Temple of Athena Nike

It has a prominent position on a steep bastion at the south west corner of the Acropolis to the right of the entrance, the Propylaea.

The citizens worshipped the goddesses in hopes of a successful outcome in the long Peloponnesian War fought against the Spartans and allies.

In 1998 the temple was dismantled so that the crumbling concrete floor could be replaced and its frieze was removed and placed in the new Acropolis Museum that opened in 2009.

It is a tetrastyle (four column) Ionic structure with a colonnaded portico at both front and rear facades (amphiprostyle), designed by the architect Kallikrates.

The total height from the stylobate to the acme of the pediment while the temple remained intact was a modest 7 metres (23 feet).

The friezes of the building's entablature were decorated on all sides with relief sculpture in the idealized classical style of the 5th century BC.

[6] Some time after the temple was completed, around 410 BC a parapet was added around it to prevent people from falling from the steep bastion.

The outside of the parapet was adorned by carved relief sculptures showing Nike in a variety of activities, including two Nikai setting up a trophy, and all in procession.

The building had been totally dismantled in the 17th century and the stone built into the Turkish wall that surrounded the hill.

The positioning of this statue has Nike leaning towards her right foot with her right arm stretching towards her sandal and her clothes slipping off her shoulder.

The difference in imagery between one hand and two is what has caused discrepancy behind the meaning of the statue of a wingless Nike.

The cornice follows standard architectural design and sits immediately above the frieze and wraps around the entire structure.

Researchers have hypothesized on the form of the statue, but there is no trace of the original sculpture to indicate what the central akroteria really looked like.

Theories around the figure of the central statue include the winged horse Pegasus or the monster Chimera.

[2] However, these theories may be unlikely as the proportions of these animals’ bodies would not match where their feet would be placed in the akroteria's base block.

[13] A possible theory for the central akroteria would be a bronze tripod, similar to the ones that would have been on the Temple of Zeus in Olympia.

This hypothesis has not been discredited for a few reasons: 1) It would be a realistic answer for the shape of the statue since the tripods dimensions would fit in the cuttings of the supporting block (unlike the animal theories).

The idea is that a statue of a winged Nike would have been set just above a shield and on either side of her would have stood a Nikai holding weapons dedicated to the goddess.