, a
Phrygian rock-cut tomb dedicated to Midas (700 BCE) There are many, and often contradictory, legends about the most ancient King Midas. In one, Midas was king of
Pessinus, a city of
Phrygia, who as a child was adopted by King
Gordias and
Cybele, the
goddess whose consort he was, and who (by some accounts) was the goddess-mother of Midas himself. Some accounts place the youth of Midas in
Macedonian Bermion (see
Bryges). In
Thracian Mygdonia,
Herodotus referred to a wild rose garden at the foot of
Mount Bermion as "the garden of Midas son of Gordias, where roses grow of themselves, each bearing sixty blossoms and of surpassing fragrance". Herodotus says elsewhere that Phrygians lived in ancient Europe, where they were known as
Bryges, and the existence of the garden implies that Herodotus believed that Midas lived prior to a Phrygian migration to Anatolia. According to some accounts, Midas had a son,
Lityerses, the demonic reaper of men. According to other accounts he had a son named
Anchurus.
Arrian gives an alternative story of the descent and life of Midas. According to him, Midas was the son of Gordios, a poor peasant, and a
Telmissian maiden of the prophetic race. When Midas grew up to be a handsome and valiant man, the Phrygians were harassed by civil discord, and consulting the oracle, they were told that a wagon would bring them a king, who would put an end to their discord. While they were still deliberating, Midas arrived with his father and mother, and stopped near the assembly, wagon and all. They, comparing the oracular response with this occurrence, decided that this was the person whom the god told them the wagon would bring. They therefore appointed Midas king and he, putting an end to their discord, dedicated his father's wagon in the citadel as a thank-offering to Zeus the king. In addition to this the following saying was current concerning the wagon, that whosoever could loosen the cord of the yoke of this wagon, was destined to gain the rule of Asia. This someone was to be
Alexander the Great. In other versions of the legend, it was Midas's father
Gordias who arrived humbly in the cart and made the
Gordian Knot. Herodotus said that a "Midas son of Gordias" made an offering to the
Oracle of Delphi of a royal throne "from which he made judgments" that were "well worth seeing", and that this Midas was the only foreigner to make an offering to Delphi before
Gyges of Lydia. The historical Midas of the 8th century BCE and
Gyges of Lydia are believed to have been contemporaries, so it seems most likely that Herodotus believed that the throne was donated by the earlier, legendary King Midas. However, some historians believe that this throne was donated by the later, historical King Midas, great-grandfather of
Alyattes of Lydia who was also referred to as Midas after amassing huge wealth from inventing taxable coinage using
electrum sourced from Midas's famed river
Pactolus.
Golden Touch version of the Midas myth, Midas's daughter turns to a golden statue when he touches her (illustration by
Walter Crane for the 1893 edition). One day, as
Ovid relates in
Metamorphoses XI,
Dionysus found that his old schoolmaster and foster father, the
satyr Silenus, was missing. The old satyr had been drinking wine and wandered away drunk, to be found by some Phrygian
peasants who carried him to their king, Midas (alternatively, Silenus passed out in Midas's rose garden). Midas recognized him and treated him hospitably, entertaining him for ten days and nights with politeness, while Silenus delighted Midas and his friends with stories and songs. On the eleventh day, he took Silenus back to Dionysus in
Lydia. Dionysus offered Midas his choice of whatever reward he wished for. Midas asked that whatever he might touch should be changed into
gold. Midas rejoiced in his new power, which he hastened to put to the test. He touches an oak twig and a stone; both turned to gold. Overjoyed, as soon as he got home, he touched every rose in the rose garden, and all became gold. He ordered the servants to set a feast on the table. Upon discovering how even the food and drink turned into gold in his hands, he regretted his wish and cursed it.
Claudian states in his
In Rufinum: "So Midas, king of Lydia, swelled at first with pride when he found he could transform everything he touched to gold; but when he beheld his food grow rigid and his drink harden into golden ice then he understood that this gift was a bane and in his loathing for gold, cursed his prayer." In a version told by
Nathaniel Hawthorne in
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (1852), Midas's daughter, Marygold, came to him, upset about the roses that had lost their fragrance and become hard, and when he reached out to comfort her, he found that when he touched his daughter, she turned to gold as well. Now, Midas hated the gift he had coveted. He prayed to Dionysus, begging to be delivered from starvation. Dionysus heard his prayer, and consented; telling Midas to wash in the river
Pactolus. Then, whatever he put into the water would be reversed of the touch. Midas did so, and when he touched the waters, the power flowed into the river, and the river sands turned into gold. This explained why the
river Pactolus was so rich in gold and
electrum, and the wealth of the dynasty of
Alyattes of Lydia claiming Midas as its forefather no doubt the impetus for this
origin myth. Gold was perhaps not the only metallic source of Midas's riches: "King Midas, a Phrygian, son of
Cybele, first discovered black and white lead". However, according to
Aristotle, legend held that Midas eventually died of starvation as a result of his "vain prayer" for the gold touch, the curse never being lifted.
Ears of a donkey Midas, now hating wealth and splendor, moved to the country and became a worshipper of
Pan, the god of the fields and satyrs. Roman mythographers asserted that his tutor in music was
Orpheus. , dated 740 BCE Once, Pan had the audacity to compare his music with that of
Apollo, and challenged Apollo to a trial of skill (also see
Marsyas).
Tmolus, the mountain-god, was chosen as
umpire. Pan blew on his pipes and, with his rustic melody, gave great satisfaction to himself and his faithful follower, Midas, who happened to be present. Then Apollo struck the strings of his lyre. Tmolus at once awarded the victory to Apollo, and all but one agreed with the judgment. Midas dissented, and questioned the justice of the award. Apollo would not suffer such a depraved pair of ears any longer, and said "Must have ears of an ass!", which caused Midas's ears to become those of a
donkey. The myth is illustrated by two paintings,
"Apollo and Marsyas" by
Palma il Giovane (1544–1628), one depicting the scene before, and one after, the punishment. Midas was mortified at this mishap. He attempted to hide his misfortune under an ample
turban or headdress, but his
barber of course knew the secret, so was told not to mention it. However, the barber could not keep the secret. He went out into a meadow, dug a hole in the ground, whispered the story into it, then covered the hole up. A thick bed of reeds later sprang up from the covered up hole, and began whispering the story, saying "King Midas has an ass's ears". Some sources, such as
Plutarch, say that Midas committed suicide by drinking
bull's blood, a powdered crystal substance which was used in the ancient world as pigment for red paint, but very toxic due to its high level of arsenic. Sarah Morris demonstrated (Morris, 2004) that donkeys' ears were a Bronze Age royal attribute, borne by King
Tarkasnawa (Greek Tarkondemos) of
Mira, on a seal inscribed in both
Hittite cuneiform and
Luwian hieroglyphs. In this connection, the myth would appear for Greeks to justify the exotic attribute. The stories of the contests with Apollo of Pan and Marsyas were very often confused, so
Titian's
Flaying of Marsyas includes a figure of Midas (who may be a self-portrait), though his ears seem normal.
Similar myths in other cultures In pre-Islamic legend of Central Asia, the king of the Ossounes of the
Yenisei basin had
donkey's ears. He would hide them, and order each of his barbers murdered to hide his secret. The last barber among his people was counselled to whisper the heavy secret into a well after sundown, but he didn't cover the well afterwards. The well water rose and flooded the kingdom, creating the waters of
Lake Issyk-Kul. According to an Irish legend, the king
Labraid Loingsech had horse/donkeys's ears, something he was concerned to keep quiet. He had his hair cut once a year, and the barber, who was chosen by lot, was immediately put to death. A widow, hearing that her only son had been chosen to cut the king's hair, begged the king not to kill him, and he agreed, so long as the barber kept his secret. The burden of the secret was so heavy that the barber fell ill. A
druid advised him to go to a crossroads and tell his secret to the first tree he came to, and he would be relieved of his burden and be well again. He told the secret to a large
willow. Soon after this, however, a harper named Craiftine broke his instrument, and made a new one out of the very willow the barber had told his secret to. Whenever he played it, the harp sang "Labraid Lorc has horse's ears". Labraid repented of all the barbers he had put to death and admitted his secret. In Ireland, at Loch Ine, West Cork, there is a similar story told of the inhabitant of its island, who had ass's ears. Anyone engaged to cut this King's hair was then put to death. But the reeds (in the form of a musical flute) spoke of them and the secret was out. The myth is also known in
Brittany where the king
Mark of Cornwall is believed to have ruled the south-western region of Cornouaille. Chasing a white doe, he loses his best horse ''Morvarc'h
(Seahorse'') when the doe kills it with an arrow thrown by Mark. Trying to kill the doe, he is cursed by
Dahut, a magician who lives under the sea. She gives life to Morvarc'h back but switches his ears and mane with Mark's ears and hair. Worried that the word might get out, Mark hides in his castle and kills every barber that comes to cut his hair until his milk brother Yeun is the last barber alive in Cornouaille. He promises to let him live if Yeun keeps the secret and Yeun cuts his hairs with a magical pair of scissors. The secret is too heavy for Yeun though and he goes to a beach to dig a hole and tell his secret in it. When he leaves, three reeds appear. Years later, when Mark's sister marries, the musicians are unable to play for the reeds of their bagpipes and bombards have been stolen by
korrigans. They find three reeds on the beach and use them to make new ones, but the music instruments, instead of playing music, only sing "The King Mark has the ears and the mane of his horse Morvarc'h on his head" and Mark departs never to be seen again. == Midas (8th century BCE) ==