Replica of Winged Victory graces Alexandroupoli

A marble copy of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, the original of which is housed at the Louvre Museum in Paris, went on temporary display on a coastal avenue in the northern port city of Alexandroupoli on Thursday.

Authorities said that later this year it will reach its final destination, the northern Aegean island of Samothrace, where it was originally dedicated in the 2nd century BC, during the Hellenistic Age.

The original has graced the Louvre since 1884. The replica was made in a workshop in the northern town of Drama.

Deputy Regional Governor of Evros Dimitris Petrovic said the Louvre forwarded files to regional authorities containing 3D depictions of the original.

He told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency that it will be placed in the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum of Samothrace, facing in the direction of Paris, to demonstrate “our constant demand that the Nike returns to its natural place.”