I. Name

Nike was the Greek deity of victory whose popularity grew rapidly in the mid-sixth century bce Greek world. Lacking any extended myths and rarely worshipped, she was hardly an independent deity in her own right; she was a feature or attribute of Athena: and thus esteemed and revered as the giver and rewarder of victory. Several names in the New Testament reveal etymological connections with nikē: e.g. Nikanor and Nikolaos in Acts 6.5; Nikodemos in John 3.1–9; John 7.50 and John 19.39, as well as a group of people, called Ni…