The Temple of Athena Nike is a small, but Is also an important part of Athenian worship. This building is on the south west of the Acropolis plateau, to the right of the Propylaia, and is a tribute to Nike the goddess of victory and Athena the cities patron goddess. This Temple was begun in 427 B.C., but there is evidence that is was planned before that. It was planned before the Parthenon but, it was finished after the Parthenon indicating its relative importance. The Temple of Athena Nike shows how Greek belief of the gods, especially Athena held divinity over government and victory in war. The temple of Athena Nike, as with all Greek temples, was considered a home of the deity, represented in its statue, and was not a place where regular…show more content… The temple was known for the inscription 449 BC because that was the year of the signing of peace with Persia and because of that the senate commissioned Kallikrates to build a temple to Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis. The temple of Athena Nike is the smallest structure on the Athenian acropolis and was built to honor Athena Nike the goddess of victory. The site that the temple was constructed has roots that dates to the bronze age. But when the newer classical temple was built it stood as a shrine to Athens’ patrons goddess and it also acted as a symbol of Athens’ military and political strength. When the Persians sacked Athens, and destroyed the acropolis there were plans to rebuild it in 449 BC. In the style of Ancient Greece, the Temple of Athena Nike is filled with symbolism. As with all Greek temples, the Temple of Athena Nike would have housed a cult statue. In Greek mythology Nike deities were often depicted with wings. This was not the case with Athena Nike. The wooden cult statue was wingless, and called “wingless victory”. This was perhaps to ensure that Nike would never abandon…show more content… The north frieze as well as the south one depicts a battle of Greeks against Persians, and it is the earliest example of sculpture commemorative of specific historical events. The relief of the west wall represents a battle between Greeks and other Greek, while the East frieze above the colonnade of the entrance shows several gods and deities in various stages of activity. The temple's architecture was simple in structural form. The temple of Athena Nike featured beautiful sculptural decoration. Sculptures on the pediments, almost entirely lost, most probably depicted the Gigantomachy (the Gigantomachy was an epic battle between the gods of Mount Olympus and the Giants) and Amazonomachy (the Amazonomachy was a battle between the Greeks and the Amazons, a tribe of female warriors). Best known are reliefs from the outside of the stone parapet that surrounded the temple at the cliff’s edge. These represented Nike in different poses and could be admired by people climbing the stairs to the Acropolis. Most famous of these is the Nike Adjusting Her Sandal which presents the goddess in a simple, everyday gesture, perhaps adjusting her sandal as she prepares to enter the sacred precinct. The relief is still charming in its elegance and simplicity. Both Nike Adjusting Her Sandal and parts of the
