Gordian Knot

The legendary Gordian Knot was either a knot of rope or similar material existing alone, or a knot which tied the components of a yoke[?] of a chariot. The Gordian Knot was supposedly tied by Gordius, a peasant who was made a king by the gods after fulfilling an oracular prediction.

Legend had it that whoever untangled the knot would rule the world.

According to legend, Alexander the Great was compelled during his campaign in Asia Minor to go out of his way to visit the home of the Gordian Knot. Alexander is described by historians such as Quintus Curtius Rufus[?] and Arrian as disposing of the knot with a stroke of his sword (the so-called "Alexandrian solution").