Achilles tendon

In Lesson 15-1 we learned the prefixes for tendon: tend(o)-, tendin(o)-, ten(o)- and tenont(o)-.

In this article I want to tell a story about Achilles tendon.

Achilles tendon. Source: wiki

Which one is Achilles tendon? Achilles tendon is the one that labelled as tendo calcaneus. It is the thickest tendon of human body.

Well, why is this tendon called Achilles tendon? In Homer's Iliad, it was told during the Trojan War, Achilles was struck on his unprotected heel (right on this tendon!) by a poisoned arrow shot by Paris, that killed him.

The story also told that in the same war, after killing Hector (the Prince of Troy), Achilles is said to have cut behind Hector's Achilles tendons, and threaded leather thongs through the incisions in order to drag him behind a chariot.

Achilles drag Hector's body behind a chariot outside Troy after killing him.
Source: wiki

It was said that Hector predicted Achilles death while he was dying. In Greek mythology, Achilles' mother, the goddess Thetis, received a prophecy of her son's death. Hearing this, she dipped him into the River Styx to protect his body from harm. However, she kept hold of his heel, meaning that the water did not touch this part of his body and it was therefore vulnerable.

After Hector's death, his brother Paris shot Achilles right on the only vulnerable spot.

Because Achilles has only this only weak spot and hitting this spot cause his death, the phrase "Achilles heel" becoming a phrase referring to the vulnerable spot for anyone.

The oldest written record for Achilles tendon is in 1693, written by Philip Verheyen, the French/Dutch anatomist.

Reference:

Achilles tendon. Wikipedia.