If you missed my last Gods Of Smite article on Sobek, you can find it here.
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory and her Roman counterpart is Victoria. Nike holds dominion over victories in music, arts, athletics, military competitions, and war. She is also associated with incredible speed and strength. Nike was/is prayed to and given offerings for favor and strength to overcome the problems in their lives by the everyday person.
Nike’s parents are powerful. Her father is Pallas, a titan of warcraft (though there is literature that says Ares is her father), Her mother is Styx who is both a goddess and the river Styx (however that happens). Nike’s sisters are Kratos, the personification of strength, Bia, the personification of force, and Zelus, the personification of aspiration. There is no mention of a husband, but I don’t know if she is a virgin goddess like Artemis and Hestia.
Nike’s symbols are palm branches, wings, and laurel wreaths. She is mostly depicted in flight, often with Hermes’s staff and golden sandals and wearing the finest clothes, befitting being a messenger of the gods and holding Zeus’s favor. Statues of Nike were put up in a city and she was depicted without wings in a plea to stay and not abandon the city. This is most notable in Athens. Her shield is said to be inscribed with the names of the victors of battles and competitions. She is sometimes shown with a lyre to symbolize celebrating winning with song and dance.
Nike is an attendant of both Zeus and Athena but in her most notable myth, she is attending Zeus in the Titanomachy. She was among the first gods to pledge themselves to Zeus’s side in the Titanomachy when her mother and sibling also pledged themselves. Zeus had already decreed that any deity to take his side he would view with honor and favor but Nike, Bia, Zelus, and Kratos were given the higher honor of sitting by his side for all time. Their father, Pallus, sided with the Titans and was killed by Athena. Typhon, who was a giant with a bunch of snake heads, was going to lay siege against Mount Olympus and Zeus was hesitant to engage, given that many of the gods on his side had been overwhelmed and fled. Nike gave a moving speech and reminded Zeus of what was at stake if Typhon was to win. It emboldened Zeus and those who were left to give it all had to defend their home and ultimately their lives. Once Zeus readied his thunderbolts, Nike led Zeus onto the battlefield in his chariot while shielding him as Eris, the goddess of strife, led Typhon. With his bolts, frigid rain, fire, ice, and Nike at his side, Zeus was victorious, not only over Typhon but, the the whole war.
As I mentioned earlier, Nike also presided over athletic competitions. Unsurprisingly, she is the patron goddess of the Olympic games. Athletes used to ask for her blessing in victory during the games. Nifty fact: since 1928, Nike’s image with her shield and a laurel wreath is on the medals given out during the Olympics.
Have you played Nike in Smite? What do you think of her gameplay? Did you know about Nike before? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
