STEVEN ZUCKER:
We're in the Louvre at the top of one of
the grand staircases. And we're looking at the
"Nike of Samothrace," that dates to the second
century CE, or after Christ. BETH HARRIS: So we're in
the Hellenistic period. And the sculpture is nine feet
high, so it's really large. STEVEN ZUCKER: It's called
the "Nike of Samothrace" because it was found on
the island in the north of the Aegean which
is called Samothrace. It was found in a sanctuary in
the harbor that actually faces in such a way the predominant
wind that blows off the coast actually seems to be
enlivening her drapery. BETH HARRIS: So she never stood
on the prow of a real boat. STEVEN ZUCKER: No, she stood on
the prow of a stone ship that was within a temple environment. BETH HARRIS: So she's
the goddess of victory. She's a messenger goddess who
spreads the news of victory. STEVEN ZUCKER: In fact, there
are some reconstructions of what the sculpture
would've originally looked like that show her as
literally a herald with a horn. This is an image that will
have an enormous impact on Western art. But you had mentioned
the Hellenistic before. And so gone is all of that very
reserved, high classical style. And in its place is a
kind of voluptuousness. is a kind of windswept
energy that is full of motion and full of emotion. BETH HARRIS: I feel as though
she moves in several directions at the same time. She's grounded by her
legs but strides forward. Her torso lifts up. Her abdomen twists. Her wings move back. One can almost feel
the wind around her, whipping her, pulling back
that drapery that flows out behind her, swirling around
her abdomen, where it really reminds us of, actually, the
sculptures of hundreds of years earlier on the Parthenon frieze. STEVEN ZUCKER: Yes, exactly. But instead of the
quiet, relaxed attitude of the gods on
Mount Olympus, you have instead this
sense of energy and a goddess that's
responding, in this case, to actually natural forces. BETH HARRIS: The environment. STEVEN ZUCKER:
Absolutely, just as we would stand there, very likely
having the wind whip around us. BETH HARRIS: And that drapery
that clings to her body and creates so many
creases and folds that play against the light,
and the different texture of her wings-- the
marble is really made to do so many different
things in terms of texture. STEVEN ZUCKER: So
here is a culture that has studied the
body, celebrated the body, and then is willing
then to use the body for tremendous expressive force.