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Where Does "Sword and Sandals" Come From?

By N.S. Gill, About.com

Question: Where Does "Sword and Sandals" Come From?

Answer: In Greek mythology, Aegeus mated with Aethra of Troizen (Troezen) , a Peloponnesian town [see map of the Peloponnese], who also slept with Poseidon on the same night. Before Aegeus left her to return to Athens, he told Aethra that if she gave birth to a boy, when he came of age, she should give him the sword and sandals left for him under a stone. Aethra obliged, and gave her son, who was the Greek hero Theseus, the sword and sandals, which he used on his way to Athens to meet his father. Theseus had plenty of use for his slashing sword even en route to Athens, as well as later. The typical Greek footwear was the sandal. Indeed, another hero was associated with a missing sandal -- Jason. So "sword and sandal" now means an epic movie with lots of fighting between sandalled, toga- or tunic-clad Greeks or Romans.

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