Midas ( / ˈ m aɪ d ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Μίδας ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house.
70-555: Midas , king of Phrygia, also a figure from Greek mythology. Midas may also refer to: Midas His father was Gordias , and his mother was Cybele . The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into pure gold and this came to be called the golden touch , or the Midas touch . The legends told about this Midas and his adopted father Gordias , credited with founding
140-453: A loanword from Carian Quq ( 𐊨𐊲𐊨 ), which was represented in Greek as Gugos ( Γυγος ), and was a cognate of the various Anatolian words for "grandfather": Hittite ḫuḫḫa ( 𒄷𒄴𒄩 ), Luwian ḫūḫa- ( 𒄷𒌋𒄩 ) and huha- ( 𔕳𔓷 ), Milyan xuga- ( 𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀 ), and Lycian xuga- ( 𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀 ). If this etymology is accurate, it correlates with
210-446: A point about human nature . Some scholars have suggested that Plato's story was based on a now-lost older version of the myth, while others argue that Plato invented it himself, using elements from Herodotus's story of Gyges. It told of a man named Gyges who lived in Lydia , an area in modern Turkey. He was a shepherd for the king of that land. One day, there was an earthquake while Gyges
280-408: 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. In pre-Islamic legend of Central Asia,
350-522: A son, also named Dascylus. Later this Dascylus has a son Gyges who, as a young man arrives to Lydia and is recognized by the king for his outstanding abilities. He is appointed to the royal bodyguard. Gyges soon became a favourite of Candaules and was dispatched by him to fetch Tudo, the daughter of Arnossus of Mysia , whom the Lydian king wished to make his queen. On the way Gyges fell in love with Tudo, who complained to Sadyates of his conduct. Forewarned that
420-544: A team from the University of Pennsylvania opened a chamber tomb at the heart of the Great Tumulus (in Greek, Μεγάλη Τούμπα)—53 metres in height, about 300 metres in diameter—on the site of ancient Gordion (modern Yassıhüyük , Turkey), where there are more than 100 tumuli of different sizes and from different periods. They discovered a royal burial, its timbers dated as cut to about 740 BC complete with remains of
490-636: A third attack by the Cimmerians, led by their king Lygdamis . This time, the Lydians were defeated, Sardis was sacked, and Gyges was killed. Assyrian records blamed Gyges's defeat and death on his decision to act independently from Assyria by sending troops to Psamtik I, and his ending of diplomacy with Assyria, which the Assyrians interpreted as an act of arrogance. He was succeeded by his son Ardys , who resumed diplomatic activity with Assyria and would also have to face
560-542: Is credited with inventing coined money by Julius Pollux after she married Midas. Some historians believe this Midas donated the throne that Herodotus says was offered to the Oracle of Delphi by "Midas son of Gordias" (see above). Assyrian tablets from the reign of Sargon II record attacks by a "Mita", king of the Mushki , against Assyria's eastern Anatolian provinces. Some historians believe Assyrian texts called this Midas king of
630-407: Is recorded. Thus Psamtik I and Ashurbanipal had remained allies ever since the former had been put in power with Assyrian military support. Furthermore, the silence of Assyrian sources concerning Psamtik I's expansion imply there was no hostility, whether overt or covert, between Assyria and Sais during Psamtik I's unification of Egypt under his rule. Likewise, Gyges's military support of Psamtik I
700-521: 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
770-559: Is the same person as the Mita , called king of the Mushki in Assyrian texts, who warred with Assyria and its Anatolian provinces during the same period. The King Midas who ruled Phrygia in the late 8th century BC is known from Greek and Assyrian sources. According to the former, he married a Greek princess, Damodice , daughter of Agamemnon of Cyme , and traded extensively with the Greeks. Damodice
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#1732851670629840-441: The "Mushki" because he had subjected the eastern Anatolian people of that name and incorporated them into his army. Greek sources including Strabo say that Midas committed suicide by drinking bull's blood during an attack by the Cimmerians, which Eusebius dated to around 695 BC and Julius Africanus to around 676 BC. Archeology has confirmed that Gordium was destroyed and burned around that time. In 1957, Rodney Young and
910-710: The Carian dynasts allowed him to recruit Carian and Ionian Greek soldiers to send overseas to assist the Egyptian king Psamtik I of the city of Sais , with whom he had established contacts around 662 BC. With the help of these armed forces, Psamtik I united Egypt under his rule after eliminating the eleven other kinglets with whom he had been co-ruling Lower Egypt following Esarhaddon 's and Ashurbanipal's invasions . Interpretations of these actions as an alliance between Lydia and Sais against Assyria, however, are inaccurate; Psamtik I's military activities were directed solely against
980-651: The Cimmerian invaders without Assyrian help, and he sent Cimmerian soldiers captured while ravaging Lydian lands to Nineveh. After having repelled the Cimmerians, and with the leading Aeolian Greek city of Cyme already having good relations with Lydia, Gyges took advantage of the power vacuum caused by the destruction of the Phrygian kingdom by the Cimmerians to conquer the Troad region in northern Anatolia without facing much resistance, following which he installed Lydian settlers in
1050-437: The Cimmerians. Gyges's name was later used on the legends of coins by his great-grandson Alyattes , which read Kukalim ( 𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤩𐤦𐤪 ), meaning "I am of Kukas". Some of these coins have a legend Walwet ( 𐤥𐤠𐤩𐤥𐤤𐤯 ), which is the abbreviation of the Lydian name of Alyattes, Walwetes ( 𐤥𐤠𐤩𐤥𐤤𐤯𐤤𐤮 ), on one side and on the other side have the legend Kukalim , which in this context meant "I am
1120-676: The Elder, married one of the daughters of Gyges. These friendly ties with Ephesus would be renewed by Gyges's son Ardys through the marriage of his daughter Lyde with Melas's grandson Miletus, and by Gyges's great-grandson Alyattes, who married one of his daughters to the Ephesian tyrant Melas the Younger, himself a descendant of both Melas the Elder and of Miletus. These friendly relations between Lydia and Ephesus would continue until they would be broken by Gyges's great-great-grandson Croesus. In 665 BC, Gyges
1190-503: The Lydian kings and the Carian city-states ensured that the Lydians were able to control Caria through alliances with Carian dynasts ruling over fortified settlements, such as Mylasa and Pedasa , and through Lydian aristocrats settled in Carian cities, such as in Aphrodisias . In addition to diplomatic ties, the Lydians also shared strong cultural connections with the Carians, such as sharing
1260-698: The Lydians. Gu(g)gu and Gugēs are respectively the Akkadian and Greek forms of the Lydian name Kukas ( 𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤮 ), which means "grandfather". Kukas is derived from a common Proto-Indo-European root from which evolved Hittite ḫuḫḫa- ( 𒄷𒄴𒄩 ), Luwian ḫūḫa- ( 𒄷𒌋𒄩 ) and huha- ( 𔕳𔓷 ), and Lycian xuga- ( 𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀 ) in the Anatolian languages family, as well as Latin avus , all meaning "grandfather". Another derivation for Kukas suggests that it might be
1330-651: The Phrygian capital city Gordium and tying the Gordian Knot , indicate that they were believed to have lived sometime in the 2nd millennium BC, well before the Trojan War . However, Homer does not mention Midas or Gordias , while instead mentioning two other Phrygian kings, Mygdon and Otreus . Midaeum was presumably named after him, and this is probably also the Midas that according to Pausanias founded Ancyra (today known as Ankara ). Another King Midas ruled Phrygia in
1400-450: The actions of the just would be as the actions of the unjust; they would both come at last to the same point." Socrates concludes, however, that a truly just man is not a slave to his appetites, so that the opportunities afforded by the ring would not tempt him to abandon his principles. Many Bible scholars believe that Gyges of Lydia was the Biblical figure of Gog , ruler of Magog , who
1470-429: 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
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#17328516706291540-456: 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
1610-474: 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
1680-470: 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. Another King Midas ruled Phrygia in the late 8th century BC, up until the sacking of Gordium by the Cimmerians , when he is said to have committed suicide. Most historians believe this Midas
1750-599: The choice of murdering her husband and making himself king, or of being put to death himself. Herodotus goes on to record how Gyges plied the Oracle with numerous gifts, notably six mixing bowls minted of gold extracted from the Pactolus river weighing thirty talents . The Oracle confirmed Gyges as the rightful king of Lydia and gave moral support to the Lydians in their conflict with the Ionians . The priestess nevertheless declared that
1820-507: The context of a period of turmoil following the invasion of the Cimmerians , a nomadic people from the Eurasian Steppe who had invaded Western Asia , who around 675 BC destroyed the previous major power in Anatolia, the kingdom of Phrygia. Immediately after Gyges had seized the Lydian throne, the oracle of the god Apollo at Delphi confirmed the legitimacy of his kingship. To thank
1890-483: 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' 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
1960-485: 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
2030-508: 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
2100-510: The dynasty of Gyges would fall in the fifth generation. This prediction was later fulfilled when Gyges' fourth descendant, Croesus , lost the kingdom as a result of attacking the Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus the Great . In Plato 's Republic , Gyges was a shepherd who discovered a magic ring of invisibility, by means of which he murdered the king and won the affection of the queen. Nicolaus of Damascus supplies his own version of
2170-441: 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 touched 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
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2240-402: 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, but in some variations of the myth he instead had a daughter, Zoë, whose name means "life". According to other accounts he had a son named Anchurus . Arrian gives an alternative story of
2310-567: The funeral feast and "the best collection of Iron Age drinking vessels ever uncovered". This inner chamber was rather large: 5.15 metres by 6.2 metres in breadth and 3.25 metres high. On the remains of a wooden coffin in the northwest corner of the tomb lay a skeleton of a man 1.59 metres in height and about 60 years old. In the tomb were found an ornate inlaid table, two inlaid serving stands, and eight other tables , as well as bronze and pottery vessels and bronze fibulae. Although no identifying texts were originally associated with
2380-459: The god of the fields and satyrs. Roman mythographers asserted that his tutor in music was Orpheus . 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
2450-555: The gold mines of Astyra . The southern part of the Troad, where were located Gargara , Antandrus , Assos , and Lamponeia to the south of Mount Ida and on the shore of the Edremit Gulf , was administered from Adrymettium. In accordance with the monopoly of establishing colonies on lands ruled by the Lydians which Gyges had granted to Miletus, Greek settlers from that city founded the colony of Abydus . Gyges's extensive alliances with
2520-498: The inhabitants of the city were successfully able to repel his attacks. After this, peaceful and friendly relations were established between Lydia and this city. Thereafter, the Lydians used the port of Smyrna to export their products and import grain and Lydian craftsmen worked in Smyrnian workshops. These close ties between Smyrna and Lydia ended when Gyges's great-grandson Alyattes conquered Smyrna around 600 BC. Gyges's attack on Colophon
2590-410: The just [man] put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market or go into houses and lie with anyone at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a god among men. Then
2660-403: 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
2730-424: The king a report about his sheep, he put the ring on, seduced the queen, killed the king, and took control of the palace. In The Republic , Glaucon argues that men are inherently unjust, and are only restrained from unjust behavior by the fetters of law and society. In Glaucon's view, unlimited power blurs the difference between just and unjust men. "Suppose there were two such magic rings," he tells Socrates , "and
2800-472: The king intended to punish him with death, Gyges assassinated Candaules in the night and seized the throne. According to Plutarch , Gyges seized power with the help of Arselis of Mylasa , the captain of the Lydian bodyguard, whom he had won over to his cause. In the second book of Plato 's philosophical work The Republic , Glaucon recounts the story of the Ring of Gyges to Socrates , using it to illustrate
2870-469: The king of Lydia by overthrowing his predecessor, the king Candaules of the Heraclid dynasty. Gyges was helped in his coup against Candaules by a Carian prince from Mylasa named Arselis, suggesting that Gyges's Mermnad dynasty might have had good relations with Carian aristocrats thanks to which these latter would provide his rebellion with armed support against Candaules. Gyges's rise to power happened in
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2940-510: 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,
3010-434: The late 8th century BC. Most historians believe this Midas is the same person as the Mita , called king of the Mushki in Assyrian texts, who warred with Assyria and its Anatolian provinces during the same period. A third Midas is said by Herodotus to have been a member of the royal house of Phrygia in the 6th century BC. There are many, and often contradictory, legends about the most ancient King Midas. In one, Midas
3080-560: The oracle, Gyges offered it lavish offerings consisting of gold and silver. These offerings still stood at Delphi in the time of Herodotus , who referred to Gyges's dedications as the Gygadas ( Ancient Greek : Γυγαδας Gugadas , from 𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤩𐤦𐤳 *Kukalis , meaning "of Kukas (Gyges)"), and remarked that most of the silver at Delphi was part of it. The most notable of these offerings were six crates made of gold and which collectively weighed thirty talents. Gyges took advantage of
3150-529: The other local kinglets of Lower Egypt and not against Assyria, although Ashurbanipal disapproved of Psamtik I's actions since he knew he needed these kinglets' support to maintain Assyrian power in Egypt. Moreover, not only had the Assyrians risen Sais into preeminence in Egypt after expelling the Saites' Kushite enemies from the country, but the two kings had signed a treaty with each other, and no hostilities between them
3220-603: The power vacuum created by the Cimmerian invasions to consolidate his kingdom and make it a military power, and, to this end, immediately after coming to power he attacked the Ionian Greek cities of Miletus , Smyrna , and Colophon . Gyges was however unable to conquer Miletus and he made peace with the city, following which Gyges accorded to the Milesians the privilege to colonise the coastal areas of Asia Minor under Lydian control. Gyges's attempt to capture Smyrna likewise failed;
3290-515: The probability of a Carian origin of the Mermnad dynasty . Attestations of Gyges's name from the period of the Lydian kingdom are found on the legends of coins by his great-grandson Alyattes , reading Kukalim ( 𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤩𐤦𐤪 ), meaning "I am of Kukas". Nothing is known about Gyges's origins except for the Greek historian Herodotus 's claim that he was the son of a man named Dascylus . Available historical evidence suggests that Gyges became
3360-558: The region and created a hunting reserve in Cyzicus . Under Lydian rule, the city of Ilium acquired an important position and became a local administrative centre from which the Lydians exerted their power over the whole Aegean coast of the Troad as well as the coast of the Hellespont where was located the cities of Achilleion , Abydos , and Neandreia . Furthermore, the Lydian rulers built connections with Illium so they could make profits out of
3430-548: The reign of Croesus . Phrygia was by that time a Lydian subject. Herodotus says that Croesus regarded the Phrygian royal house as "friends" but does not mention whether the Phrygian royal house still ruled as (vassal) kings of Phrygia. Gyges of Lydia Gyges ( / ˈ dʒ aɪ dʒ iː z / , / ˈ ɡ aɪ dʒ iː z / ; Lydian : 𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤮 Kukas ; Neo-Assyrian Akkadian : 𒁹𒄖𒊌𒄖 , 𒁹𒄖𒄖 Gugu ; Ancient Greek : Γύγης , romanized : Gugēs ; Latin : Gygēs ; reigned c. 680-644 BC )
3500-421: 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
3570-454: The sanctuary of the god Zeus of Mylasa with the Carians and the Mysians because they believed these three peoples descended from three brothers. Gyges entertained better relations with the leading Aeolian Greek city of Cyme , which had already established relations of friendship with Lydia during the preceding Heraclid dynasty, and with the Ionian Greek city of Ephesus , whose tyrant, Melas
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#17328516706293640-430: 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
3710-421: 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
3780-502: The site, it was called Tumulus MM (for "Midas Mound") by the excavator. As this funerary monument was erected before the traditional date given for the death of King Midas in the early 7th century BC, it is now generally thought to have covered the burial of his father. A third Midas is said by Herodotus to have been a member of the royal house of Phrygia and the grandfather of Adrastus, son of Gordias who fled Phrygia after accidentally killing his brother and took asylum in Lydia during
3850-556: The son/descendant of Kukas " by which Alyattes was declaring his belonging to the dynasty of Gyges. Like many kings of early antiquity, including Midas of Phrygia and even the more historically documented Alexander the Great , Gyges was subject to mythologizing. The motives for such stories are many; one possibility is that the myths embody religious beliefs or practices. Authors throughout ancient history have told differing stories of Gyges' rise to power, which considerably vary in detail, but virtually all involve Gyges seizing
3920-478: 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
3990-453: The story that is quite different from both Herodotus and Plato. It involves a multi- generational curse by an old King Ardys of Lydia, because his trusted advisor Dascylus was murdered by Ardys’ son named Sadyattes (or Adyattes). This Sadyattes was envious of Dascylus’ growing power. The murderers were never discovered, so King Ardys issued a curse upon them. Dascylus’ wife, being then pregnant, escapes to Phrygia (her home), and gives birth to
4060-445: 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
4130-412: The support itself. Gyges's military support to Psamtik I lasted until 658 BC, at which point he faced an impending Cimmerian invasion. The Cimmerians invaded Lydia again in 657 BC, though not much is known about this attack except that Gyges survived it. This event is recorded in the Assyrian oracular reports, where it is called a "bad omen" for the "Westland", that is for Lydia. In 644 BC, Lydia faced
4200-408: The throne after killing the king, Candaules , and marrying Candaules' widow. The main source for Gyges is Herodotus , whose account may be traced to the poet Archilochus of Paros . In this, Gyges was a bodyguard of Candaules, who believed his wife to be the most beautiful woman on Earth. He insisted upon Gyges seeing his wife disrobed and the betrayal so enraged her that she afterwards gave Gyges
4270-534: 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' daughter came to him, upset about the roses that had lost their fragrance and become hard, and when he reached out to comfort her, 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
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#17328516706294340-740: Was also referred to as Midas after amassing huge wealth from inventing taxable coinage using electrum sourced from Midas' famed river Pactolus . 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' 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
4410-486: Was faced with a war with the Cimmerians. Around the same time, according to Neo-Assyrian records, Gyges had a dream where the Assyrian god Aššur appeared to him and told him to seek help from Ashurbanipal and send him tribute. Gyges contacted the Neo-Assyrian court by sending diplomats to Nineveh , but offered him presents only, rather than tribute, and therefore refused to become a vassal of Assyria. Gyges soon defeated
4480-685: 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
4550-587: Was more successful in that he was able to seize control of its lower city only, and Colophon soon regained its independence and would not be subjected to Lydian rule again until Alyattes conquered it. To the south, Gyges continued maintaining alliances with the dynasts of the various city-states of the Carians which required the Lydian and Carian rulers had to support each other, and his successors would continue to maintain these alliances and solidify them through matrimonial relations. These connections established between
4620-412: Was not directed against Assyria and is not mentioned as hostile to Assyria or allied with other countries against Assyria in Assyrian records; the Assyrian disapproval of Gyges's support for Psamtik I was primarily motivated by Gyges's refusal to form an alliance with Assyria and his undertaking of these actions independently of Assyria, which the Assyrians interpreted as an act of arrogance, rather than by
4690-404: Was out in the fields, and he noticed that a new cave had opened up in a rock face. When he went in to see what was there, he noticed a gold ring on the finger of a former giant king who had been buried in the cave, in an iron horse with a window in its side. He took the ring away with him and soon discovered that it allowed the wearer to become invisible . The next time he went to the palace to give
4760-411: Was perhaps not the only metallic source of Midas' 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. Midas, now hating wealth and splendor, moved to the country and became a worshipper of Pan ,
4830-552: Was the founder of the Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and the first known king of the Lydian kingdom to have attempted to transform it into a powerful empire. Gyges reigned 38 years according to Herodotus. The name Gyges is derived from the Ancient Greek form Gugēs ( Ancient Greek : Γύγης ) recorded by Graeco-Roman authors. In addition, the annals of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal refer several times to Gu(g)gu , king of Luddi , to be identified with Gyges, king of
4900-442: Was the only foreigner to make an offering to Delphi before Gyges of Lydia . The historical Midas of the 8th century BC 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
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