King Midas is the ancient Greek king who had the ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This gave rise to the saying “he has the Golden Touch” and the Golden Touch is now a common saying in everyday use for someone who creates success in their daily endeavors. While King Midas is a mythical figure, he is thought to have some basis in reality and is associated with King Mita who ruled over a part of modern day Turkey in the 8th Century B.C.
As a mythical figure, there are different versions of the Midas story.
In one story, Midas was adopted as a child by King Gordias and a goddess, Cybele, a goddess of the mountains (Anatolia is a mountainous country). In another account, Midas is King of Macedonia, from where Alexander the Great would spring from, while in yet another he is placed on Mount Bermion in Thrace where he is famous for his rose garden and the scented fragrance of his flowers. Midas features in the Greek heroic tale, The Illiad, and he has a son named Lityeras who is the basis for the Grim Reaper. In other stories, Midas has no son but instead has a beautiful daughter, Zoe.
Still yet another version of the Midas myth, has the young king-to-be as the son of Gordios, an extremely poor peasant whoc is married to a wandering spiritualist or fortune-teller. In some respects, Midas’ family are very similar to modern-day gypsies. As Midas grew to manhood, the country was wracked with civil war and upset; the warring factions were brought together and told that a cart would bring them a king who would unite the country under one, peaceful and benevolent ruler.
As if on cue, Midas and his family turn up on their cart and the protagonists took this to be a sign that he was the King who would fulfill the prophecy. Immediately he was proclaimed King, and like every good fairy tale they all lived happily ever after. A side note to this story is that the cart used to transport Midas and his impoverished family was set up as a shrine. The yoke was used to create an intricate and complicated knot, of which it was said that whoever could solve the knot and untie the yoke would one day conquer all of Asia. The so-called Gordian Knot and the forerunner of the saying, “That’s a knotty problem!”
Alexander the Great came across the cart (so the story goes) upon being told of the prophecy and that whoever untied the knot would conquer Asia. After a brief period of time considering the problem, Alexander drew his sword and cut the rope to bits – he then went on to conquer territory as far as India all the way from Greece, including destroying the mighty Persian Empire which was based in modern day Iraq.
No story is complete on King Midas without referring to his ability to turn anything he touched into gold. Unfortunately, while this might have seemed like a great idea, he unfortunately touched his daughter who instantly turned into a solid gold statue – surely a Golden Touch not to have.
Published At: Isnare.com
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