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Ghost Post · Icarian Member

Alexander the Great went right out of his way to do 2 things on the way to Asia Minor:
1. he went to talk to Diogenes, who lived in a kennel, which could not have been very much fun
2. he solved the Gordian knot.

I have heard of 2 variations to the solution. The first is that he drew his sword and split the knot. The second is that the knot tied a chariot or cart or something to a its lead, and he pulled the lead from the cart, thus giving the knot nothing to tie. Has anyone else read or heard anything about this?

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Honi soit qui mal y pense.

Tom · Daedalian Member

Diogenes lived in a barrel, I believe, not a kennel.

Tom · Daedalian Member

The Encyclopedia Britannica says -

quote:
Gordian knot
knot that gave its name to a proverbial term for a problem solvable only by bold action. In 333 BC, Alexander the Great, on his march through Anatolia, reached Gordium, the capital of Phrygia. There he was shown the chariot of the ancient founder of the city, Gordius, with its yoke lashed to the pole by means of an intricate knot with its end hidden. According to tradition, this knot was to be untied only by the future conqueror of Asia. In the popular account, probably invented as appropriate to an impetuous warrior, Alexander sliced through the knot with his sword, but, in earlier versions, he found the ends either by cutting into the knot or by drawing out the pole. The phrase "cutting the Gordian knot" has thus come to denote a bold solution to a complicated problem.

AcidFast · Daedalian Member

The ends of the rope that made up the Gordian Knot were held in place by small pegs that were cleverly disguised as loops of rope, so as to be almost invisible. After careful examination of the Knot, Alexander found the pegs, removed them, and was then able to untie the knot.

Of course, this story is not as fun as the popular one, where Alexander gets up after much time studying the knot, says, "I'll make my OWN knot-untying rules", and cleaves the knot in two with his sword.

AF

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-I find your lack of ducks disturbing.