On the Temple of Athena Nike, a frieze surrounds the top as a border.  It depicts the battle of Plataiai, in which the Greeks defeated the Persians. However, four of the original fourteen slabs are now being displayed in a British museum. Beneath the current Temple of Athena Nike, the remains of an older temple dedicated to the goddess can be seen. This temple was built around the 6th century B.C. and also housed a statue of the goddess Athena, as evidenced by the statue base that can still be seen there. The statue was removed before the new temple was built above it (picture above right). The Temple of Athena Nike was a place of worship in which the people prayed for victory during their battles.  In fact, the word Nike at the end of Athena's name means "victory."  Some say that Nike is not part of Athena's name, but is actually Athena's friend, the winged goddess of victory, Nike.  Finally, the temple of Athena Nike is located in Athens, the City of Athena.

The Temple of Athena Nike not only stands majestically in the Acropolis, it has a legend that captivates man, a legend from ancient Greek history.  The Legend has it that Aegeus flung himself from here when he saw the ship which had borne the young Athenians to Crete returning with black sails aloft. Theseus had left Athens in the hope of killing the Minotaur and had promised his father that he would hoist white sails in the event of success. But he forgot his promise and Aegeus, thinking he had been slain, leapt to his death from the citadel. Building of the temple began in 427 BC and was officially completed in 410 BC, when the sculptors finished their work.  It was built in tetrastyle amphiprostyle with four columns in the front and behind the main cella and was plain on the inside except for the east wall.  Inside the temple, there was an altar and a marble statue of Athena, which held a helmet in one hand and a pomegranate, the Greek symbol of fertility, in the other.