The plinth is a five sided block of
concrete with a plaque on each face. Proceeding clockwise from the front face
the plaques read:
Nike
(pronounced
Neekay)
Ancient Greek Goddess
of Victory
Spirit of the Games
Sculptor,
Pavlos Angelos Kougioumtzis
The next plaque reads:
Presented to the Mayor
and
Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich,
Councillors David Grant
and Chris Roberts,
from the Mayor of Ancient Olympia,
Efthymios
Kjotzas
9th September 2012
The third plaque reads:
Ancient Olympia is the
site of the
original Games and remains the source
of the sacred Olympic
flame. It is lit by
Apollo, God of the Sun, at the request
of the High
Priestess and is used to
ignite the Olympic torch as it begins
its route
to the host city.
The fourth plaque reads:
The Ancient
Games
The Ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC in honour of Zeus.
Nike,
the Goddess of Victory and a sentinel of Zeus, was believed
to have been
sent to earth to crown the victors in the Games.
The Olympics were staged
every four years at Olympia and were
taken very seriously - wars would be
halted to allow the Games
to take place. People from all over the Greek
world came to
watch and take part. The Ancient Games were the
inspiration
for the modern Olympic Games which began in
1896.
The fifth and last plaque
reads:
A gift from the people
of Ancient
Olympia to the people of London.
To commemorate the
hosting
of the XXXth Olympiad,
London 2012
The BBC website [visit link]
tells us:
"A statue of the Greek Goddess of
Victory has been unveiled as London 2012 draws to a close.
The four metre (13ft) high statue of
Nike was presented to London by the Ancient City of Olympia to mark the Greek
origins of the Games.
Created by sculptor Angelos
Kougioumtzis, it was revealed at the Royal Arsenal Riverside in
Woolwich.
A statue has been presented to host
cities since 1996, when the centenary of the modern Olympic era was
marked.
This ensures that the ancient Greek
origins of the Games - which are marked at the start of each Olympiad with the
lighting of the flame by the rays of the sun in Olympia - will take centre stage
at the closing of them.
'Old and the new'
The statue was unveiled on Sunday by
Chris Roberts, the leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and Mr
Kougioumtzis.
Members of The King's Troop Royal
Horse Artillery formed a mounted guard at the ceremony, which was marked with a
fanfare by a bugler from the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
Both regiments are stationed at
nearby Woolwich Barracks, which has served as the venue for the shooting events
in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Paralympic archery
events.
Mr Roberts said: "Royal Greenwich is
proud and honoured to receive this sculpture, on behalf of London, from the
ancient city of Olympia."
He added: "The arrival of Nike in the
Royal Arsenal is an important contribution to the cultural legacy of these
Games.
"Her siting here is a fitting
encounter between the old and the new, with this ancient Goddess now taking her
place in a site that represents the kind of regenerated modern urban community
that London's civic leaders are keen to build.""