| Nike of Callimachus Nίκη του Καλλιμάχου | |
|---|---|
 Reconstitution of the Nike of Callimachus in theAcropolis Museum | |
| Material | Marble |
| Height | 468 centimetres (184 in) |
| Writing | Greek |
| Created | ArchaicAthens, 490 BC |
| Discovered | Acropolis of Athens |
| Present location | Acropolis Museum,Athens |
 | |
TheNike of Callimachus (Greek:Nίκη του ΚαλλιμάχουNíkē tou Kallimákhou) also known asThe Dedication of Callimachus, is a statue that the Athenians created in honour ofCallimachus.
Callimachus was the Athenianpolemarch at theBattle of Marathon at 490 BC. He had the last vote and voted in favour of a battle, when the tenstrategoi were split evenly on the matter.
He was killed at the battle and the Athenians erected the statue for him.[1]
609-Kallimachos_dedication-1.JPG)
The statue was erected in a prominent spot near the north-west corner of the Parthenon (not theParthenon that we can see today, but theprevious temple which was destroyed by the Persians) on theAcropolis of Athens. The statue was severely damaged by thePersians a decade later (480 BC) when they conqueredAthens. They burned and destroyed the city and its monuments, including the Nike of Callimachus (Perserschutt).
The statue depictsNike (Victory), in the form of a draped woman with wings[2][3] running right, on top of an inscribedIonic column. Its height is 4.68 metres and was made ofParian[4] or Pentelic marble. Some parts of the statue such as 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 acaduceus in her hand.
The text of the inscription on the monument was carved in two vertical lines.[5] Only 35% of the original text is visible due to the destruction.[6]The text on the column is 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] ofAphidna [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) |
| τὸν 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 [. . .] |
In 2010, the Nike monument was restored and put on display in the newAcropolis Museum, alongside a reconstruction showing how the monument may have originally looked.[8] The restoration was designed to allow other fragments of the monument to be attached in future if more are discovered. The restored Nike monument was unveiled in 2010 as part of a series of events organised by the GreekMinistry of Culture and Tourism commemorating the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon. At the unveiling,Pavlos Geroulanos, the Greek minister of tourism, said:
“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."[9]
He also reminded the audience of the words thatMiltiades said to Callimachus just before the polemarch cast his vote:
“Everything now rests on you.”[9]
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