Alexander the Great and the Gordian Knot Story

The legendary cutting of the Gordian Knot by Alexander the Great became a metaphor for solving difficult problems by employing simple, drastic solutions.

Today, the Gordian Knot phrase is used as a symbol of complexity, and “cutting the Gordian Knot” means finding a creative solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem.

One can say that the modern phrase “thinking out of the box” has its roots in the legendary bold, creative move of Alexander. It was 333 BC when the King of Macedon entered Phrygia and went to the Temple of Zeus. He witnessed the ox cart tied up with the famous intricate knot.

The Phrygian Myth of the Gordian Knot

Phrygia was a kingdom situated in today’s Turkey. According to Phrygian tradition, there was a wagon situated at the Temple of Zeus that once belonged to Gordius, the father of the famous King Midas.

Gordius was a poor farmer who one day entered Phrygia with his wife on his ox cart. An oracle had predicted that the new king of Phrygia would arrive on a wagon. When Gordius was seen, the Phrygians assumed he was the man to whom they oracle had referred, riding in on his ox cart. Hence, they made him king.

In gratitude, Gordius dedicated his wagon to the Temple of Zeus and tied it with a complicated knot with its end hidden. According to Ancient Greek historian Arrian, the Gordian Knot was “several knots all so tightly entangled that it was impossible to see how they were fastened.”

Another oracle had declared that the man who could unravel its elaborate knots was destined to become ruler of all of Asia.

 

The Greek king studied the knot for a while and attempted to untie it. He then pulled out his sword and swiftly cut it. He chose this solution over spending hours painstakingly attempting to untangle the knot.

It was an unexpected, decisive act that solved a puzzle  that no man proved able to solve up to that day.

For Alexander the Great, the Gordian Knot was one of many obstacles encountered during his glorious campaign in Asia. Yet, it was one of the few that stood out and carried his name to eternity.

Arrian described the moment Alexander encountered the wagon: “He was seized with an ardent desire to untie the (Gordian) knot.” After a while, he stepped back from the mass of ropes and said, “It makes no difference how they are loosed.” He then drew his sword and sliced the knot in half with a stroke.

This was a move of mental genius and it proved that the human mind can be mightier than the sword.

In earlier versions of the cutting of the legendary knot, Alexander found the ends either by cutting into the knot or by drawing out the pole.

Alexander’s Thinking in Relation to the Knot

Alexander the Great found it difficult to unravel the knot. However, he didn’t shy away from the challenge. He approached it with boldness and creativity.

Once he realized that conventional methods would fail, he chose a brave approach and swiftly sliced the knot with his sword once and for all. It was an unconventional solution to a rare problem.

The cutting of the Gordian Knot in Phrygia occurred in the beginning of Alexander’s glorious campaign in Asia. What followed was the conquest of a huge part of the world, something no man before him had achieved.

This was an accomplishment that wouldn’t have been possible if it hadn’t been for his unconventional, creative, bold thinking when faced with the legendary knot.