When the statue was set up and the colossal figure in white marble was seen against the blue sky of a southern land, what an inspiration it must have been as a symbol of success! What discouraged heart could look at such a figure and not be thrilled with new ambition! The statue of Nike was not the only tribute to the victory of Demetrius. Some special coins were struck in honor of the event, including gold staters and silver tetradrachms, specimens of which still exist. The design on the obverse of these coins represented the statue of Nike.
Years passed, and at length the independence of the Greeks was crushed under the heel of the Roman conqueror. Many places were laid waste throughout the peninsula and the Greek islands. Temples were destroyed and pillaged, and statues were thrown from their pedestals and buried beneath the soil and débris. Our statue of Nike shared the sad fate which befell so many other great works of art. For centuries it lay in fragments in the ruins surrounding a temple in Samothrace. Then came the explorer with pickaxe and shovel, some of the precious bits were recovered, and learned men set to work to put them together again. The coins of Demetrius were their guide, and the tiny figure of Nike engraved thereon was the model after which the great statue was reconstructed.
The head and arms are still missing, and a fanciful conceit might suggest that these losses were the marks of a hard-fought battle. Success has been dearly bought, but the goddess emerges, erect and undaunted, her tattered wings beating the air victoriously. As we look at the statue we think less of what it lacks than of what it is. Perhaps if head and arms were there we should not have eyes for the glorious lines in the figure itself. One particularly fine line is the continuous curve running across the bust and the arched top of the wings.
The figure gives us a sense of motion which fairly quickens the blood in our veins. We, too, seem to feel the strong salt breeze in our faces, speeding through the air with courage high, and hope steadily set toward victory.
XVI
PERICLES
In the history of ancient Greece the half century included between the years 480 and 430 B. C. is called the Age of Pericles. During forty years of this period Pericles was the political leader of Athens. Under his guidance the city reached the height of her power as the capital of an empire composed of tributary states. Nor was political power the chief glory of Athens at this time. She was the centre of arts and science for the whole world. This was the age of great Greek literature, when Æschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides wrote their immortal dramas. It was also the age of great oratory, when the Athenians constantly heard "the purest lessons of patriotism put forth in the loftiest forms of eloquence." Finally, it was the age of great art, when architecture and sculpture attained perfection and when Phidias, the foremost Greek sculptor, produced his masterpieces.
Pericles was the dominating spirit in all this brilliant company. It was his able statesmanship which made and executed the ambitious plans for the aggrandizement of the city. It was, moreover, his generalship which carried out successfully so many military expeditions. His eloquence gave him great influence over the people. He had the art of controlling men and moving their passions as a musician plays on the strings of his instrument. Upon his return from the Samian war he delivered a remarkable funeral oration on those who had fallen in battle. Still again, his oration in honor of the heroes of the Peloponnesian war was a noble eulogy of Athens and the Athenians.