The Victory of Samothrace

The Winged Victory of Samothrace is a must-see in the Louvre: a paradigm of Greek beauty, the archetype of Hellenistic sculpture.

TravelCurious Tip

Try and see the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace one after the other to understand the parallels between them.

Powerful imagery

This iconic sculpture is widely admired as one of the finest, if not the finest, demonstration of Hellenistic style, skill, workmanship and vision.

Dated five years either side of 195 BC, it was created to honour the god Nike and remember the sea battle at Samothrace. The headless, winged goddess stands aloft on a plinth shaped like the bow of a ship - shapes combine to give the sense of effortless forwards motion, as if she is descending from the heavens.

In the minds of the audience she is braced against the strong wind blowing through her garments. With her right hand cupped around her mouth, she announces the event she was dedicated to commemorate - the victory of the sea battle at Samothrace.


Technical victory

Like the Venus de Milo, also found in the Louvre, a spiralling effect achieved by the oblique angles of the wings and the placement of the left leg causes the composition to open out in various directions, further emphasised by the clothing blowing between the goddess's legs.

Amazingly, on the torso and upper body, the sculptor has managed to illustrate the transparency of wet clothes in the opaque medium of marble. The naked body is visible beneath, adding life to the victorious scene. The tunic is at once brushing against her body and billowing in the wind.


Nearby Attractions

See all attractions in Paris
The Louvre Museum
The Louvre is the biggest museum in the world. Inside you’ll find the jewels of every civilisation since prehistory.
The Mona Lisa
There’s little that can be said about the world's most famous painting that hasn’t been said before. But don’t miss it...
The Venus de Milo
This Ancient Greek statue depicting Aphrodite of Milos is possibly the world's most acclaimed marble masterpiece.
'The Coronation of Napoleon'
A painting completed in 1807 by Jacques-Louis David, the official painter of Napoleon, depicting the coronation of Napoleon I at Notre-Dame de Paris.
'Liberty leading the people'
Is a painting by Eugène Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830, which toppled King Charles X of France.
Egypitan Wing at the Louvre
Counted as one of the world’s largest such collections, it includes more than 50,000 pieces that give a detailed overview of Egyptian life and customs from the earliest days of Ancient Egypt.

Related Tours

The Best of the Louvre Museum: Private Guided Tour
The artistry and architecture of Paris are phenomenal, and there is no place better to gain a sense of its sheer magnitude of it than the Louvre Museum. Throughout this private guided tour, your guide will talk to you about the history and culture of individual artists and their artwork. 

On your private tour of the best of the Louvre Museum, you will:

  • Explore the most visited museum in the world;
  • See the unmissable attractions, including the Mona Lisa, The Coronation of Napoleon, and Venus de Milo;
  • Learn about art history from your expert guide, along with the museum’s role for art historians;
  • Wander through a labyrinth of 300 rooms and uncover masterpieces missed by many, including Liberty Leading the People and Canova’s Apollo and Daphne.
Originally one of France’s most lavish royal palaces, and home to some of the most ostentatious Kings of France, the Louvre has fast become the world's most impressive and influential museum of art in the world and is an absolute must for anyone with an interest in art. 

Your private licensed guide will take you through one of the most expansive and beautiful art collections in the world, where you will see some of the museum’s greatest works that span from 450 BCE to the 19th century, along with several of its lesser-known treasures. 

Whilst visiting this fabulous museum you will have the pleasure of viewing the most celebrated of all the Louvre treasures: 'Three Grand Ladies'- the Venus de Milo, Nike of Samothrace, and Leonardo’s Mona Lisa. Your guide will discuss the fascinating stories that surround these influential and important works of art. 

After your guided tour, feel free to further explore the vast museum on your own and its beautiful work at your own pace. 
Louvre Museum: Family-Friendly Private Guided Tour
 Explore one of the greatest museums in the world on this family-friendly private tour of the Louvre Museum. This thoughtfully designed tour will engage your children and teens, with a specially matched expert guide. 

On your private family-friendly tour of the Louvre, you will:

  • Learn about the building itself which is vast, and contains over 35,000 pieces of art in 60,600 square metres and 3 miles of galleries;
  • Head below ground to see the medieval origins of this vast royal palace that is now a museum - see if you can spot a gargoyle that looks remarkably like Yoda from Star Wars; 
  • Explore some pieces of the fascinating Egyptian collection and learn about the Mummies and the ancient Pharaohs;
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  • See the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, and hear about how she was stolen and why her eyes follow you;
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  • Hear all about the French Revolution and the painting of Lady Liberty Leading the People; 
  • Learn about some of the famous artists like Gericault and the horrible true story of the Raft of the Medusa;
  • See lots of amazing statues of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and wild animals; 
  • Gaze at priceless royal jewellery; 
  • Hear about Good Henry turning one of the long galleries into an indoor hunting ground;
  • End inside the museum to continue exploring, or let your guide escort you out! 

The Louvre is a vast, palatial complex turned museum with a treasure trove of over 35,000 pieces of art. It is really spectacular to look at for kids and adults alike. This tour is geared to children and teens, and in 2.5 hours covers all the major highlights of the Louvre in a fun, engaging, and interesting way.

You'll walk into the medieval basement of the building to see some incredible gargoyles, and then the Ancient Egyptian Mummies!  

Your guide will tell you all about the life of Napoleon in front of the massive painting of his coronation - and explain how the painting has lots of little purposeful mistakes in it - a large bit of propaganda! Was Napoleon really so short? What was true and what was not? 

You'll also see some amazing statues from the ancient world and hear lots of dramatic stories of Greek and Roman myths, heroes, gods, and goddesses like Hercules and Diana. You might want to know why some statues - like the Venus de Milo - don't have any arms!

No trip to the Louvre is complete without a visit to the Mona Lisa. Your guide will tell you all about the dramatic theft that shook the art world, and how she recovered. You'll also learn how she seems to follow you with her eyes as you walk past her!

As you walk down lots of galleries packed with treasures and jewels and paintings and statues, you'll also learn all about some of the famous people who lived here, like Catherine de Medici and King Henry IV who built a large wing of the palace and used to gallop his horses down it! 

This tour was designed for you and your family – a tour of one of the world’s most famous museums made accessible for young people in 2.5 hours. 
Louvre Museum: Explore the Egyptian Collection Private Tour
The Louvre museum is not only the home to classics like The Mona Lisa, but it also houses one of the most impressive and extensive Egyptian Antiquities Collection considered to be the largest in the world. This private tour is your chance to explore the best artworks and masterpieces of the museum, along with the fascinating Egyptian Collection. 

On this private tour, you will:

  • Explore the Egyptian wing, including the  Egyptian mummy, the Sarcophagus of Rameses III, and several other impressive antiquities;
  • Jump into the unmissable attractions, including the Mona Lisa, The Wedding Feast at Cana, The Coronation of Napoleon, and Venus de Milo;
  • Wander through a labyrinth of 300 rooms and uncover masterpieces missed by many, including Liberty Leading the People and Canova’s Apollo and Daphne;
  • End your tour inside the Louvre Museum, in which you are welcome to continue exploring at your own pace.
This tour is an all-inclusive, immersive experience at the Louvre, with the opportunity to explore nearly 10,000 pieces of the Egyptian Arts collection curated by the museum over the course of two centuries. While exploring the collection, you’ll dive into French history, told through the lens of art and archaeology. 

From there, your private licensed guide will take you through the unmissable highlights, where you will see some of the museum’s greatest works that span from 450 BCE to the 19th century, along with several of its lesser-known treasures. 

Whilst visiting this fabulous museum you will have the pleasure of viewing the most celebrated of all the Louvre treasures: 'Three Grand Ladies'- the Venus de Milo, Nike of Samothrace, and Leonardo’s Mona Lisa. Your guide will discuss the fascinating stories that surround these influential and important works of art. 

After your guided tour, feel free to further explore the vast museum and its beautiful work at your own pace. 
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