Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 104
Nike Unbinding Her Sandal (Temple of Athena Nike, Parapet). Athens.

Marble (Pentelic)
Frieze
H: ca. 106 cm; W: 52 cm

From the Athenian Acropolis. The slab was found by L. Ross in November 1835, built into the eastern part of a Turkish battery erected over the Nike bastion.
Greece, Athens, Acropolis Museum, 973
High Classical, ca. 410-400 BC

Preservation:
The figure’s head, lower left arm, and left foot are missing, the right hand is abraded. The surface of the relief is in good condition.

Description:
Depicted is a winged female figure in three-quarter profile from the left. She is clad in a chiton that has slipped down from her right shoulder and clings close to her body, revealing the forms underneath. A himation is draped over her body below the waist and over her left arm. She has raised up her right leg and leans forward, reaching down to her right sandal with her right arm.

Discussion:
This frieze slab is probably the most famous from the entire parapet of the Nike sanctuary. Depicted is a winged Nike bending down to unbind her sandal (it has also been suggested that she binds, or merely adjusts it). Most notable is the radiant drapery, so translucent that the body seems almost nude, a style typical for the last two decades of the fifth century (cf. for example the Aphrodite from Fréjus, C 93), and quite appropriately named the "wet look", that possibly imitates luxurious silk garments. The slab is usually reconstructed on the south side of the parapet, but could also have belonged to the west, the first to be seen. The figure itself may originally have stood to the right of a trophy decorated by a further Nike on the other side, similar to a group on a more fully preserved slab (Acropolis Museum, inv. no. 994). Her missing head can be reconstructed from the cast of a lost Roman copy of the relief in Alexandria: It was turned outwards to face the viewer, thus directly engaging him. See also A 103a/b.

Bibliography:
R. Kekulé, Die Reliefs an der Balustrade der Athena Nike (Stuttgart 1881) A detailed but partly outdated reconstruction of the parapet.
W. B. Dinsmoor, "The Sculptured Parapet of Athena Nike" (AJA 30 1926) 1-31 Detailed discussion of the parapet, including the order of the various fragments.
R. Carpenter, The Sculpture of the Nike Temple Parapet (Cambridge, Mass. 1929) Detailed discussion and reconstruction of the parapet.
M. S. Brouskari, The Acropolis Museum. A Descriptive Catalogue (Athens 1974) 158 pl. 333 Catalogue entry with basic information.
E. Simon, "Zur Sandalenlöserin der Nikebalustrade", in: Kanon. Festschrift Ernst Berger [= AntK, 15. Beiheft] (Basel 1988) 69-73 pls. 20.1-21.3 Discusses a more complete cast of a lost copy of the relief and interprets the figure as one directly engaging the viewer.
H. Knell, Mythos und Polis. Bildprogramme griechischer Bauskulptur (Darmstadt 1990) 140-149 Good summary and bibliography of recent research on the frieze.
E. Simon, "An Interpretation of the Nike Temple Parapet", in: D. Buitron-Oliver (ed.), The Interpretation of Architectural Sculpture in Greece and Rome (Washington 1997) 127-143 Interprets the parapet as an allegorical representation glorifying Athenian victories, with chtonic rituals for past heroes who achieved them. Contains good summary of recent research and bibliography.