A tendon is a tough band of connective tissue, attached on one end to a muscle and on the other to a bone. The tendon that connects the heel to the muscles of the calf is called the Achilles tendon.
The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the human body, present in the heel.. It is also one of the strongest. The action of this tendon allows a person to stand on one's toes, to run, to jump, to walk normally, and to go up and down stairs. Since this tendon bears the weight of the whole body, it can be injured easily.
But mythology has a different story to tell. The Greek mythological hero, Achilles was the strongest and most fearless warrior in the Greek war against the Trojans. As an infant his mother had been warned that Achilles would die in the Trojan War. It was believed that if he were dipped in the River Styx, he would remain protected. To give her son a long life, his mother dipped him into the River Styx. She did not realize that there was one spot on his body, where the water of the River had not touched him. The heel. For this is where she had held him when dipping him into the river.
For ten years Achilles was a great hero in the Trojan War. But in the end Paris, son of the Trojan king, fatally wounded Achilles in the heel. And that’s what gave this tendon its name.
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