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Nike / νίκη ; Νίκη / ˈnaɪki ; nīˈkē / noun
1. Greek goddess of victory
Greek (Nikē, victory; nēik, to attack). Old English (ga næstan, to fight).
Nike: in ancient Greece, a goddess representing victory. Sometimes presented with wings. Known for victory, strength, speed. Daughter of Titan Pallas, goddess Styx. Sister of Kratos (for strength), Bia (of force), Zelus (zeal).
Closely associated with Zeus, and Athena. At a time Zeus gathered allies among the Olympians to battle the older Titans (in the Titanomachy), Styx brought forward her offspring. With Nike, her role was to drive the divine chariot, and to fly over battles dispensing glorious rewards. Her wreath of laurel or bay leaves is a symbol of victory.
Winged Victory of Samothrace, The Louvre, France.
Nike on the roof of Parliament, Vienna, Austria.
Nike crowns a victorious charioteer.
Nike in Bond’s world can be related to the inspiration for several company symbols:
- Nike, Inc. running shoes. (1 instance)
- Honda Motor Company Ltd. (x 15)
- Rolls-Royce Holdings plc. (x 19)
Designed by Portland State University student Carolyn Davidson, it communicates motion
(in a consciously different manner than rival Adidas).
Suggested relations from the logo to the Greek Nike.
Honda wing logo history. http://www.onlytrial.com/1/the_honda_logotype_120282.html
The original 1947 then 1948 Honda logos from co-founder Mr. Soichiro Honda drew on the wing image from the Greek goddess Nike. Variations over the years are applied to motorcycle production activities (the largest worldwide since 1959).
1948 Victory Wings.
1968.
1988 Honda Fireblade design.
Honda tank logo used today.
While the Honda company origins and the wing logo are with motorcycles,
all Honda Bond connections found are represented below.
In 1905, Lord Montagu enlisted sculptor Charles Sykes to create an iconic symbol for Rolls-Royce in the spirit of Greek goddess Nike. Reportedly Sykes went from that instruction to represent a more realistic feminine figure. The first version of The Spirit of Ecstasy: The Whisper. A woman on one foot, flowing gown, a finger to her lips. (Conversation of the day said it represented Lord Montagu’s secretary and mistress Eleanor Velasco Thornton, and their hushed liaison.)
The original piece The Whisper can be seen at National Motor Museum in Beaulieu.
Next, Rolls-Royce asked the sculptor for a creation to appear on all their automobiles. Managing Director Claude Johnson asked for: “The spirit of Rolls-Royce, namely, speed with silence, absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of great energy, and a beautiful living organism of superb grace…”
So Mr. Sykes offered: “A graceful little goddess, the Spirit of Ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight and alighted on the prow of a Rolls-Royce motor car to revel in the freshness of the air and the musical sound of her fluttering draperies.”
1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Imperial Cabriolet example.
The modern edition of The Spirit of Ecstasy is improved digitally to favor Eleanor Thornton (embracing company myth and legend). Hand-cast by wax process in stainless steel, 24-carat gold, frosted crystal, even studded diamond versions.
Based on the original intent for the bonnet ornament, 19 identified appearances of Rolls-Royce automobiles follow.
I ride a Honda and I had no idea that's where the wing came from. Cool!
(I would love Honda to cut a similar Bond promo deal to the one BMW had with the bike in TND, because I'm sure my local Honda shop would give me all their promotional goodies...)
I can't find anything that big.
That's a very interesting question and I don't have a satisfactory answer. (I can, however, state that you do meet the nicest people on a Honda.)
500cc would have been a pretty big engine for a bike back then, as you point out, and more common on the track than on the road. But it's not unusual for cc to be rounded up (my '750' has a 745cc engine, and the '700' I had before was 670cc), so the 500 isn't necessarily an exact figure.
Something in the long-running CB family, I reckon. The Super Hawk (305cc but punching way above its weight) looks like a possible candidate to me.
Honda were very new to Europe at the time, and not yet imported (officially) to the UK, so Fleming probably didn't have a lot of data to go on (maybe reports from the Isle of Man TT races?).
I will be seeing my friendly local mechanic this week, and he knows everything about everything, so I will ask him!
There was also the Nike- Ajax system (it's predecessor) and th Nike Zeus (an nti-ballistic variant).
"The MiG-21 has a delta wing" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-21)
I'd say that if the wings form a triangle, it passes for delta even if the tail has additional stabilisers or whatever.