Across the sea from Athens, in the beautiful land of Phrygia, there was a garden full of roses of a hundred different hues. They were the biggest, sweetest and most beautiful roses that any mortal had ever seen or smelled. King Midas had planted this magnificent rose garden when he was young. He used to love his garden. He would spend hours there, imbibing the smells and the colours, mesmerised by the flighty butterflies and droning bees. BUT, not anymore. Now he didn’t even visit it. But his daughter did, every day.
Now King Midas was very wealthy. He lived in a magnificent palace filled with rich silks and furs and thick carpets and beautiful tapestries. He lived in great comfort and indulgence. His cellar was full of gold. Every night he went and caressed the gold and counted his gold coins, clink, clink, clink how he loved that sound. He even had a bathtub installed in the cellar and occasionally he would get in it and cover his body with gold.
One day, his daughter was walking in the
rose garden, when she smelt a rather unpleasant and peculiar smell – goat mixed
with stale wine, she heard loud snoring and saw a hoof sticking out of the rose
bushes. She thought it was a goat and
immediately called the gardener to get rid of it. He tugged at the hoof and
dragged out not a goat, but a satyr.
Very drunk, the satyr had staggered into King Midas’s garden and passed
out in the rose bushes. “Ugh, he’s horrible,” exclaimed the princess. “Throw him out.”
But the gardener said, “Ah, I’d better ask the king first. After all, a satyr
is a nature spirit and a friend to Dionysos.”
When King Midas heard he hurried to the rose garden. As soon as he saw the satyr, he realised that this was no ordinary satyr. He was tall, satyrs were usually short. This rather large fellow, could only be the wise old satyr Silenus, mentor and teacher of Dionysos.
Immediately he ordered the best guest room in the palace to be prepared and, ignoring the servants’ protests, he had Silenus carried there. The servants dropped his muddy, smelly body on the clean, silk white sheets. When Silenus recovered, King Midas feasted him for ten whole days, much to his daughter’s disgust, she refused to join them. He celebrated Silenus with music, dancing and singing, offered him the best vintage wines and the most delicious food. No one was more pleased with this acknowledgement and respect than Dionysos.
A few days after Silenus had left the palace, King Midas was walking in his rose garden, for the first time in many years, when he heard music. He followed the intoxicating melody and found a beautiful young man, with jet black curly hair, sitting on the grass playing a pipe. He recognised Dionysos and right away fell to his knees.
Dionysos said, “I have come because I wish
to reward you for honouring my teacher.
What do you desire? What is it that you most want in the world?”
King Midas thought for a split second, “Gold, lots and lots of gold…..”
“Gold? What good comes of gold?”
“Well of course gods have no use for it,
but us mortals, we can never have enough gold. I wish that everything that I
touch turns to gold.”
Dionysos thought this a foolish wish and warned the king to think well on it,
but Midas was adamant. So He granted Midas his wish.
The next day, Midas, woke up eager to see if his wish had come true. He reached out and touched the side table aaghh it turned to gold. He jumped for joy! He touched a chair, the carpet, a door, everything turned to gold. He ran, in his pyjamas, all over the palace turning things into gold until he was exhausted and happy and hungry! He sat at the table to have breakfast and it turned to gold. He was sitting at a gold table, on a gold chair and eating from gold plates and gold spoons. “This must be on Mt Olympus!” he thought. He saw the beautiful roses his daughter had freshly picked for him that morning. He took one to smell but it turned to gold. “I will have to smell them without touching them, I suppose,” he thought sadly and placed it on the table. Clink – how he loved that sound. He picked up his toast and nearly broke his teeth. He picked up his cup of tea, not a drop could pass his lips. He picked a grape – gold! Cheese – gold. He realised what a fool he had been. “I can’t eat gold. I can’t drink gold. I’m going to starve to death.” He started crying, “I’m going to die.” Just then, his daughter entered the room.
“Why dearest Father, you are crying?” she ran to hug him. “NO!” he shouted, but too late. His daughter turned into a cold, gold statue.
Aaaghgh! Screaming with grief, he ran to the fountain to wash his hot face – gold. In despair, he raised his arms and prayed to Dionysos, “Oh Dionysos. Have mercy. I have been foolish. Save me from this abominable curse!”
Dionysus heard and took pity on him. He told Midas to go to the river Pactolus and wash his hands. Midas ran to the river and was astonished to see gold flowing from his hands. It is said that the ancient Greeks found much gold on the banks of the river Pactolus.
When the gold stopped flowing from his hands, he returned to his palace. Everything he had touched and turned to gold, was back to normal. He hugged and kissed his daughter and gave thanks to Dionysos. He decided to give his daughter his wealth and his kingdom. He left the grandeur and luxury of his palace and went to live in the mountains where he enjoyed the rich abundance of Nature and the generous hospitality of Pan, Selinos and the satyrs.
To be Concluded… Unpacking a myth to reveal its wisdom
Story by: Stella Kassimati
