supreme deity of the Roman pantheon, equivalent to the Greek Zeus, ruling over gods and mortals from the heavens