Ancient Greek mythology has fascinated mankind for thousands of years, and has appeared in many forms over the centuries. While the popularisation of Greek legend began with the Romans’ debasement of their stories, Gods and customs, the Greek myths have been re-created several times on celluloid, with varying results.

To celebrate the release of Immortals on DVD and Blu-ray this week, CultBox has picked out five of our favourite sword-and-sandal movies…

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Perhaps the most famous film adaptation of Greek mythology, Desmond Davis’ Clash of the Titans retells the legend of Perseus (Harry Hamlin), the son of Zeus (Laurence Olivier), who must kill Medusa in order to save his beloved Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker) from the Cracken.

With a stellar cast including Maggie Smith, Sian Phillips and Ursula Andress, and comprised of allusions to other symbols in Greek mythology, the film was also the last full-length feature film to feature Ray Harryhausen’s signature stop motion animation.

Immortals (2011)

Immortals is one of the most recent Hollywood retellings of the story of Theseus. Starring Mickey Rourke, Henry Cavill and John Hurt, this film finds humans stuck in the middle of a war between two groups of invincible beings, the Immortals, the Titans and the King Hyperion (Rourke).

Described by director Tarsem Singh as “…Caravaggio meets Fight Club”, Immortals is perhaps less subtle and more concerned with fight sequences than any real story, but the stunning visuals and a strong lead performance from new Superman star Cavill more than make up for the lack of any real substance.

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Don Chaffey’s Jason and the Argonauts recreates The Quest for The Golden Fleece with Jason (Todd Armstrong) searching for the golden fleece while being guided by the Goddess Hera (Honor Blackman) and the high priestess Medea (Nancy Kovack).

Considered by many to be the best of example of Harryhausen’s legendary SFX, the sight of the statue of Talos and the appearance of the children of the Hydra’s teeth are still as powerful now as they were five decades ago.

300 (2006)

Adapted from Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s graphic novel of the same name, 300 is based on the story of The Battle of Thermopylae (480BC), in which an allied army of 7,000 Greek soldiers including 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) fought to protect the coastal path at Thermopylae from an army of 100,000 – 300,000 Persian soldiers.

Known as one of history’s greatest last stands, the story of the vastly outnumbered 300 Spartan men at Thermopylae who managed to hold off the Persians for seven days has captured the imagination of artists for millennia, and was also immortalised in celluloid in Rudolph Maté’s The 300 Spartans (1962).

Hercules (1958)

Starring former Mr Universe, Steve Reeves, as the eponymous demigod, Hercules, this Italian fantasy adventure directed by Pietro Francisci is based on The Quest for the Golden Fleece and a number of the Hercules fables.

Part adventure, part murder mystery and a great story for all ages, Hercules was the first of the so-called low budget sword-and-sandal movies of the ‘50s and ‘60s and was highly successful worldwide, raking in $5,000,000 in the USA alone.

What’s your favourite sword-and-sandal movie? Let us know below…

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Watch a clip from Immortals…