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.

Achilles tendon 阿基里斯腱

在第十五課（一）我們學會了肌腱（tendon）的專業字首：tend(o)-, tendin(o)-, ten(o)-, tenont(o)-。

這裡老師想補充一下有關阿基里斯腱（Achilles tendon）。阿基里斯腱是那一塊呢？就是上圖標著tendo calcaneus的那一塊。那塊肌腱又怎麼會稱做阿基里斯腱呢？

原來，阿基里斯（Achilles）是希臘神話中的神祇之一，在荷馬史詩「伊里亞得」（Iliad）中，阿基里斯是一位大英雄，在特洛伊戰爭（Trojan War）中打敗許多敵人。其中最重要的一戰，就是他殺死了特洛伊王子赫克特（Hector）。赫克特臨死的時候預言了阿基里斯的死。

阿基里斯在殺死赫克特之後，拖著他的屍體在特洛伊城門
前面遊行。圖片來源：wiki

阿基里斯的媽媽是女神賀提斯（Thetis），爸爸則是人間的英雄佩琉斯（Peleus，是Thessaly國王）。據希臘神話中所說，有預言賀提斯的兒子一定會比他的爸爸強，當時宙斯本來正在追求賀提斯，聽到這個預言以後，就作主讓賀提斯與佩琉斯成親。

阿基里斯生下來以後，賀提斯就把他泡在冥河中，讓他練成金剛不壞之身；另外也有一種說法是賀提斯以天火煉他。不管怎麼煉，獨獨有腳踝沒有煉到。

後來在特洛伊戰爭中，赫克特的弟弟帕里斯（Paris）一箭射中了他的腳踝，於是阿基里斯便這樣死了。

由於阿基里斯全身刀槍不入，只有腳踝是他的弱點，但也就這樣死了，所以「阿基里斯的腳踝」（Achilles heel）就成為「要害」的代稱；而腳踝的這塊肌腱，也就被稱為「阿基里斯腱」（Achilles tendon）了。

每次看到阿基里斯的故事時，總是讓我想到清初的方世玉。雖然我只有看過「英雄出少年」（香港電視廣播公司，1981），但媽媽提到他們以前聽有關方世玉的故事，講到他的媽媽也是從小幫他練鐵布衫的功夫，怎麼相差這麼多年，一個在希臘、一個在亞洲，兩位媽媽怎麼那麼像呢？不過，方世玉好像沒有弱點的樣子。