~Mythology~

Nike (Victory) & Roma

~ Nike ~

*Goddess of Victory

*Personal Charioteer & Attendant to Zeus

*Goddess of Contests

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Nike (Greek Nikn, pronounced /'nike/ "NEE-keh", meaning "Victory"), was a goddess who personified triumph (victory). She was a daughter of Pallas (Warrior) and the sister of Cratos (Strength), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Rivalry). Nike and her siblings were all attendants of Zeus. According to myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the coming Titan War. Nike assumed the role of the god's personal charioteer, a role often portrayed in classical art.

Her Roman counterpart is Victory. Nike was regarded as the bestower of victory, both in war and in contest. As a war goddess she was often represented standing alongside Zeus, Athena and Ares. As a goddess of contests, she was usually portrayed decking the winner of a musical or athletic contest with a victor's wreath or sash.

Nike was often worshipped in conjunction with Athena, with whom she was particularly closely associated after the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The great statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon in Athens is thought to have depicted Nike standing in the hand of Athena, and the Parthenon complex included a Temple of Athena Nike, built around 410 BC. The Athenians also dedicated a statue to Nike at Delphi. The statue of Zeus at Olympia reportedly also depicted Nike.

Nike also presided over athletic as well as military contests. It was this meaning that prompted designer Jeff Johnson, the first man that US footwear entrepreneur Phil Knight hired, to borrow her name for the company, Nike, Inc., the clothing and sportswear manufacturer. Johnson had a dream about the goddess and Knight liked the idea.
An image of Nike appears in all Summer Olympics medals. In 2004 for the 2004 Summer Olympics an image of the goddess appears in the Panathinaiko Stadium.

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Roma (Rhome)

* Strength

*Origin of Rome on Palatine

Roma or Rhome ( after the Greek word meaning strength ) was a heroine who gave her name to Rome. The oldest tradition makes her a Trojan prisoner who was accompanying Odysseus and Aeneas when the two heroes reached the banks of the Tiber, having been driven by a storm. The captives were tired of wandering and Roma persuaded them to set fire to the ships, which put an end to the voyage. The immigrants settled on the Palatine, where their town prospered; in gratitude they honored the name of the heroine. Another tradition makes Rhome the daughter of Ascanius. When the Trojans had taken possession of the site of the future Rome, Rhome set up a temple of Faith on the Palatine. The town which grew up on the hill bore the name Rome, in memory of the young girl.
A variant tradition claimed Rhome was the wife of Aeneas, the the daughter of Telephus. She was also said to be the daughter of Telemachus and sister of Latinus. A further tradition mentions a Roma who was the daughter of Evander or Italus and Leucaria. Finally, certain writers maintained Rhome was a soothsayer who advised Evander to choose this spot to found the town of Pallantea, the original nucleus of Rome.