<p style="text-align: center">Temple of Athena Nike</p>
Daughter of Pallas (titan god of war craft) and Styx (Goddess of the underworld river), Athena Nike is the most valuable goddess you will ever have on your side.

<!--more--> Unlike her siblings: Zelos (Rivalry), Bia (Force) and Kratos (Strength), Athena Nike stands for victory, and is the only element truly desired. Yes you need a rival in which to play games and fight, yes you need to be able to display your strength and intimidate your opponent with force, but what is the purpose of contests, games, and battles without victory? Victory is the most important aspect of any trial we will ever encounter, and its symbol needs to be preserved.

Athens has been occupied since 3,000 B.C., but really began to flourish once the Mycenaean rule hit its peak from 1,400 B.C to 1,200 B.C. It was then that the solid walls and foundations of the Acropolis were laid; a plot of land that towers 300 ft. over Athens, Greece. “With its many shallow caves, the abundant percolating water springs and steep slopes, the Acropolis was a prime location for habitation and worship location for Neolithic man (Acropolis History).”And that is exactly what they did.

Building after building eventually began to rise on the Acropolis: the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheum, the Chalcothece<strong>, </strong>the Pandroseion<strong>, </strong>and many more magnificent works of architectural art. Some of the buildings were so magnificent that Athens even gained fame for their architecture. People from all countries would come visit just to see what marvels the Acropolis had to offer, as they still do to this day.  Although, it wasn’t always peaceful for Athens, Many wars and city-state quarrels often left the buildings in ruins. Most if not all of the temples had to be rebuilt time and time again, resulting in a variety of styles and cultures mixed together.

While certain buildings were constructed as temples in order to better worship certain gods in hopes of desired blessings, one was fashioned for a more meaningful purpose. Around 424 B.C., amidst the 28 year war with Sparta, civilians were termoiled with the thought of losing the long battle against one of the fiercest empires ever to exist in their era. As an expression of Athens' ambitions to defeat Sparta and become a world power, and bring confidence back to their cause, the Temple of Athena Nike was built (Nosotro, Rit).

Designed by Killikrates (who also helped to design the world renowned Parthenon), it stands 23 feet tall, 18 1/2 feet wide, and 27 feet long,  upon the southwest corner of the Acropolis, facing east. Even though it is considerably smaller than its neighbors—being a 7:1 column ratio instead if the usual 9:1—its  importance is of the greatest for it is a symbol of Athens’ political and military prowess, and is the first thing anyone sees when entering from the Propylaia—a monumental gateway into the Acropolis (Temple of Athena Nike).

The temple was built mostly of Pentelic marble (Fiero, Gloria K), and is the very first structure in the Acropolis that was designed with Ionic architecture. This was extremely unique due to the fact all the other temples were Doric (Schulman, Bruce). Another unique attraction is that it was built with tetra style columns, meaning it has 4 columns on both the east and west sides that also created shallow porches. Other temples on the Acropolis had plethras of columns that were only presented at the front entrance. In order to keep people from falling off the sides of the cliff while trying to circle the temple, a guardrail called a parapet was later built. Since the parapet was also one of the first things visitors saw while going up the ramp towards Propylaia, it was decorated with depictions of Nike in various fighting poses (Temple of Athena Nike).

Because the structure isn’t very large it only had one room, and in the center of that room was a cult statue of Athena Nike herself. Made of wood, she holds a helmet in her left hand and a pomegranate in her right. Statues of Athena Nike around the world all have her gifted with wings, except this statue does not. Now known as Nike Apteros—meaning wing-less victory, it is speculated that Athena Nike meant so much to their culture that the statue was deprived of her wings so that she could never leave the city (Temple of Athena Nike - Athens, Greece).

Throughout history the Temple of Athena Nike has been sought after time and time again. It isn’t so much the building itself that brings its precise value, it’s the symbol it represents: Victory. Reconstructed from 1835 to 1838 and from 1935 to 1940, we still hold onto this iconic structure even though millennia’s have past (Mallouchou-Tufano, Fani). Every being from every culture will have challenges where victory is needed. Some people draw their courage from friends or family, others from various forms of faith, the Greeks, however, got their courage from Athena Nike; Therefor, I believe the tradition of keeping this classic temple alive should not cease.
<p style="text-align: center">Works Cited</p>


"Acropolis History." <em>Ancient Greece</em>. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. &lt;http://www.ancient-greece.org/history/acropolis.html&gt;.

Fiero, Gloria K. "Ch.5 The Classical Style Ca. 700–30 B.C.E." <em>The Humanistic Tradition</em>. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2011. B1.123+. Print.

Mallouchou-Tufano, Fani. "The Restoration of the Athenian Acropolis." <em>Http://www.lsa.umich.edu</em>. LSA, 18 Jan. 2006. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. &lt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/modgreek/Home/_TOPNAV_WTGC/Lectures%20at%20U-M/MallouchouLectureJan18-06.pdf&gt;.

Nosotro, Rit. "Athens and Sparta." <em>HyperHistory.net</em>. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. &lt;http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw4athensspartap2dz.htm&gt;.

"Temple of Athena Nike." <em>Ancient Greece</em>. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. &lt;http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/athena-nike.html&gt;.

"Temple of Athena Nike - Athens, Greece." <em>Sacred Sites at Sacred Destinations - Explore Sacred Sites, Religious Sites, Sacred Places</em>. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. &lt;http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/athens-temple-of-athena-nike&gt;.