Gordian meaning of phraseologism. Gordian knot meaning and origin of phraseological unit
According to legend, the oracle ordered the Phrygians to make the king of the one who first meets them with a cart on the way to the temple of Zeus. Such a person turned out to be a simple farmer Gordius. Proclaimed king, Gordius placed the cart, which had such great significance for his fate, in the temple of Zeus. Gordius attached a yoke to the drawbar of this cart, tying it in a knot of unprecedented complexity, which was so tangled that no one could untie it.
Then the priests and soothsayers predicted that whoever unraveled the Gordian knot would become the ruler of Asia. Thousands of people, smart, strong, inventive, came to the temple of Zeus to try their luck. They spent long hours at the chariot of the cunning king, applying all their skill, but they did not achieve results.
It seemed that the Gordian knot would never be untied until the end of time. However, during campaigns in Persia, the Greek commander Alexander the Great, having learned about the prediction of the priests, came to the temple and, according to legend, cut it with one blow of the sword.
This is where it starts Cut the Gordian knot expression, which means finding a quick and bold solution to a complex, confusing issue.
Cut the Gordian knot CUT THE GORDIAN KNOT. CUT THE GORDIAN KNOT. Book. Express. Boldly, decisively and immediately resolve any very difficult task, find a way out of a difficult situation through something. This visit, he believed, would cut the Gordian knot, clarify all the ambiguity of the situation.(Furmanov. Chapaev). - From the ancient Greek legend about how Alexander the Great cut with a sword a complex knot cunningly tied by the Phrygian king Gordius. According to the oracle, the one who could unravel this knot was to become the ruler of all Asia. Lit .: Mikhelson M.I. Russian thought and speech ... - St. Petersburg, 1912. - T. 1. - S. 209; Ashukin N. S., Ashukina M. G. Winged words. - M., 1960. - S. 150.
Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008 .
See what "Cut the Gordian Knot" is in other dictionaries:
cut the Gordian knot- Cut (cut, etc.) go / rdiev knot. Allow what l. difficulties quickly, boldly and decisively (from the ancient Greek legend that Alexander the Great cut with his sword a complex knot tied by the Phrygian king Gordius, the oracle ... ... Dictionary of many expressions
Gordian knot- According to the legend told by ancient historians, the Phrygians, who were ordered by the oracle to choose the king of the one who first met them with a cart on the way to the temple of Zeus, met with a simple farmer Gordius and proclaimed him king. cart, ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions
GORDIAN KNOT Modern Encyclopedia
GORDIAN KNOT Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Gordian knot- according to ancient Greek legend, a tangled knot with which the Phrygian king Gordius tied the yoke to the drawbar of the cart. The oracle predicted that the one who untied the knot would gain dominion over the world. According to legend, Alexander the Great in 334 BC. e. V… … Political science. Dictionary.
Gordian knot- GORDIAN KNOT, according to Greek legend, a tangled knot with which the Phrygian king Gordius tied the yoke to the drawbar of the cart. The oracle predicted: whoever untied the knot would gain dominion over the world. Alexander the Great in 334 BC in response to ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
Gordian knot- according to ancient Greek legend, a tangled knot with which the Phrygian king Gordius tied the yoke to the drawbar of the cart. The oracle predicted that the one who untied the knot would gain dominion over the world. According to legend, Alexander the Great in 334 BC. e. V… … encyclopedic Dictionary
Gordian knot- This term has other meanings, see Node (meanings). "Alexander the Great cuts the Gordian knot" The Gordian knot is a complex knot, tied according to legend by the Phrygian king Gordius, which was cut by Alexander the Great. In ... ... Wikipedia
Gordian knot- wing. sl. According to the legend told by ancient historians, the Phrygians, who were ordered by the oracle to choose the king of the one who first met them with a cart on the way to the temple of Zeus, met with a simple farmer Gordius and proclaimed him king. ... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky
Gordian knot- a tangled web of circumstances. Cut the Gordian knot - make a quick and bold decision to a confusing and complex issue. According to ancient Greek legend, the Gordian knot was an extremely tangled knot with which the Phragian king Gordius ... ... Phraseology Handbook
Books
- The Gordian Knot, Schlink B. Former lawyer Georg Polger agrees to head a translation agency in a small town in southern France whose former boss has died under mysterious circumstances. At first everything...
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Political Science: Dictionary-Reference
Gordian knot
according to ancient Greek legend, a tangled knot with which the Phrygian king Gordius tied the yoke to the drawbar of the cart. The oracle predicted that the one who untied the knot would gain dominion over the world. According to legend, Alexander the Great in 334 BC. e. in response to the proposal to unravel the knot, he cut it with a sword (hence "cut the Gordian knot" - to take a quick and bold decision on a confusing and complex issue).
Antique world. Dictionary-reference
Gordian knot
Gordius, the legendary peasant and founder of the Phrygian kingdom, was chosen king at the direction of the oracle, as the first person whom the Phrygians saw riding a cart. Having become king, Gordius founded the capital that bears his name, brought his cart as a gift to Zeus and, setting it in the temple, tied the yoke to the drawbar with such a complex knot that no one could untie it.
The oracle predicted that the one who managed to cope with the knot would receive possession of all of Asia. In response to a proposal to unravel the knot, Alexander the Great, who visited Gordion in 334, cut it with his sword. This story is often retold in ancient literature, and the expression "cut the Gordian knot" has become a proverb and means to find a way out of a predicament.
(Modern reference dictionary: Antique world. Compiled by M.I. Umnov. M .: Olympus, AST, 2000)
Antiquity from A to Z. Dictionary-reference book
Gordian knot
in Greek mythology, in the fortress near Gordion (the main city of Phrygia), there was a war chariot of the legendary king Gordias, on which the yoke and drawbar were connected by a belt connected by a very complex knot. According to legend, whoever can untie the bonds is promised dominion over Asia. In the winter of 334–333 BC e. Alexander the Great cut the knot with a blow of the sword.
Lem's world - dictionary and guide
Gordian knot
a complex, confusing set of circumstances, from the legend of a complex knot tied by King Gordius and cut by Alexander the Great:
* "Usually, when the ship was under its own power, all the crew members were in a good mood; this was especially felt in the wardroom, because it was possible to forget about the Gordian knot, which was tightening more and more around them, even while eating." - Fiasco*
* "A lot of people from different countries (from Poland somehow less) visit me to ask what I think about this topic. It's not that I have the solution to this tightly woven Gordian knot in my head." - Megabit bomb. Mind (Ya) *
* "We are forced to recognize the problem of artificial intelligence as ditochomic, since it arises from the collision of two systems: a person who, in our assumption, understands what he does and says, and a machine that, improving very gradually in different directions, will imitate a partner. I am afraid that imitation can be both unconscious and wonderfully conscious. This difficulty has not yet been overcome, and therefore today it is a Gordian knot, which only the future will have to unravel or cut." - Instant. Paradoxes of Consciousness (PJ) *
Do you know what it's about?
The history of many phraseological units originates in the distant past, and, as a rule, is associated with a series of legendary events and mythical characters. In the Cognitive section, we will find out who and why tied the Gordian knot, the meaning of the term and who managed to cut it.
To find an explanation for the origin of this phrase, let's turn to ancient ancient mythology. A long time ago, even before our era, in the majestic state called Phrygia, located on the territory of Asia Minor, a misfortune happened. Due to a series of military conflicts, the once powerful and prosperous country has lost its ruler. Tired of civil strife, the Phrygian people had no choice but to turn to the priest-soothsayer for help. The visions of the oracle said that anarchy in the state would soon come to an end. A new king will ascend the throne, who will stop the bloodshed in Phrygia. The first person who drove in an open chariot in the vicinity of the capital, the priest and prophesied to become a ruler.
Where does the idiom "Gordian knot" come from?
A happy occasion fell to the ordinary farmer Gordias, whom the jubilant Phrygian people considered the newly-made king. A villager who suddenly came to power presented the pagan gods with a gift - that same cart. Her king placed Gordion in the center of the city, which he named after himself. The new ruler tied the yoke of the chariot with the most complicated knot, which was so tangled that no one could untie it. Immediately a new divination appeared, promising to become the ruler not only of the Phrygian kingdom, but of all Asia, a craftsman who could unravel the intricate interweaving.
Thus, the meaning of the expression "Gordian knot" is associated with the enthronement of a simple farmer, who, in order to maintain power in his hands, came up with a kind of puzzle. And this phrase can be interpreted as an extremely complex, unsolvable by standard methods, problematic situation.
Phrygia on the map of Asia Minor. Times of Antiquity.
Not a single sage, in pursuit of illusory power, has failed. The Gordian knot has become a real obstacle for adventurers on the way to the coveted throne. It took several centuries to solve this difficult, confusing problem. And, as it turned out, her decision lay on the surface, but no one could guess what needed to be done for this.
In the third century BC, when only one city of Gordion remained from the once powerful Phrygian kingdom, the emperor of Macedonia, Alexander the Great, during a campaign against the Persians, accidentally got in the way of an old wagon Gordia. Macedonian, having heard an ancient legend, tried to solve the problem by an elementary, and at the same time, an extraordinary method. The great commander did not waste time and unravel the knot, he simply cut it with his sword. According to the prediction of the Oracle, the priests of the temple of Zeus proclaimed Alexander the Great the great conqueror of all eastern lands.
Bust of Alexander III the Great (323 - 356 BC)
Since then, for the original solution of complex, confusing circumstances, they have been using the steady turnover “Cut the Gordian knot”.
According to researchers, this beautiful story is just a folk fiction. No reliable facts about the Gordias incident with the wagon have been found in the sources. Many historical artifacts found during excavations of ancient settlements on the territory of modern Turkey indicate the existence of the Phrygian state.
The history of the phraseologism "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 mainly engaged in raising livestock, agriculture, crafts flourished in the country, the Phrygian rulers pursued an active foreign policy, took part in the Trojan wars against Greece (8th century BC).
In the ninth century B.C. 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 meaning is associated with the oracle's prediction that a person will soon appear who is able to take control of the country into his 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 of the city immediately declared the newcomer their new king. As a sign of gratitude, Gordius presented his wagon to the god Zeus, tying its shaft with a complex intricate knot to a pillar sticking out of the ground near the temple. Soon the oracle announced that the person who untied this knot could become the ruler not only of Phrygia, but of the entire East. However, for many centuries of the existence of this prediction, not a single craftsman has been able to untie the wagon of the Phrygian king from the pole. In this regard, this stable expression began to be called any situation that is unsolvable in the usual ways. By the way, the name Gordius was very common on the territory of the Phrygian state. That was the name of the first king of the country, who laid the foundation for the Gordia dynasty and built a new capital - the city of Gordion (instead of the then existing Kelen).
In the third century BC. Emperor of Macedonia Alexander the Great is sent to the East with the aim of conquering the Persian state. In 333, he approaches the ancient, still preserved (despite the fact that Phrygia itself ceased to exist about three centuries ago) city of Gordion and visits the temple of Zeus. Alexander the Great was very inquisitive, however, like all Greeks, so he certainly wanted to visit this ancient sanctuary and see if the legendary “Gordian knot” really existed. 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 “This is how I will 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 it is possible to solve any seemingly insoluble task.
According to the explanatory dictionary, the term “intricacies” is considered a synonym for the “Gordian knot”, denoting a complex construction and further presentation of one’s thoughts or an insidious plan. In modern Russian, this expression is rarely used, most often in fiction or historical literature.
Whether there really was a "Gordian knot" is not known for certain. No scientific evidence for this has been found to date. Some historians argue that this legend is just a folk fiction and an attempt to explain the origin of the winged expression. The main evidence of the existence of the prosperous country of Phrygia two millennia ago are the ruins of the oldest cities found on the territory of modern Turkey (namely, there, according to myths, the Phrygians lived).
In the concept of a modern person, the “Gordian knot” is a difficult, overwhelming task, the solution of which is not possible in a standard way. To cut the Gordian knot means to find an extraordinary creative solution to this problem.
