Midas
Midas was a Lydian king of the territory Phrygia. It was believed that Midas built the first temple to Rhea at Pessinus.
The most famous adventure involving Midas is his golden touch. Once, Midas rescued Selenus, who happened to be both a Satyr and a follower of the god Dionysus. Dionysus was so pleased and grateful that he offered Midas anything he wanted. Midas decided that he wanted everything he touched turned to gold. Midas was at first very happy with his ability, but he grew very tired of it quickly. Any food or drink he tried to ingest turned to gold before he could eat it. In some tales, it is said he turned his daughter to gold.
Midas' love of gold soon turned to hate. He begged Dionysus and the gods to remove this curse from his head. Dionysus took pity and ordered the king to cleanse himself of the remaining traces of his guilt in the source of the river Pactolus. Midas obeyed, and the ability to turn things into gold passed into the stream. The sands of that river were forever gold.
The second bad adventure Midas found himself in was being a judge between Pan and Apollo over what the superior musical instrument was. Apollo felt it was the lyre, but Pan felt the flute was superior. Midas sided with Pan, and Apollo, in a fit of rage, gave Midas the ears of a donkey. Apollo felt that such stupid ears could not keep a human shape.
Midas did not want anyone to know he had the ears of a donkey, so he constantly wore a purple turban. However, he had to get his hair cut from time to time, and his barber found out his secret. The barber knew that if he told anyone about the king's secret, it would probably mean his death; however, it was too good a secret to keep secret. So, he dug a hole and while in the hole, he told his secret. He then filled the hole again and went on his way. However, a group of reeds grew from this hole, and anytime a south wind blew, the reeds would whistle out: "King Midas has ass's ears."
ACTIVITIES:
Midas activity
KEY TEST WORDS: (Know the material behind these items.)
None
FOOTNOTES:
Midas was the winner of the flute-playing competition at the Pythian games.
SOURCES:
James Isaacs
Edith Hamilton's Mythology
"Manual of Mythology" by Alexander S. Murray.