March 7: Women's Month

In ancient Greece, people went to extreme lengths to keep the gods on their side. In Sparta, statues of the war god Enyalios would be kept in chains, so he would stay put. Athens did something similar with Nike, goddess of victory (Victoria in latin), depicting her without wings. Nike was a useful ally, being best friends with supreme god Zeus, who literally held her in the palm of his hand. As he was a fine example of a powerful man in need of constant confirmation, she would make sure winning was guaranteed. She joined him in most of his exploits, protected him on the battlefield and drove his war charriot (claim free for centuries I might add). And in the end, she brought the laurel home. Out of character for Zeus, he never tried to seduce her, out of fear of ruining a beautiful friendship. Till this day, Nike is revered by many. The Louvre museum created the “Staircase of Victory” for her and her attractive silhouette figures on lots of objects, from the “Spirit of Ecstasy” on a smart car to the stylized wings on your sneakers.

Nike, Lekythos, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

The Olympian Jupiter on his Throne, Antoin-Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy,

Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK