| Popis: |
In the sanctuary of Olympia, Messenians and Naupactians dedicated a marble Nike to Olympian Zeus. The votive offering bears an inscription, engraved in the Ionic alphabet and inscribed in the Doric dialect, which consists of four lines, with the first pair bearing the dedication of Messenians and Naupactians, and the latter the ‘signature’ of the sculptor, Paionios of Mende. The reason for the dedication is to be found in the war events that occurred in the final phases of the so-called ‘Archidamic war’, indicatively between 425 and 421 BC. The alliance relations between Messenians and Athenians are the element that makes it possible to clarify the presence of the Nike of Paionios at Olympia: to this and a similar offer in Delphi correspond two Nikai dedicated by the Athenians on the Acropolis to commemorate the Aetolian campaign and the companies of Pylos and Sphacteria. |
