These statues are supposed to represent the victory of a war, hence the name "victory". The Winged Victory of Samothrace is a statue believed to be that of the goddess Nike landing on a ship after a naval victory (Cothren 123). This statue is positioned to give the impression that it is on board a ship. The sculptor creates this by detailing her in a way that makes it appear as if the wind is blowing against her. Additionally, her wings are in such a position that one would assume she is landing on something. Much like most Greek statues, the goddess Nike represents important ideals of Greek culture. Nike represents victory in some kind of battle, whether it is a battle against others or against oneself. Winning wars in ancient times was important because it showed other countries how dominant an empire was. Having a strong army that wins many wars scares the empires around the Greeks due to the intimidation factor. The more victories an army achieves, the stronger it is and the less likely empires will attempt to overthrow an empire. In Greek culture, many victories show that the Greek army was strong, which symbolizes that Greek society as a whole was a dominant empire. Victories are important statues because they remind people of history, but they also remind them to thank the gods for allowing their society to prosper. The gods are important figures that the Greeks admired and worshiped. This didn't just happen to the Greeks, but other empires, such as the Romans, admired and revered their