Everything that he touched becomes Gold: The Legend and Reality of the King Midas

Nearly everyone has heard about the tale of King Midas, a legendary king that turned almost everything he touches to gold. However, how much fable and how much of reality is there about this character? Is there really one King Midas? When there is one, what do we recognize about him?

The Legend of this Golden Touch

King Midas is one protagonist of one of the well known fable of antiquity. It’s a tale that had been reminded by countless of artists and writers, but, this Roman poet Ovid has been that one that gave that full shape to King Midas during his Metamorphoses play. In that play, Ovid told the tale of Midas, the king of Phrygia, the son of Cybele and Gordius.

Based on a version of the myth, after Orpheus death, Dionysus left Thrace. The matured teacher Silenus, who as usual drunk, accompanied Dionysus, but was lost along their way and has been picked up through Phrygian farmers, who had led him to King Midas. This king, who had initiated into a cult of Dionysus has been surprised and rapidly identified the old man, which he held the ten-course banquet to honor Silenus.

He returned him going to Dionysus. Just happy to have the old teacher returned to his side, this god wants to thank the gesticulation and gave King Midas a wish. Then Midas asked that all of the things that he will touch would turn to gold. His wish has been fulfilled and, even though initially it was pleasant to turn apples, roses etc. Into gold, but the very soon that King Midas has been surrounded by bright and luxuriousness then it turned out that he doesn’t have nothing to eat – that whatever touches his lips turned to the precious metal. And even the wine, the gift of Dionysus, turned to liquid gold when he was trying to quench his dryness.

When he realized that he was fated to die of thirst and hunger, Midas begged Dionysus of his freedom from his own golden touch. Then, Dionysus ordered him, “go on and washed your hands at the Pactolus River”, placed in today's Turkey – and where, from then, gold will always there.

Apollo and Pan Have a Musical Fight and Midas was the Donkey

Midas finally discovered that he didn’t need the unlimited richness and usually spent his days at the outside and became a devoted fan of Pan, nature’s god. Pan had attained such ability on a flute that he provoked to challenge the greatest god Apollo, and to discover who is the best player from the. Tmolus, the god of mountain of similar name, will then be their judge of that competition.

Midas was watching them and was wowed by Pan’s performance. Then Apollo played the masterful piece, then Tmolus became convinced that he should declare him as the winner. Everyone agreed with what is the decision aside for Midas, who protested the decision. Then Apollo became so furious with Midas’ ignorance and stupidity, that he touched the head of Midas and cause the ears of king Midas to become a donkey.

The embarrass Midas, since then, decided to cover his head always with a traditional Phrygian headdress. His barber is the only one that knew about his deformity and was bound to privacy. But the secret weight was such that a barber couldn’t resist from saying it somewhere. Thus he created a hole underground where he whispered there that Midas had the ears of donkey, then, he felt better and covered the hole, then went home.

During the point where this barber had murmured reeds grew and then spread the words every time that the wind blew. Finally, everyone knew that the king had now donkey ears. For more legends and myths visit here.