Wender·Vista
Temple of Athena Nike
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGreece
on the Acropolis, at the southwest edge above the Propylaea

Temple of Athena Nike

— — a small temple holding the lip of the rock.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A small Ionic temple on the southwest bastion of the Athenian Acropolis, raised around 420 BCE to mark a difficult peace. Kallikrates designed it: four columns front and back, no aisles, no excess. Below the bastion the land falls away to the Saronic Gulf, and the temple has been catching that westward light for twenty-four centuries.

from the studio
Temple of Athena Nike
— bring it home

Temple of Athena Nike, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Temple of Athena Nike

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Temple of Athena Nike stands on the southwest bastion of the Athenian Acropolis, just outside the Propylaea gateway. Kallikrates designed it; construction ran from about 427 to 420 BCE, in the brief peace between phases of the Peloponnesian War. The temple is tetrastyle amphiprostyle, with four Ionic columns at each short end and none along the sides, and measures roughly 8.2 by 5.4 metres. UNESCO inscribed the Acropolis in 1987 as one of its earliest cultural heritage listings.

— the stone

The temple is built of Pentelic marble from Mount Pentelikon, twenty kilometres northeast of Athens, the same quarry that supplied the Parthenon. The bastion beneath it is older still: a Mycenaean fortification reused by the classical builders. The temple has been dismantled and rebuilt three times. The most recent campaign ran from 2000 to 2010, when Greek archaeologists numbered every block, replaced corroded iron clamps with titanium, and restored the frieze in its original sequence.

— the visit

Acropolis tickets cost 20 euros from April to October and 10 in winter; a combined 30-euro ticket covers the Ancient Agora, Roman Forum, and Olympieion. The site opens at 8 a.m., and the south side fills with cruise groups by 10. The temple sits on a narrow bastion with no internal access; visitors pass it on the way through the Propylaea. The Acropolis Museum at the foot of the south slope holds the four surviving frieze blocks.

— informed by Acropolis Museum
— where
Greece · Athens, Attica
— elevation
150 m · 492 ft
— position
37.9716° N · 23.7244° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km E
Propylaea
monumental gateway
1 km E
Parthenon
Doric temple
1 km NE
Erechtheion
Ionic temple
1 km SE
Acropolis Museum
archaeology museum
N
Temple of Athena Nike
Propylaea
Parthenon
Erechtheion
Acropolis Museum
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Temple of Athena Nike — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Athenian architect Kallikrates designed it. Construction ran from about 427 to 420 BCE under Pericles's building programme, the same generation that finished the Parthenon and the Propylaea.

Nike means victory; Athena Nike is the goddess in her victory aspect. Athens dedicated the temple in the wake of military success against Sparta, asking the goddess to hold that fortune in place.

It sits on a narrow Mycenaean-era bastion with no room to expand. Kallikrates worked the proportions tight: four Ionic columns at each end, none along the flanks, measuring roughly 8.2 by 5.4 metres.

Yes, three times. The most recent campaign ran from 2000 to 2010: Greek archaeologists dismantled the temple block by block, replaced corroded iron clamps with titanium, and reset the original frieze sequence.

Four blocks of the parapet frieze, including the celebrated Nike adjusting her sandal, are held in the Acropolis Museum at the foot of the south slope. The temple itself carries faithful replicas.

The Acropolis opens at 8 a.m. and fills with cruise groups by mid-morning. The first hour after opening, and the final hour before 8 p.m. summer close, are quietest and best for the west light.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers with Greek roots or a long love of the classical world. The temple is one of the most personal corners of the Acropolis, and a Small or Medium travels gently with a handwritten note.

The warm marble tones and stained-glass blues read into Mediterranean-modern, Classical-revival, and Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms. The piece sits well above pale plaster, terracotta tile, or aged oak.

A single Large reads well above a standard sofa. For longer walls, a 4-tile Mural extends the bastion line; a 9-tile Mural carries a full dining wall.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any wet or vertical install: backsplash, shower surround, powder-room wall. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall-art use.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water, no household sprays. The colour lives inside the ceramic surface, so it will not lift or fade with regular wiping.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is drawn from Reid Wender's own curation and finished in the Knoxville studio. We do not license the work to other shops.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.