Heraklas facts for kids
Heraklas (Greek: Ἡρακλᾶς) was an ancient Greek doctor who lived around the 1st century AD. He was very good at describing how to tie different kinds of knots and slings. These were used by surgeons to help patients. His detailed descriptions are found in a large medical book called Medical Collections, written by another doctor named Oribasius.
Heraklas wrote about 16 different knots and slings in great detail. One of his most interesting descriptions is the earliest known written account of a string figure. String figures are patterns made by looping string around the fingers, like "Cat's Cradle."
Later, during the Renaissance (a period of great art and learning), people added drawings to Heraklas's writings. However, experts who study knots today have found that many of these old drawings have mistakes or don't quite show what Heraklas meant.
Heraklas's Knots and Their Modern Names
Today, we understand Heraklas's knots mostly thanks to the work of experts like Hjalmar Öhrvall, Lawrence G. Miller, and Cyrus L. Day. They carefully studied his writings to figure out which modern knots matched his descriptions. Sometimes, there are still small differences in how people interpret them.
The table below shows the knots that experts believe Heraklas described. It lists the original Greek name, what that name means, and what we call the knot today.
| Chapter | Greek name | Translated name | Modern equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ertos brokhos | threaded noose | cow hitch |
| II | nautikos brokhos | nautical noose | clove hitch |
| III | khiestos brokhos | crossed noose | overhand noose |
| IV | boukolikos brokhos or sandalios brokhos | pastoral noose or sandal noose | overhand noose variation |
| V | drakon brokhos | dragon noose | overhand noose variation |
| VI | haploun hamma brokhos | single knot noose | (No modern name) |
| VII | lykos brokhos | wolf noose | reef knot |
| VIII | herakleotikon hamma | Hercules knot | reef knot |
| IX | haplous karkhesios brokhos | single jug-sling noose | "true lover's knot" (ABOK #1038) |
| X–XII | diplous karkhesios brokhos | double jug-sling noose | bottle sling |
| XIII | tetrakyklos plinthios brokhos | four-looped rectangular noose | String figure, "The sun clouded over" |
| XIV | epankylotos brokhos | interlooped noose | Tom fool's knot |
| XV | ota brokhos | ears noose | (No modern name) |
| XVI | diankylos brokhos | two-looped noose | (No modern name) |
| XVII | ankhon brokhos | strangler noose | true lover's knot (ABOK #1038) |
| XVIII | hyperbatos brokhos | transposed noose | clove hitch |
See also
In Spanish: Heraclas para niños
