KING MIDAS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
King Midas is one of the most famous kings to appear in stories of Greek mythology, for his tale has been told and retold for hundreds of years, and even today, the name of Midas is one recognised by millions of children.
The Famous King MidasKing Midas is of course the man who had the power to turn everything he touched into gold; and the basic tale, as told today, is of a greedy king, whose wish of a golden touch is granted, but that golden touch causes the downfall of the king, for the king turns his own daughter into gold, and he himself starves when he unable to consume any food or drink.
Thus the story is a metaphor for the dangers of greed, as well as the dangers of getting everything one wishes for. The story has been greatly adapted since the time of the Ancient Greeks though, for in antiquity, Midas did not have a daughter, nor did he starve to death because of his golden touch. |
Midas King of PhrygiaKing Midas is normally named as a King of Phrygia in Greek mythology, and historically the kingdom of Phrygia is located in Asia Minor.
Events in the life story of Midas though, are set in both Asia Minor, Thrace, and Macedonia thus, to reconcile the stories it was said that King Midas and his people once lived around Mount Pieria, where Midas was a follower of Orpheus and his people were known as the Brigians. The king and his populace then moved to Thrace, and then finally onwards, across the Hellespont to Asia Minor. Then the spelling of the Brigians altered to become the Phrygians. This same movement of people is also used to explain why Midas is also named a king of the Mygdonians, a people once of Thrace, when Mygdonia is also a name by which Lydia, in Asia Minor, is also known. In Asia Minor, Midas would become known for founding the city of Ankara, but Midas is not remembered for being a founding king but for his Midas Touch. |
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Midas SOn of Gordias
The story of Midas can be said to begin at a time when the Phrygians were without a king and an oracle proclaimed that the people should make the next man who drove a cart through the main city gate their new king.
Shortly afterwards a man did pass through the gate, a poor farmer by the name of Gordias, who some claim was the last male in the royal family line of the Brigians.
Some tell of Gordias arriving alone, and some tell of his arrival with wife in hand, a woman from Telmossos, and a son, Midas; and of course, Gordias became king. Gordias also gave his name to the Gordian Knot, for he tied his cart to the temple with a knot that could not be undone.
Some tell of Midas’ mother not being the wife of Gordias, but was born to the goddess Cybele, either by Gordias, or by some unnamed man.
In the event that Gordias was not the father, then it was said that Midas was adopted by Gordias and his wife; or else there were two separate kings called Midas, whose mythologies have been combined into one.
Shortly afterwards a man did pass through the gate, a poor farmer by the name of Gordias, who some claim was the last male in the royal family line of the Brigians.
Some tell of Gordias arriving alone, and some tell of his arrival with wife in hand, a woman from Telmossos, and a son, Midas; and of course, Gordias became king. Gordias also gave his name to the Gordian Knot, for he tied his cart to the temple with a knot that could not be undone.
Some tell of Midas’ mother not being the wife of Gordias, but was born to the goddess Cybele, either by Gordias, or by some unnamed man.
In the event that Gordias was not the father, then it was said that Midas was adopted by Gordias and his wife; or else there were two separate kings called Midas, whose mythologies have been combined into one.
The Young Midas
An infrequently told story of King Midas, tells of how when Midas was a babe in his cradle, ants carried grains of wheat into his mouth. This was interpreted as a sign that Midas was destined to be the wealthiest of all kings.
Midas Gains the Golden Touch
In time, the throne of the Phrygians would pass from Gordias to Midas, and the first famous tale of King Midas occurs in the king’s adulthood.
At the time the Greek god Dionysus was preparing to make war with the Indians, and he and his retinue were making their way from Thrace to Phyrgia. One member of Dionysus’ retinue was the satyr Seilenos, who was both companion and tutor the Greek god. |
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Seilenos would find himself in the gardens of King Midas, and there was the want of satyrs, drunk himself into unconsciousness. Later, Seilenos was found by servants of the king, who subsequently took the satyr to their master. Midas made Seilenos welcome in his home, and gave the satyr copious amounts of food and drink, and in return, Seilenos entertained Midas’ family and royal court.
For 10 days Seilenos stayed with King Midas before the king guided the Satyr back to the party of Dionysus. Dionysus was grateful that his tutor had been found and well looked after, and as a thank you, Dionysus decided to grant King Midas a wish.
King Midas did not think too long about his wish, for as most men, Midas treasured gold over everything else, and so King Midas asked Dionysus to make everything the king touched turn into gold.
Dionysus agreed to the request, and gave King Midas the Golden Touch.
For 10 days Seilenos stayed with King Midas before the king guided the Satyr back to the party of Dionysus. Dionysus was grateful that his tutor had been found and well looked after, and as a thank you, Dionysus decided to grant King Midas a wish.
King Midas did not think too long about his wish, for as most men, Midas treasured gold over everything else, and so King Midas asked Dionysus to make everything the king touched turn into gold.
Dionysus agreed to the request, and gave King Midas the Golden Touch.
The Curse of King Midas
Initially, Midas was overjoyed with the gift he had been given, for King Midas turned worthless stones into valuable nuggets of gold. Quickly though, the novelty of the power wore off, and King Midas even began to see problems of his new power, for even his food and drink turned to gold as he touched them.
King Midas chased after Dionysus and his retinue, and the king asked the god to take back the gift so benevolently given. Dionysus was still in a good mood after the return of Seilenos, and so the Greek god told Midas how he could shed himself of the golden touch. Midas was to bathe in the head waters of the River Pactolus, near the foot of Mount Tmolus. This King Midas did, and as he did so his powers left him, but from that day on the River Pactolus was known for carrying an abundance of gold. |
This of course means that King Midas did not die of starvation or dehydration brought about by his golden touch.
Midas and the Contest Between Pan and Apollo
Another famous tale of King Midas, tells of the king’s presence at the musical contest between Apollo and Pan.
Pan had, perhaps unwisely, suggested that his syrinx was a superior musical instrument than the lyre of Apollo; and so the Ourea Tmolus was called upon to decide which instrument was better.
Very quickly the mountain god proclaimed that Apollo and his lyre had won, and it was a decision that all present agreed upon, all that was bar Midas; and King Midas loudly proclaimed the superiority of Pan’s reeds.
This was of course a slight to Apollo, and no god was going to allow a mortal to freely make such judgements. Apollo therefore changed the king’s ears into those of an ass, for only an ass could have failed to recognise the beauty of Apollo’s music.
Pan had, perhaps unwisely, suggested that his syrinx was a superior musical instrument than the lyre of Apollo; and so the Ourea Tmolus was called upon to decide which instrument was better.
Very quickly the mountain god proclaimed that Apollo and his lyre had won, and it was a decision that all present agreed upon, all that was bar Midas; and King Midas loudly proclaimed the superiority of Pan’s reeds.
This was of course a slight to Apollo, and no god was going to allow a mortal to freely make such judgements. Apollo therefore changed the king’s ears into those of an ass, for only an ass could have failed to recognise the beauty of Apollo’s music.
King Midas Has Asses' EarsKing Midas would return to his home, and would seek to hide his transformed ears beneath a Phyrgian cap, or purple turban.
Midas could of course not keep the transformation a secret from all, and the barber who cut the king’s hair had to be aware of the king’s new ears. The barber though, was sworn to secrecy. |
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The barber though felt he had to speak about his secret, but not wishing to break his promise, the barber dug a hole and spoke into it, saying “King Midas has asses’ ears”. The barber then filled the hole in once again. Unfortunately for the barber, from the hole reeds would grow, and subsequently every time the wind blew, the reeds would whisper “King Midas has asses’ ears”, revealing the king’s secret to all in earshot.
The Children of King Midas
It was said that King Midas would later die when he committed suicide, by drinking the blood of an ox, when his kingdom was invaded by the Cimmerians.
Thus, the golden touch did not kill the king, nor did his golden touch transform his daughter, for in the ancient sources King Midas did not have a daughter, but perhaps had one or two sons.
One named son of King Midas was Ankhyros who was famous for his self-sacrifice. A giant sinkhole opened up in Celaenae, and as it grew many homes and people fell into the yawning chasm. King Midas consulted one of the Oracles about how he should deal with the sinkhole, and the king was advised that the hole would close if he threw his most precious possession into it.
King Midas therefore threw various gold and silver objects into the hole, but to no avail. Ankhyros saw his father’s struggle, but with more sense than his father, Ankhyros realised that there was nothing more precious than human life, and so the son of King Midas rode his horse into the hole, which subsequently closed up after him.
Some writers in antiquity also tell of Lityerses being a bastard son of King Midas. Lityerses was one of those ruffians in antiquity who would challenge passers-by to contests, killing those who could not win the contest. In the case of Lityerses, the contest involved harvesting crops, and those that lost would be beheaded by Lityerses. Eventually, the Greek hero Heracles proved to be one of the passers-by, and of course Heracles bested Lityerses in the contest, and so beheaded the son of Midas with his own scythe.
Thus, the golden touch did not kill the king, nor did his golden touch transform his daughter, for in the ancient sources King Midas did not have a daughter, but perhaps had one or two sons.
One named son of King Midas was Ankhyros who was famous for his self-sacrifice. A giant sinkhole opened up in Celaenae, and as it grew many homes and people fell into the yawning chasm. King Midas consulted one of the Oracles about how he should deal with the sinkhole, and the king was advised that the hole would close if he threw his most precious possession into it.
King Midas therefore threw various gold and silver objects into the hole, but to no avail. Ankhyros saw his father’s struggle, but with more sense than his father, Ankhyros realised that there was nothing more precious than human life, and so the son of King Midas rode his horse into the hole, which subsequently closed up after him.
Some writers in antiquity also tell of Lityerses being a bastard son of King Midas. Lityerses was one of those ruffians in antiquity who would challenge passers-by to contests, killing those who could not win the contest. In the case of Lityerses, the contest involved harvesting crops, and those that lost would be beheaded by Lityerses. Eventually, the Greek hero Heracles proved to be one of the passers-by, and of course Heracles bested Lityerses in the contest, and so beheaded the son of Midas with his own scythe.
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