alexander

124 THE WISDOM OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
important to stress that in this case historians really do not
know the facts. I am speculating based strictly upon more
modern re-creations of the knot and common sense.) The
knot was undone. The question is whether it was untied or
cut. One version of the story is that Alexander figured out
how to pull a pin out of the midst of the knot and undo it.
But modern reproductions of the knot show that the way it
is tied, it cannot be untied. (The bark is folded under itself
while wet, and when it dries, it is impossible to move it at
all, let alone manipulate it to untie it.) Therefore, the second
version—wherein Alexander got frustrated, drew his
sword, and cut the Gordian knot—is the more likely version.
Regardless of what happened, his PR machine let it be
known that Alexander had untied the knot.
Incidentally, that night there was thunder and lightning.
Alexander’s entourage felt that this activity supported the
belief that he had fulfilled the legacy of the knot. Note that
the truth is irrelevant. All that matters is what the entourage,
and, subsequently, history, felt was true.
Inferences and Allegations
Alexander created a new symbolic reality, one that sanctioned
his invasion and conquest. The expediency of using
his public relations machine to convey what he wanted to
be true was all that was required.
Leading Lessons
It is tempting to place tongue in cheek and assert that sometimes
it takes a sword to cut through bureaucratic inertia.