Description
A 2026 photograph of the plaster cast of Nike Sacrificing a Bull. Original was found in the Villa of Antoninus Pius at Lanavium (southeast Rome), now housed in the British Museum, circa 2nd century CE.
Publication Date
1978
Type of Artwork
Statue
Time Period/Geographical Region
Ancient Greece
Height (cm/in)
72.39 cm / 28.5 in
Width (cm/in)
88.9 cm / 35 in
Depth (cm/in)
29.21 cm / 11.5 in
Disciplines
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | Sculpture
Recommended Citation
Morehead State University. Camden-Carroll Library., "Nike Sacrificing a Bull - 2026" (1978). Metropolitan Museum of Art Cast Collection. 49.
https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/metropolitan_art_collection/49
Comments
Nike is the winged goddess of victory in war, athletics, and peaceful competition. In Athens, Nike is often paired with the goddess Athena, who was the patron goddess of Athens. The Athenians built a temple on the acropolis named The Temple of Athena Nike c. 420 BCE. At this time, the Athenians were fighting the long Peloponnesian War and looked to the goddesses Athena and Nike for a victory. The temple is the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis (you can learn more about Ionic order by examining the Ionic capital in this exhibition). The large stone block the temple rests on (the parapet) contained brightly painted carved reliefs including one scene of Nikai (plural of Nike) sacrificing a bull to celebrate a victory. In ancient Greek religion, animals were sacrificed on altars outside of the temples to honor the gods. The original relief now at the Acropolis Museum shows two-winged figures in the act of catching a bull. This relief has inspired numerous copies.
The Morehead cast is made from one of these copies, an original Roman sculpture found in the villa of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius in Lazio, Italy, and now held in the British Museum. The sculpture was part of a pair of Nike sculptures. The Morehead cast features a Nike kneeling on top of a bull, pulling its snout upward to present its neck. She holds a knife in her lowered right hand ready for the fatal blow. Her drapery is flung over her right shoulder and swirls around her body providing a slightly modest covering. She stares intently at the bull, ready for the strike.
Brittany Rancour, “Nike Sacrificing a Bull, Metropolitan Museum of Art Cast Collection at Morehead State University,” May 2026.