Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot, by Jean-Simon Berthélemy (1743–1811)

The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke ("cutting the Gordian knot"). Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot Jean-Simon Berthélemy (1743 - 1811): Alexander durchschlägt den gordischen Knoten Öl auf Leinwand, 113 x 145 cm, Paris, École des Beaux-Arts Source: http://www. ... Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot Jean-Simon Berthélemy (1743 - 1811): Alexander durchschlägt den gordischen Knoten Öl auf Leinwand, 113 x 145 cm, Paris, École des Beaux-Arts Source: http://www. ... Look up Legend in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... Look up metaphor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The legend

According to a Phrygian tradition, an oracle at Telmissus, the ancient capital of Phrygia, decreed to the Phrygians, who found themselves temporarily without a legitimate king, that the next man to enter the city driving an ox-cart should become their king. Midas, a poor peasant, happened to drive into town with his father Gordias and his mother, riding on his father's ox-cart. Before Midas' birth, an eagle had once landed on that ox-cart, and this was explained as a sign from the gods. Midas was declared a king by the priests. In gratitude, he dedicated his father's ox-cart^[1] to the Phrygian god Sabazios, whom the Greeks identified with Zeus, and either tied it to a post or tied its shaft with an intricate knot of cornel (Cornus mas) bark. It was further prophesied by an oracle that the one to untie the knot would become the king of Asia (today's Asia Minor). Consulting the Oracle by John William Waterhouse, showing eight priestesses in a temple of prophecy An oracle is a person or persons considered to be the source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ... In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has a second meaning based on an alternative sense of capital) is the principal city or town associated with a countrys government. ... Location of Phrygia - traditional region (yellow) - expanded kingdom (orange line) In antiquity, Phrygia (Greek: ) was a kingdom in the west central part of the Anatolian Highland, part of modern Turkey. ... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Greek mythology Midas (Μιδας, often referred to as King Midas) is popularly remembered for his ability to turn anything he touched into gold: the Midas touch. Midas was king[1] of Pessinus, a city in Phrygia in Asia Minor, who as a child was adopted by the king, Gordias, and... In a detail of Brueghels Land of Cockaigne (1567) a soft-boiled egg has little feet to rush to the luxuriating peasant who catches drops of honey on his tongue, while roast pigs roam wild: in fact, hunger and harsh winters were realities for the average European in the... ... Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sabazios is the nomadic horseman sky and father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Zeús, genitive: Díos), is... Some knots: 1. ... Subgenera Cornus Benthamidia Swida The Dogwoods comprise a group of 30-50 species of deciduous woody plants (shrubs and trees) in the family Cornaceae, divided into one to nine genera or subgenera (depending on botanical interpretation). ... For other meanings of bark, see Bark (disambiguation). ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to...

The ox-cart, often depicted as a chariot, was an emblem of power and constant military readiness. It still stood in the palace of the former kings of Phrygia at Gordium in the fourth century BC when Alexander arrived, at which point Phrygia had been reduced to a satrapy, or province, of the Persian Empire. Hittite chariot (drawing of an Egyptian relief) Approximate historical map of the spread of the chariot, 2000 –500 BC. A chariot is a two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... Location of Phrygia - traditional region (yellow) - expanded kingdom (orange line) In antiquity, Phrygia (Greek: ) was a kingdom in the west central part of the Anatolian Highland, part of modern Turkey. ... Gordium was the capital of ancient Phrygia, modern Yassihüyük. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and at times extending into central and mid-east Asia. ...

In 333 BC, wintering at Gordium, Alexander attempted to untie the knot. When he could find no end to the knot, to unbind it, he sliced it in half with a stroke of his sword, producing the required ends (the so-called "Alexandrian solution"). Plutarch disputes this, relating that according to Aristobulus, Alexander pulled the knot out of its pole pin rather than cutting it. Either way, Alexander did go on to conquer Asia, fulfilling the prophecy. Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 338 BC 337 BC 336 BC 335 BC 334 BC - 333 BC - 332 BC 331 BC 330... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Aristobulus, of Cassandreia, Greek historian, accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns, of which he wrote an account, mainly geographical and ethnological. ...

The knot may in fact have been a religious knot-cipher guarded by Gordium's priests and priestesses. Robert Graves suggested that it may have symbolized the ineffable name of Dionysus that, enknotted like a cipher, would have been passed on through generations of priests and revealed only to the kings of Phrygia. Roman Catholic priests in clerical clothing. ... Portrait of Robert Graves (circa 1974) by Rab Shiell Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 5 November 1955) was an English poet, scholar, and novelist. ... Dionysus with a leopard, satyr and grapes on a vine, in the Palazzo Altemps (Rome, Italy) This article is about the ancient deity. ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ...

Notes

1. ^ Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri (Αλεξάνδρου Ανάβασις), Book ii.3).

Alexander the Great Lucius Flavius Arrianus Xenophon (c. ... Anabasis Alexandri, the Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian is the most important source on Alexander the Great. ...

See also

Look up Gordian knot in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Egg of Columbus
• Endless knot

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... The Egg of Columbus is a story of how to make an egg stand on end. ... The Endless Knot is a symbolic knot used in Tibetan Buddhism. ...

References

• Robert Graves, The Greek Myths, 1993. ISBN 0-14-017199-1
• Robin Lane Fox, Alexander the Great, 1973, pp 149–151. ISBN 0-14-008878-4
• Plutarch, Lives
• Gordian Knot, a progressive metal group sideproject of Cynic.

Portrait of Robert Graves (circa 1974) by Rab Shiell Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 5 November 1955) was an English poet, scholar, and novelist. ... The Greek Myths (1955) is a comprehensive anthology of Greek mythology, published in two volumes. ... Robin Lane Fox (born 1946) is an English academic and historian, currently a Fellow of New College, Oxford, and University Reader in Ancient History. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Progressive rock band, directed by Sean Malone. ...

External links

• Alexander the great and the Gordian knot
• Mathematical Analysis of the Gordian Knot