WEBVTT

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(gentle piano music)

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- [Beth] We're standing in the Louvre,

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looking at the very
famous Nike of Samothrace.

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Now a Nike personifies victory.

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- [Steven] And was the
goddess of victory as well.

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This sculpture is 18
feet tall if you include

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the ship that she stands on.

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And it's placed at the top of
one of the grand staircases,

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so it is incredibly dramatic.

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- [Beth] She was found in pieces.

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She wasn't found whole the
way that we see her today,

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and she's been reconstructed.

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The pieces that were
missing have been filled in.

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And she was recently restored.

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- [Steven] Originally, this was placed

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in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods

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on the Island of Samothrace in
the northeastern Aegean Sea.

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But we should say that we
have very little information

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about this particular cult.

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What we do have is a
magnificent sculpture.

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It was carved during
the Hellenistic period.

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This is after the classical period,

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after Alexander the Great created
one of the largest empires

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the world had known to that date.

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And it was a period when Greek
art was extremely expressive.

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And in fact, art historians
often pair this sculpture

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in its style with a sculpture that we find

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on the great frieze at the
Altar of Zeus at Pergamon.

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- [Beth] In both cases, there's a sense

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of energy, and drama, and power.

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And although we can compare
the drapery that clings

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in these complex folds to
the body, to the sculptures

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on the earlier Parthenon,
there's so much more drama here.

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- [Steven] I love the
way in which the drape

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seems to be whipped by the wind.

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And it's interesting to note

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that the way that this
ship would have originally

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been oriented, it would have been facing

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towards the coast with the
wind coming off the sea.

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And so the actual wind on
Samothrace would have functioned

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as a collaborator with the
illusion of the sculpture.

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- [Beth] Now Nike figures are not unusual

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in ancient Greek art.

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To me, what's so special about
this figure is the tension

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between the lower half of
the body and the upper half.

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She's clearly alighting,
landing on this ship,

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but with the lower part of her body,

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I feel that pull downward.

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But the upper part of her body
seems to still be held aloft,

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and so her torso stretches up

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and twists slightly in the
opposite direction of her legs.

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So there's this upward movement,

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but downward movement at the same time

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- [Steven] The sense of
naturalism is so extraordinary

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that there seems to be nothing improbable

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about the wings attached to
the shoulders of this figure.

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It just seems completely natural.

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- [Beth] It used to be
thought that perhaps

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this figure stood within a fountain

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and perhaps was blowing a trumpet

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or offering a crown of victory,

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but we now think that her
hand was simply outstretched.

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Either she was in an open sanctuary

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or a slightly enclosed sanctuary.

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I love the pinkish white,
almost golden color

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of the marble that she's carved from

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and the grayish color of the ship.

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- [Steven] There's a wonderful contrast

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between those two materials.

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Although she's lost her
head, and both of her arms,

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and other bits and pieces as well,

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we are so lucky to have
this sculpture this intact.

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- [Beth] Well think about
all that's been lost

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that didn't survive and
the incredible achievements

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of ancient Greek and
specifically Hellenistic art.

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(gentle piano music)