Nike of Callimachus

Nike of Callimachus
Nίκη του Καλλιμάχου
Material Marble
Height 468 centimetres (184 in)
Writing Greek
Created Archaic Athens, 490 BC
Discovered Acropolis of Athens
Present location Acropolis Museum, Athens

The Nike of Callimachus (Greek: Nίκη του Καλλιμάχου) also known as The Dedication of Callimachus, is a statue that Athenians created in honor of the Callimachus.

History

Callimachus was the Athenian polemarch at the Battle of Marathon at 490 BC. He had the last vote and he voted in favour of a battle, when the 10 strategoi were split evenly on the matter.

He was killed at the battle and Athenians erected the statue for him.[1]

The statue was erected in a prominent spot near the northwest corner of the Parthenon (not the Parthenon that we can see today, but the previous temple which destroyed by the Persians) on the Acropolis of Athens. The statue has been severely damaged by the Persians when a decade later (480 BC) conquered Athens. They burned and destroyed the city and its monuments, including the Nike of Callimachus (Perserschutt).

Statue

Part of the inscribed column before the restoration when it was on display at the Epigraphical Museum

The statue depicts Nike (Victory), in the form of a draped woman with wings[2][3] running right, on top of an inscribed Ionic column. Its height is 4.68 meters and was made of Parian[4] or Pentelic marble. Some parts of the statue like the head, the hands and more were never recovered after the damage.

The neck of the Nike has nine holes for metal jewellery, which has been lost. She probably held a caduceus in her hand.

Inscription

The text of the inscription on the monument, was carved in two lines.[5] The monument is a rare example of a preserved dedicatory epigram, with its statue and base, from the late archaic period.

Only the 35% of the original text is visible due to the destruction.[6] The text on the column is the below (the brackets indicate text which is missing because of the destruction and has been restored by Catharine Keesling):[7]

line 1
[Καλλιμάχος μ' ἀν]έθεκεν Ἀφιδναῖο[ς] τ'Αθεναίαι (Hexameter 1)
ἀν[γελον ἀθ]ανάτον hοἰ Ὀ[λύνπια δόματα] ἔχοσιν (Hexameter 2)
[Kallimachos] of Aphidna [de]dicated [me] to Athena,
me[ssenger of the imm]ortals who have [homes on] O[lympus]
line 2
[Καλλιμάχος πολέ]μαρχος Ἀθεναίον τὸν ἀγο̑να (Hexameter 3)
τὀν Μα[ραθο̑νι πρὸ H]ελένον, ο[. . .] (Hexameter 4)
παισὶν Ἀθεναίον μν[εμα . . .] (Hexameter 5)
[Kallimachos the pole]march of the Athenians, who fought the battle
at Ma[rathon for the H]ellenes (Greeks), [. . .]
by/for the children of the Athenians, a memorial [. . .]

Restoration

On October 26, 2010 after it was restored, it displayed to the public for the first time as a complete monument at the Acropolis Museum. The statue have been affixed to a metal column that holds the various parts in place and is built so that additional fragments can be attached if they are found. According to the curator of the new Acropolis Museum, the monument has been reconstructed in a modern fashion, using only the original shards in their correct positions, so that a visitor might be able to see the authentic version.

The unveiling of the Nike monument was among a series of events scheduled by the culture and tourism ministry of Greece to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary since the Battle of Marathon. During the unveiling of the statue the Greek minister stressed:

“Today we are not unveiling the monument of just another heroic general but a monument to a democratic process that changed the course of history."[8]

He also, reminded the words that Miltiades said to Callimachus just before the polemarch cast his vote:

“Everything now rests on you.”[8]

The statue is on display in the Archaic Monuments’ section of the Acropolis Museum. In the Museum in front of the original statue there is also a small copy showing how the statue looked like when it was whole and undamaged.[4][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Herodotus Book 6: Erato, 114 "In this part of the work was slain the polemarch Callimachos after having proved himself a good man,..."
  2. ↑ Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (2014). The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization (Oxford Companions). OUP Oxford. p. 546. ISBN 978-0198706779."She may have two or four wings. The Nike of Archermus (supposedly the first to give Nike wings) and that of Callimachus are repsesentative."
  3. ↑ Pantermalis, Dimitris. www.snf.org (PDF). Dimitris Pantermalis President of the Acropolis Museum http://www.snf.org/media/2988270/2012-08-27-Pantermalis%20ENG.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 1 2 "Nike Monument Unveiled at Acropolis Museum". http://greece.greekreporter.com//. 2010. Retrieved 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help); External link in |website= (help)
  5. ↑ Keesling, Catharine (2010). "The Callimachus monument on the Athenian Acropolis (CEG 256) and Athenian Commemoration of the Persian Wars". In Baumbach, Manuel; Petrovic, Andrej; Petrovic, Ivana. Archaic and Classical Greek Epigram. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780521118057.
  6. ↑ "Η Νίκη του Καλλίμαχου θα ξαναπετάξει στο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης". http://www.enet.gr/. eleftherotypia. 2010. Retrieved 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help); External link in |website= (help)
  7. ↑ Keesling, Catharine (2010). "The Callimachus monument on the Athenian Acropolis (CEG 256) and Athenian Commemoration of the Persian Wars". In Baumbach, Manuel; Petrovic, Andrej; Petrovic, Ivana. Archaic and Classical Greek Epigram. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 109. ISBN 9780521118057.
  8. 1 2 "Η Νίκη του Καλλιμάχου αποκαλύπτεται 25 αιώνες μετά". http://www.kathimerini.gr/ (in Greek). Kathimerini. 2010. Retrieved 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help); External link in |website= (help)
  9. ↑ "NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2010" (PDF). http://www.diathens.com/. Det Danske Instituti Athens. Retrieved 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help); External link in |website= (help)
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