Nike untying her sandal, Marble relief in Athens, Greece

The Nike Fixing her Sandal is a Pentelic marble relief, 106 cm tall and 52 cm wide, showing the goddess balancing on her left leg with her right foot on a rock as she adjusts her sandal. Her thin chiton has slipped off her right shoulder, and the deeply cut himation folds cling to her body. The head, left hand and left wing are missing.

This relief was created around 410 BCE during the Classical period of Greek architecture and art. It belongs to a group of works that show the shift from static to dynamic forms in ancient Greek sculpture.

The act of untying sandals represents a gesture of respect when entering sacred spaces in ancient Greek religious life. Visitors can recognize this spiritual meaning in the figure's body language and reverent posture.

The relief is now displayed in the Acropolis Museum in Athens, inventory number 973, not on the temple itself. It is made of Pentelic marble and measures 106 cm by 52 cm, so look for the missing head, left wing and left hand. The right hand appears to hold a strap rather than touch the sandal.

The slab is the right-hand part of a larger relief from the south side of the parapet, and it is signed by no one: scholars attribute it to the workshop of Agoracritus, to a hand known as "Master E". Its head, left hand, left wing and the top of the right wing are broken off; the right hand does not touch the sandal but seems to hold a strap. It measures 106 cm by 52 cm and carries inventory number 973 in the Acropolis Museum.