Nike: Greek Goddess of Victory

Drawing of goddess Nike from NYPL's public domain archive

The goddess that inspired my unfinished, out-of-print book series

If you've been here a while, you'll know that I had a companion series to War on the Gods - called War on the Gods Companion Stories - that was inspired by the Greek goddess Nike.

And, in case you weren't aware, I'm giving War on the Gods Companion Stories a complete overhaul.

I'm talking new titles, new covers, new story, new everything, all to make it a million times better. (I covered the overhaul in this blog post in case you missed it.) In short, the series's new name is The Gods Are Rotting, and book one (same title as the series) is currently in development.

I wanted to revisit Nike's lore while writing The Gods Are Rotting, as I plan on delving deeper into her character this time around (heads up: she might be receiving some personality changes). Consequently, I thought she'd make the perfect topic for this month's favorite folktale.

Illustration of Valeria (The Gods Are Rotting series) by Gabrielle Ragusi

Nike is not only the winged Greek Goddess of Victory, but also the personification of victory. She's often depicted holding a laurel wreath or palm branch, both symbols of victory.

As far as parentage goes, the Theogony describes Nike as the daughter of Pallas (Titan) and Styx (Oceanid), while in the Homeric Hymns she's the daughter of Ares, God of War.

The Theogony adds that some of Nike's siblings consist of Bia (personification of force), Kratos (personification of strength), and Zelos (personification of emulation).

This group of formidable siblings are near Zeus a lot of the time. They're his attendants for important matters, basically - and the reason why is a super cool part of Nike's lore. Here goes ⚔️

"Victoria Memorial with Nike Statue in London" by Julian Herzog under this license, unmodified

During the Titanomachy (the war of gods vs Titans), Zeus summoned the gods and asked them who they planned to side with: him or Kronos. Styx and her children Nike, Bia, Kratos, and Zelos were the first to pledge their allegiance to Zeus.

In the Evelyn-White translation of Theogony, it says Zeus "honoured her" (Styx). He "gave her very great gifts, for her he appointed to be the great oath of the gods, and her children to live with him always. And as he promised, so he performed fully unto them all."

But Nike isn't only depicted as an attendant of Zeus. Often times, she's depicted as an attendant of Athena too. This is evident in the Dionysiaca by Nonnus, as Nike is sent by Athena to help Zeus defeat the monster Typhon.

(I think it's worth noting that Nike playing a role in the battle with Typhon isn't included in the Theogony, but in my personal opinion, that doesn't mean we have to automatically dismiss Nonnus's interpretation.)

Nike in Athena's hand - "Pallas Athena statue, Vienna" by Yair-haklai under this license, unmodified

In the Dionysiaca by Nonnus, Nike actually plays an integral role in the defeat of Typhon.

As I said before, Athena sends Nike to help Zeus, and when Nike witnesses Zeus's hesitancy to fight Typhon, she berates him for it. She even points out that if he doesn't stand up to the plate, Athena's and Artemis's virginity will be threatened by the monster.

Her speech gives Zeus the resolve he needs to face Typhon, and Nike follows him onto the battlefield, protecting him with her shield as he summons rain and lightning.

This story - more specifically, the mention of Nike protecting Zeus with her powerful shield - is where I got the idea for War on the Gods Companion stories. Valeria uses Nike's legendary shield throughout the first book to defend herself.

Of course, the shield will also make an appearance in The Gods Are Rotting. It wouldn't be Valeria's story otherwise. (If you're excited for TGAR, check out the Spotify playlist I made for it. It's all I'm listening to while I write the story.)

I hope you enjoyed April 2024's favorite folktale!