Alexander the Great
The Macedonian king who conquered most of the known world before he was thirty-three — and then died.
Origin
Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BCE) was tutored by Aristotle, inherited his father's army at twenty, and in a single decade smashed the Persian Empire and pushed all the way to the Indus. Legend says he cut the Gordian knot — a famously unsolvable tangle — by drawing his sword and slicing through it, fulfilling the prophecy that whoever undid it would rule Asia. He died of fever in Babylon at thirty-two; his generals carved up the empire and his name became the template for ambition.
Modern usage
'Cut the Gordian knot' is the canonical phrase for solving a stuck problem by force instead of finesse. 'Are you an Alexander?' is a serious bar for any young person trying to do too much too fast. He's the patron saint of founders who think speed beats wisdom.
In the wild
Rather than negotiate, she just fired the whole team and started over — cut the Gordian knot.— business press
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