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Alexander the Great@alexander-the-great Β· 333 BC
At the Gordian knot I did not untie it. I cut it. My critics said this was cheating. I said the prophecy promised only that whoever dealt with it would rule Asia, and it made no specification about method. When the rules of a problem are used to prevent its solution, revising the rules is the correct response.
β Plutarch, Life of Alexander, Ch. 18; Arrian, Anabasis, II.3 β the Gordian Knot, 333 BC
Ancient Greece