(April 25, 2022 at 11:16 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote:(April 25, 2022 at 8:25 pm)polymath257 Wrote: Later, Alexander the Great tried to untie the knot, but got so frustrated that he took out his sword and sliced through it. When he later conquered a good part of the known world, it was decided that he solved the knot in the right way.
What I find interesting is that a historical figure comes along and participates in a myth.
Exactly. It was *common* in the ancient world for the link between legend ad history to be blurry, at best. Part of the reason for this is that the study of history was regarded as a way of teaching moral lessons, not just as relating facts about the past. The important information was the moral story, not the details of events. Also, the further into the past, the more stories started to adhere.
For example, when Julius Caesar was contemplating crossing the Rubicon and starting a civil war, it is said that the God Pan appeared and lead the way across the river. In other words, the gods were giving their endorsement to his action.
