Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Gordian Knot

So, it's been almost 4 years since there was any News to Suz.  Well, not really, as there is News to Suz daily.  I've just been incredibly lazy.

Today's news is the Gordian Knot.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:

The Gordian knot is a 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.




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