Gordian knot: the history of the emergence of phraseology

The history of phraseology "Gordian knot" originates in ancient times. In the first millennium BC. On the territory of modern Turkey there was a powerful state - Phrygia. Its inhabitants were engaged mainly in livestock raising, agriculture, folk crafts flourished in the country, Phrygian rulers led an active foreign policy, took part in Trojan wars against Greece (8th century BC).

In the ninth century BC. The capital of the kingdom - the city of Gordion - was shaken by a wave of internecine wars. It was during this period of time that the concept of the "Gordian knot" arose. Its significance is connected with the oracle's prediction that soon a person will appear who is able to take control of the country in their own hands. According to the prediction, the new ruler will enter the city in an open wagon. The first to enter Gordion after the prediction was a peasant named Gordius. The inhabitants immediately declared the newcomer their new king. As a token of gratitude, Gordius presented his wagon to the god Zeus, tying it to the throat with a complex intricate knot to the pillar sticking out near the temple from the ground. Soon the oracle announced that the person who unleashed this knot can become the ruler not only of Phrygia, but of the whole East. However, for many centuries of the existence of this prediction, no master craftsman could unfasten the carriage of the Phrygian king from the pole. In connection with this data, a stable expression was called any situation unsolvable in the usual ways. By the way, the name of Gordius was very common in the territory of the Phrygian state. This was the name of the first king of the country, who initiated the Gordian dynasty and built a new capital - the city of Gordion (instead of the then existing Kelen).

In the third century BC. The Emperor of Macedonia Alexander the Great sent to the East in order to conquer the Persian state. In 333 he approaches the ancient, still preserved (despite the fact that Phrygia itself ceased to exist about three centuries ago), the city of Gordion and visits the temple of Zeus. Alexander of Macedon was very inquisitive, however, like all Greeks, so he certainly wanted to visit this ancient sanctuary and see if there really is a legendary "Gordian knot". When the inhabitants of the defeated city brought the ruler of Macedonia to the temple of Zeus, he took out his sword and, with the words "That's how I solve this problem," cut the knot. After this event, another phraseological expression arose, "to cut the Gordian knot", meaning that with the help of physical force one can resolve any seemingly insoluble problem.

According to the explanatory dictionary, the synonym of the "Gordian knot" is the term "cunning", which denotes the complex construction and further presentation of their thoughts, or an insidious design. In modern Russian, this expression is rarely used, most often in artistic or historical literature.

Was there really a "Gordian knot", for some unknown reason. No scientific confirmation has been found to date. Some historians argue that this legend is just folk fiction and an attempt to explain the origin of the winged expression. The main evidence of the existence two millennia ago of the prosperous country of Phrygia is the ruins of the oldest cities found in the territory of modern Turkey (namely, according to myths, the Phrygians lived).

In the notion of modern man, a "gordian knot" is called a difficult, impossible task, and it is impossible to achieve a solution in the standard way. To sever the Gordian knot means to find an extraordinary creative solution to this problem.