Heraklas

Heraklas' sling XIII, the plinthios brokhos is produced in the same manner as a string figure. This example is formed in a doubled cord for better visibility.

The diplous karkhesios brokhos or the modern bottle sling

The epankylotos brokhos or the modern Tom fool's knot

Heraklas (Greek: Ἡρακλᾶς) was a Greek physician of the 1st century AD whose descriptions of surgeons' knots and slings are preserved in book 48 of Oribasius' Medical Collections (Ἰατρικαὶ Συναγωγαί, Iatrikai Synagogai) under the title From Heraklas.^[1]

Describing them in detail, Heraklas discussed 16 different knots and slings,^[1] including the earliest known written account of a string figure.^[2] Accompanying illustrations of the knots were added later by Renaissance copyists, but modern analysis of the writings by knot experts has shown many of these early drawings to contain significant errors or misinterpretations.^[3]

The knots identified

The current understanding of Heraklas' knots results primarily from analysis and identification by Hjalmar Öhrvall, Lawrence G. Miller, and Cyrus L. Day, although slightly differing interpretations and refinements continue to be made.^[1] The table below shows the knots believed to have been described by Heraklas.

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^[4]
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"^[5]
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)^[6]
XVIII	hyperbatos brokhos	transposed noose	clove hitch^[7]

Notes and references

1 2 3 Hage, J. Joris (April 2008), "Heraklas on Knots: Sixteen Surgical Nooses and Knots from the First Century A.D.", World Journal of Surgery 32 (4), pp. 648–655, doi:10.1007/s00268-007-9359-x, PMID 18224483, retrieved 2009-07-15
↑ Miller, Lawrence G. (1945), "The Earliest (?) Description of a String Figure", American Anthropologist, New Series 47 (3): 461–462, doi:10.1525/aa.1945.47.3.02a00190
↑ Day, Cyrus L. (1967), Quipus and Witches' Knots, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, pp. 86–89, 101–151
↑ Although topologically identical, it is used in a different manner than "VII, Hercules knot". Specifically the bound object (e.g. a limb) is placed in the center of the reef knot.
↑ See Caroline Furness Jayne's String Figures and How to Make Them (1906), p. 383, Roth Plate X, 1. and discussion p. 162. N. B. Miller (1945) correctly points out the difference of a single crossing in Jayne's fig. 359, p 161.
↑ Although topologically identical, it is used in a different manner than "IX, single jug-sling noose".
↑ Although topologically identical, it is used in a different manner than "II, nautical noose".

Knots

By type

Bends	Adjustable bend Albright special Alpine butterfly bend Ashley's bend Basket weave knot Beer knot Blood knot Carrick bend Double fisherman's knot Fisherman's knot Flemish bend Grief knot Halyard bend Harness bend Heaving line bend Hunter's bend Nail knot One-sided overhand bend Racking bend Sheet bend Shoelace knot Shroud knot Simple Simon under Single carrick bend Surgeon's knot Surgeon's loop Triple fisherman's knot True lover's knot Water knot Zeppelin bend Zeppelin loop

Binding	Boa knot Bottle sling Constrictor knot Corned beef knot Granny knot Ground-line hitch Jamming knot Miller's knot Packer's knot Reef knot Strangle knot Thief knot Transom knot

Climbing	Alpine butterfly knot Autoblock Bachmann knot Beer knot Bowline on a bight Directional figure eight Double anchorman knot Double bowline Farmer's loop Figure-eight knot Figure-eight loop Figure-of-nine loop Friction hitch Klemheist knot Munter hitch Overhand loop Prusik Trident loop Yosemite bowline

Coils	Alpine coil Butterfly coil

Decorative	Carrick mat Chinese button knot Celtic button knot Diamond knot Fiador knot Friendship knot Matthew Walker knot Turk's head knot Wall and crown knot

Fishing (angling)	Angler's loop Arbor knot Bimini twist Blood knot Fisherman's knot Half blood knot Improved clinch knot Knotless knot Nail knot Palomar knot Snell knot Trilene knot Triple fisherman's knot Turle knot Uni knot

Hitches	Adjustable grip hitch Anchor bend Axle hitch Bachmann knot Bale sling hitch Barrel hitch Becket hitch Blackwall hitch Blake's hitch Boom hitch Buntline hitch Cat's paw Clove hitch Cow hitch Double overhand noose Falconer's knot Farrimond friction hitch Friction hitch Garda hitch Gripping Sailor's hitch Ground-line hitch Half hitch Halter hitch Highpoint hitch Highwayman's hitch Hitching tie Icicle hitch Improved clinch knot Killick hitch Knute hitch Lobster buoy hitch Marlinespike hitch Munter hitch Ossel hitch Pile hitch Snuggle hitch Swing hitch Taut-line hitch Timber hitch

Loop	Angler's loop Artillery loop Bale sling hitch Bowline Bumper knot Carrick bend loop Cowboy bowline Diamond knot Double bowline Dropper loop Eskimo bowline Fiador knot Fireman's chair knot Friendship knot loop Halter hitch Handcuff knot Honda knot Jury mast knot Overhand loop Portuguese bowline Rigid double splayed loop in the bight Slippery eight loop Span loop Spanish bowline Tom fool's knot Trident loop Triple bowline Triple crown knot Water bowline Yosemite bowline Zeppelin loop

Running (slip)	Hangman's knot Running bowline Running highwayman's hitch Slip knot Tarbuck knot

Shanks	Catshank Dogshank Sheepshank

Stopper	Ashley's stopper knot Button knot Double overhand knot Monkey's fist Overhand knot Stevedore knot

Whipping	Common whipping Overhand knot with draw-loop Portuguese whipping Sailmaker's whipping West Country whipping

Lists of knots
Related topics

Lists of knots	Bends Bindings Decorative knots Hitches (friction) Macramé Mathematical

Related topics	Chinese knotting International Guild of Knot Tyers Lashing Rope splicing Seizing

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Heraklas

The knots identified

See also

Notes and references