King Midas embracing his daughter

King Midas was a mythical king of Greek Mythology renowned for his great wealth and ability to turn everything he touched to gold. The story as it has come down to us, particularly its reference to the ‘midas’ or ‘golden touch’ has in more recent times, come to be a byword for a winning hand and success. In its original telling however, the story contained a moral lesson, warning of the dangers of an excess of wealth.

The Myth of King Midas and his Golden Touch

In the myth, an old satyr (a male nature spirit) called Silenus, who having wandered off from the company of the army he was travelling with, was discovered drunk in the king’s rose garden. He was taken before King Midas, where he entertained him with fantastic stories about a mysterious island continent across the Ocean and a dangerous whirlpool which blocked the way of travellers. 

Being thus entertained, King Midas kept the satyr’s company for many days and nights and was then returned to the god Dionysus. Dionysius being greatly impressed with his kind treatment of Silenus, granted Midas a wish. King Midas, already a very wealthy ruler immediately responded, “Pray grant that all I touch be turned into gold” (Graves, 1960). 

Eager to put his new skill to the test, Midas began touching things about him — a stone and flowers turned to gold before him. When he mounted his lofty steed, it too turned to gold and became as lifeless as a statue. As he entered the doorway of his palace, his long robes touched the side of the door, at which they too became gold (Cartwright, 2013).

Most unsettling of all, when Midas sat down to eat, at the touch of his fingers and mouth the food and drink before him turned to solid gold. Midas, now miserable and dying of thirst and hunger, realised his mistake and begged the god Dionysus to free him of this horrible curse. Dionysus, highly amused, told Midas to travel to the river Pactolus, where he could wash away the curse. Once there, Midas dived into the river and was relieved of his ‘golden touch’.

Hawthorne Adds a Tragic Touch

Perhaps the most tragic touch was added by the nineteenth century American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. In his book ‘A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys‘ (1852), he includes a part where King Midas embraces his distraught daughter, who had come to him upset the roses in the garden had lost their scent, only to have her turn to gold in his helpless arms (see above illustration). 

Historical Connections

Some scholars have identified the mythical King Midas with an 8th Century BC King of Phrygia, known as Mita of the Mushki. This Midas is said to have ruled Phrygia (Modern Turkey) until it was sacked by the Cimmerians. Assyrian texts of the time also mention a Mita believed by scholars to be the same Midas of Phrygia. The Greek historian Herodotus also records a Midas, King of Phrygia, who made offerings including a throne to the oracle of Delphi in Greece.

The Midas Monument, a Phrygian tomb dedicated to Midas (Source: Wikipedia)

We cannot be certain whether this historical Mita or Midas was the same Midas of Greek Mythology, nevertheless this does not detract from the powerful message of the myth.

Sources:
Cartwright, M. (2013, October 29). Midas. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/midas/