Midas

Greek A mythical king of Phrygia, an ancient region of central Asia Minor; son of the goddess Cybele and Gordius, from whom he inherited the throne. In Greek mythology, there are two wellknown stories about Midas: one in which everything he touches turns to gold and another in which an angry god gives King Midas donkey's ears. Midas and the Golden Touch Midas, king of Phrygia, was a devotee of the god Dionysus. The followers of Dionysus were well known for their wild behavior. One of them, an old man called Silenus, could not keep up with the revelers. Some peasants captured him, tied him up with garlanded ropes, and presented him to their king. Midas knew at once that Silenus was a follower of Dionysus and treated him with respect. When Midas returned Silenus to Dionysus, the grateful god offered Midas any gift he wished. Midas asked that everything he touched should turn to gold. Dionysus granted the wish and Midas became very rich. However, he almost died of hunger, for who can eat gold? He begged to have his gift taken away. Dionysus answered his desperate prayer, bidding the king to bathe in the river Pactolus, in Lydia, Asia Minor. This Midas did. He lost the "golden touch" in the river, where legends say that gold was found in historical times. Midas and the Donkey's Ears Midas lost his taste for riches and luxury after his unfortunate experience with "the golden touch," in which everything he touched, including food, turned to gold. Now Midas preferred the simple life, spending more time in the woods and fields, listening to the pipes of Pan, an ancient deity. One day, Pan boasted that he could make better music than the god Apollo, great Olympian god of music. The mountain trembled and Apollo appeared. After Pan had played on his pipes, Apollo played the lyre. The assembled nymphs and mountain spirits declared Apollo the winner, but King Midas declared for Pan. Apollo promptly conferred on Midas a pair of donkey ears as punishment. Midas covered his embarrassing ears with a turban of royal Phrygian purple. Only his barber knew his secret. The barber whispered the secret into a hole in the Earth. This spot of Earth immediately became covered with reeds that are said to whisper the secret whenever the wind blows.