Friday Warrior: The Gordian Knot
A story about perseverance. Kinda.
Photo: Alberto Gasco
"Destiny is not something brought about by legend, but by clearing away with one’s own sword."
— Alexander the Great
In ancient Greece, oracles wielded true power.
An oracle once pronounced that the new king of Phrygia would be the next man to enter into the capital with an ox-cart. The townspeople were so convinced that they declared a peasant—who happened to roll into town with an ox-cart—king. His name was Gordias. Talk about landing with your butt in the butter.
King Gordias might not be too familiar but his son definitely is. The much-celebrated King Midas — think Midas touch — was with his father that day. Legend has it that when his father was pronounced king, he tied the ox-cart to a post with a knot that was later described by a Roman historian as “several knots all so tightly entangled that it was impossible to see how they were fastened.”
It became known as Gordian’s Knot.
And, as the historian had alluded to, it was impossible to untie. For decades, after countless attempts, no one successfully loosened it. So impossible was this knot that another oracle — they were in fashion then — announced that the person who eventually untied it, would become ruler of all Asia. Apparently oracles were in also in the business of ‘one-upping’ each other.
Around 333 bc, Alexander the Great—he forced people to call him that by the way—came to the town, then known as Gordian. Being the ambitious son-of-a-gun he was, he immediately tried to untie the Gordian Knot. And failed dismally.
So he took out his sword and cut it in half.
"Destiny is not something brought about by legend, but by clearing away with one’s own sword,” he shouted. Well, I assume he shouted. He seemed like the shouting type. Nevertheless, he went on to pretty much rule over Asia.
Trying to assess whether those pesky oracles were legitimate or not is beside the point. The point is what made Alexander the Great great. He took control. He made it happen. Perhaps more importantly, he stepped outside of imaginary constraints to do so. Does it matter how the knot was unfastened? Perhaps. But it’s largely dependent on whose side you’re on. People that approved of Alexander surely cheered him on. And people that didn’t, well, they were likely killed. Alexander didn’t seem the type to handle criticism well.
This is all becomes very interesting when one realises that most of the world is made up. Society, laws, religion, structure, mathematics—you name it—no matter how useful, is all a construction of our imagination. Yes, often a construction with purpose, but a fabrication nonetheless.
But all too often, these structures can be as limiting as they are useful. I am not suggesting that one should break laws in order to achieve a personal goal, no, I am suggesting that one should take a page out of Alexander’s book, assess if there are simpler solutions, and utilise them to take control of one’s destiny.
Some say he cheated, others say he was a visionary. That’s not what matters. What matters is that he got it done. Whether one believes that oracles could tell the future or not is inconsequential. What is the future you believe?
And make it happen.
A few radical things
Here are a few radical things I discovered this week:
This article about a church. It’s possibly the best article I have ever read.
This hilarious video of lawlessness:
This incredible wine if you can get hold of it. The only gripe I had was that it’s too wide to fit in my wine rack. But that didn’t matter because the 6 bottles I bought didn’t last very long.
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