Nike of Paros

[1] The female figure, originally winged, was depicted floating in mid-air, in an unbelted peplos which hung open.

In the classical period this posture replaced the archaic "kneeling run" as the usual way of depicting Nike.

The left arm must be reconstructed as having stretched upwards, when the figure was fixed in place.

It is the resulting disregard for the rules of gravity which gave the Nike of Paros the appearance of floating.

A transition takes place then in statuary from a sideways to a forward moving figure, as a result of the change in pose.