The Winged Goddess of Victory aka Nike in Las Vegas
At first, I was struck by the armless and headless features of the figure. I thought that maybe this was intentional. But, no. The statue was discovered in 1836 by amateur French archaeologists and the right hand was found in 1950. We have yet to find the arms and head. We do know that she is the Goddess of Victory from Samothrace, Greece and her age is approximately 300 BC. To all you sailors out there, she was perched atop the bow of a finely chiseled marble boat. Is she the Goddess of Victories at sea?
Of all the places in the world to install a statue dedicated to victory. There is a lot of losing here. There is a lot of defeat. “The House (casino) always wins” meaning they always make a profit from the players.
The Original Winged Goddess of Victory is not in Las Vegas
Nike resides at Le Louvre in Paris. Her hand rests near her.
Nike Muses in Las Vegas
We went back to that mile-long mall. When we entered, we stopped at the restrooms and I stayed near the sinks while Maureen used the facilities. A girl was at the sink “cleaning up”, her friend was in a cubicle. I could tell by her wardrobe choices that she was an entrepreneur with her own business that included catering to a diverse male clientele and using public facilities to re-invigorate her product which was herself. Her makeup was smudged, she was washing her hands and then she took reams and reams of paper towel and was holding it all when she looked at me.
Maureen was just emerging from the cubicle. There were no paper towels left. She offered me the paper in her hands for Maureen but I just smiled and said it was okay. She smiled back. The girl was tall, young and pretty with haystack blonde hair and pale blue eyes.
A while later when we were leaving the mall, we found them again in the same general vicinity. They were striding ahead at full speed, makeup perfect, posture straight, and a cocky, purposeful look in their eye, like two high-stepping ponies.
These two could have been the muses for the Winged Goddess of Victory found in Samothrace, Greece in 1836. It is a woman stepping forward with confidence, her clothes are pressed against her skin from the wind and rain as she forges ahead. The girls we saw had the same bearing. Ready to beat the odds and emerge the victors together in Las Vegas. At no other time is success as sweet as when you embark on a perilous venture and come out victorious. Onwards and upwards my ladies!
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