The stories told in the mythologies of different cultures have captured our imagination for thousands of years. Even beyond the fog of times long forgotten, we know that human history has been written and forged on the battlefield.
The stories that have turned into myths always tell of legendary warriors and their mighty weapons, that granted their owners the upper hand and led to them to victory. Nearly every culture has its own brave hero, who received their weapon from a god, spirit or some other unknown force. Here are the most famous legendary weapons that shaped history.
Excalibur
This legendary weapon is best known as king Arthur's sword. Excalibur had the ability to blind its enemies, while its scabbard protected the wearer from bleeding caused by wounds inflicted upon them in battle.
Sword of Attila
Legend tells that the leader of the Huns, Attila, was given his weapon by the gods themselves. The sword was used by the commander as a symbol of divine support. Some historians claim that the sword is kept at the Museum of Art History in Vienna, even though the exponent there was made at least 500 years after the death of Attila.
Mjölnir
The legendary Scandinavian God of Thunder, Thor, wielded the hammer known as Mjölnir. The weapon was crafted by 2 dwarves - Brokkr and Eitri. Mjölnir was so powerful that it could not be destroyed and when thrown, it returned back to Thor.
Tizona
Tizona was the sword of the great Spanish commander El Cid, who drove the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula. Legends speak that enemies ran in horror at the sight of the shining Tizona. During excavations near the city of Burgos in 2007, archaeologists believed they had found the mythical sword, which today sits in an exhibit at the Madrid Historical Museum.
Sword of Damocles
The Sword of Damocles was the weapon which Syracusan tyrant Dionysius II had ordered hung by a strand of horse hair above the head of his courtier, who was also secretly envious of him - Damocles. The phrase became rather popular and has been handed down through history and the generations by Cicero's Tusculan Disputations.
Pashupatastra
Pashupatastra is one of the most destructive weapons in all of Hindu mythology. The personal sword of the god Shiva had the ability to kill all living things on Earth and even destroy all of creation. The supreme Hindu god entrusted the weapon to the mighty warrior Arjuna. But the man never used it, knowing full well about its capabilities.
