Definition: One of the legends about Alexander the Great is that when he was in Gordium, in Turkey, in 333, he undid the Gordian Knot. The prophecy about the Gordian knot was that the person who untied it would rule all of Asia. Alexander the Great is said to have undone the knot by slashing through it with a sword or, according to Aristobulus, by pulling out a yoke pin that was in the center of the knot. The man who tied the knot is disputed, too. It is believed to have been either Midas of golden touch fame or his father Gordius.
Source: "Alexander, Midas, and the Oracle at Gordium," by Ernest A. Fredricksmeyer. Classical Philology, Vol. 56, No. 3. (Jul., 1961), pp. 160-168.
