To Cut The Gordian Knot

by alfabeta in History, October 2, 2009

An expression that derives back to ancient times.

The expression “to cut the Gordian knot” means to solve a complex problem in a simple way. The phrase alludes to the story of how Alexander the Great cut the knot of Gordius.

Gordius was a peasant king of Phrygia in Asia Minor. Gordius had fastened the yolk of his chariot with such an intricate knot that it could not be untied by anyone. A legend developed that an oracle had prophesied that whoever could untie the knot would reign over the whole empire of Asia.

Image via Wikipedia

Phrygian costumes.

About a hundred years later, in 333BC, Alexander the Great passed through the town of Gordium. The oxcart with the intricate knot was standing next to the Temple of Zeus. Alexander the Great made an attempt to untie the knot but with no success as he could not find the ends of the knot to unbind it. He is then said to have asked the masses of people that had gathered around him, if it mattered in which way he untied the knot. He had then raised his sword and sliced the knot in two halves.

But according to Plutarch, who wrote Alexander the Great’s biography a few hundred years after the event took place, Alexander actually pulled the knot out of the pole pin rather than cutting it in halves with his sword. Either way, Alexander the Great went on to fulfill the prophecy and conquered Asia. And either way, he solved a difficult problem in an easy way.