According to legend, the first king of Phrygia, Gordius, founded the city of Gordion, which became the capital of this state. In the temple of Zeus in Gordion, Gordius set up his wagon, tying it to the altar with a dogwood bast rope. He tied the rope with a very cunning knot (Gordian knot), so. that no man could untie him.
Gordius had an adopted son, Midas, who, after his death, began to rule Phrygia.

Nicolas Poussin. Midas before Bacchus.

Once on the Phrygian land, with a cheerful company of bacchantes, accompanied by his teacher Silenus, Dionysus (or Bacchus) traveled. And drunken Silenus got lost in the forest. There he was found and brought to Midas. Midas recognized the educator Dionysus, and a feast was arranged in honor of such a distinguished guest. Then Midas sent messengers to Dionysus with the good news that his teacher was safe and sound. As a reward, Dionysus offered Midas any gift he wished. And Midas, without hesitation, asked the cheerful god that everything he touched would turn into gold. Dionysus immediately complied with Midas's wish. Midas decided to test the gift: he touched a tree branch - it turned gilded, took a stone in his hands - it turned into a gold nugget. Midas came to his palace and, on this occasion, decided to throw a feast. But as soon as Midas took up food or drink, they immediately turned into gold. Midas, afraid of starving to death, ran to Dionysus and asked him to take back this gift. Dionysus ordered Midas to bathe in the Pactol River, the gift of turning everything into gold disappeared from him, and from that time the river began to carry grains of gold in its course.
On the basis of this myth, the Italian storyteller Gianni Rodari wrote the fairy tale "King Midas". Here is the ending of this tale:

.....
It's time to go to bed. King Midas touched the pillow and turned it into gold, touched the sheet, the mattress - and now, instead of the bed, lies a pile of gold, solid, solid. You don't get much sleep on such a bed. The king had to spend the night in a chair with his arms raised up - so as not to touch anything inadvertently. By morning, the king was mortally tired, and as soon as daybreak dawned, he ran to the wizard Apollo, so that he would disenchant him. Apollo agreed.
“Okay,” he said, “but be careful. The witchcraft will pass in exactly seven hours and seven minutes. All this time, you should not touch anything, otherwise everything that you touch will turn into dung.
King Midas left reassured and began to watch the clock so as not to touch anything ahead of time.
Unfortunately, his watch was in a hurry - every hour it ran forward one minute. When seven hours and seven minutes had passed, King Midas opened the door of his car and got into it. He sat down and found himself in a large dung heap. Because there was still seven minutes before the end of the witchcraft.

Does this Midas remind you of anyone? Personally, he reminds me of the figures from the "United Russia": almost everything they touch. turns into manure.

King Midas is the hero of yet another myth.
Once Apollo and Pan had a musical contest. Apollo played the cithara, and Pan played the flute. The competition judge awarded Apollo the victory, but Midas expressed his "dissenting opinion" that he liked Pan better. And the angry Apollo rewarded Midas with donkey ears. To prevent the confidants from seeing this "award", Midas put on a cap (Phrygian cap), which he did not take off. This "reward" was seen by the barber of Midas when he was doing his job.

J. Ingres. Midas and his barber.

And, unable to keep this secret, the barber dug a hole, and, whispering there: “King Midas has donkey ears,” covered it with earth. A reed grew on this place, which in a whisper told about this secret, so that it spread all over the world. "For there is nothing secret that would not become apparent, nor secret, that would not become known and would not be revealed."... (Luke 8, 16-17).

Archaeologists at the University of Pennsylvania excavated Gordion, the capital of Phrygia. Having unearthed the tomb of one of the Midases, who ruled in the VIII century. BC, scientists have discovered brass - a beautiful yellow alloy of copper and zinc, very similar to gold. According to archaeologists, it was brass that made a great impression on contemporaries and therefore the myth of the king who turned everything into gold was born.

The myth of King Midas (myth of ancient Greece)

Once, when Dionysus and his merry company were wandering through the wooded mountains of Thrace, somewhere along the way they lost their elder Silenus. He got drunk completely, followed them, walked, stumbling at every step, and imperceptibly lagged behind. Local peasants saw old Silenus and took him to King Midas. Midas immediately recognized the great teacher Dionysus and received him as the most honored guest. For nine days he treated old Silenus, arranged luxurious feasts for him. And then he took him to Dionysus. Dionysus was delighted to see his beloved teacher, and offered Midas any gift he wanted for himself.
- O great Dionysus, make everything turn into gold, no matter what I touch, - asked the god Midas.
“What foolish people these people are,” the great god thought to himself, but said nothing to King Midas and fulfilled his cherished desire. Satisfied, Midas went home, he felt like the happiest person in the world. Still would! So he bent down and took a stone in his hands, and then an ordinary gray cobblestone turned into a gold ingot. I plucked a green branch - and it also turned golden. He puts his hand into the stream - and at once golden water flows into it. Midas rejoices and has fun, there is no limit to his happiness.
He finally came home, he can't wait to immediately touch all the things in the palace so that they become gold. Midas ran through the rooms for a long time, even got tired. He washes his hands, and golden water flows from them, sat down on an ordinary wooden chair, and he turns into a golden throne. There is no end to Midas's joy, there are countless riches around him: all is gold. King Midas decided to celebrate such an event and arrange a feast for the whole world. He ordered to bring him the best food and wine. The servants carried out the order of the king and brought him dinner. But, oh woe! Whatever Midas touched, whatever he took in his hands, everything became golden: bread, meat, and wine. How will he eat now, will he really have to die of hunger? And then the unreasonable greedy king only realized what trouble he had brought upon himself. King Midas prayed to Dionysus:
- O magnanimous god, have mercy on me. Forgive me, stupid! Take back your precious gift!
Dionysus took pity on the unreasonable Midas and said to him:
- Go to the sources of Pactol and there in its waters wash away this gift and your guilt from your body.
Midas did not linger and immediately went to Lydia, to the sources of Pactolus. He entered the waters of the river and splashed there for a long time, until he was completely cleansed. Gold water flowed along the Pactol bed, and since then gold has always been found there.

Midas Midas

(Midas, Μίδας). Son of Gordius, king of Phrygia. He cordially received Silenus, the educator and companion of Dionysus, and Silenus invited him as a reward to ask what he wanted. Midas expressed a desire for everything he touched to turn to gold. Midas's request was fulfilled, but since the food he touched also turned to gold, Midas asked Silenus to take back his grace. Dionysus ordered Midas to bathe in the Pactola River, which has since become teeming with gold. Subsequently, Midas was a judge in a musical contest between Apollo, who played the lyre, and Pan, who played the pipe, and decided the dispute in favor of Pan. Then Apollo turned the ears of Midas into those of a donkey, and he had to hide them under a Phrygian cap; but the barber once opened Midas's donkey ears and, not having the strength to keep a secret, which at the same time did not dare to tell anyone, he dug a hole and, whispering there: “King Midas has donkey ears,” covered the hole with earth. But a reed subsequently grew in this place, which in a whisper told about this secret, so that it spread all over the world.

(Source: "A Concise Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities." M. Korsh. St. Petersburg, edition of A. Suvorin, 1894.)

(Μίδας), in Greek mythology, the son Gordia, king of Phrygia, famous for his wealth (Herodot. VIII 138). Even as a child M., ants dragged wheat grains, foreshadowing future wealth (Cicero, "On Divination" I 36). When the bound Silenus was brought to M., who had lost his way during the procession of Dionysus, the king received him cordially, talked with him and ten days later returned him to Dionysus (Ael. Var. Hist. Ill 18 with reference to Theopompus). Option: M. himself caught Silenus, mixing wine into the water of the spring from which he drank (Paus. I 4, 5; Xenoph. Anab. I 2. 13). As a reward for the release of Silena, Dionysus offered M. to fulfill any of his wishes. M. wished that everything he touched would turn into gold. But food began to turn into gold, which threatened M. with starvation, and he prayed to God to remove the spell. Dionysus ordered M. to bathe in the Pactol spring, which made the spring gold-bearing, and M. got rid of his gift.
M. was a judge in a musical competition between Apollo and Pan (variant: Marsyas, Hyg. Fab. 191) and declared Apollo defeated. Option: the judge was Tmol, who awarded the primacy to Apollo, and M. preferred Pan. For this, Apollo endowed M. with donkey ears, which the king had to hide under a Phrygian cap. Barber M., seeing the ears and tormented by a secret that he could not tell anyone, dug a hole in the ground and whispered there: “King Midas has donkey ears!” And filled the hole. A reed grew on this place, which rustled about the secret to the whole world (Ovid. Met. XI 85-193). Perhaps M. was originally revered as a companion of Dionysus (or Cybele, Diod. Ill 58) and the myth of donkey ears is associated with the remnants of totemism. A variant of the myth of M.'s wealth reflects the Greeks' ideas about the gold treasures of Asia Minor.
M. H. Botvinnik.

(Source: Myths of the Nations of the World.)

King of Phrygia, son of Gordius. As a reward for the honor shown to the teacher of Dionysus Silenus, he received an unusual gift from God - everything that Midas touched turned into pure gold. It was only during the feast that the tsar understood the error of his request - all the food and wine in his mouth became golden in his mouth. In response to a request to take his gift, Dionysus sent Midas to the Pactol River, in the waters of which he could wash away both the gift and his guilt from his body. Since then, Pactol has become gold-bearing. Once, during a competition between Pan and Apollo in the art of music, he preferred Pan. In retaliation, Apollo was awarded donkey ears when the god grabbed him by the ears and pulled them out. Only the barber of Midas knew about donkey ears, but he, unable to bear it, dug a hole in the ground and whispered his secret there. A reed grew on this place and spread about this secret all over the world. See more about it.

// Nicola PUSSEN: Midas and Bacchus // Jonathan SWIFT: The Fable of Midas // N.A. Kuhn: MIDAS

(Source: "Myths of Ancient Greece. Reference Dictionary." EdwART, 2009.)

Once a cheerful Dionysus with a noisy crowd of maenads and satyrs wandered along the wooded rocks of Tmola in Phrygia (1). Only Silenus was not in the retinue of Dionysus. He lagged behind and, stumbling at every step, very drunk, wandered through the Phrygian fields. The peasants saw him, tied him with garlands of flowers and took him to King Midas. Midas immediately recognized the teacher Dionysus, received him with honor in his palace and honored him with sumptuous feasts for nine days. On the tenth day, Midas himself took Silenus to the god Dionysus. Dionysus was delighted to see Silenus, and allowed Midas, as a reward for the honor he had shown his teacher, to choose any gift for himself. Then Midas exclaimed:

Oh, great god Dionysus, command that everything I touch turns into pure, shiny gold!

Dionysus fulfilled Midas's wish; he only regretted that he had not chosen the best gift for himself Midas.

Gleefully, Midas departed. Rejoicing at the gift he has received, he picks a green branch from an oak - the branch in his hands turns into a golden one. He picks ears in the field - they become golden, and the grains are golden in them. He picks an apple - the apple turns golden, as if it were from the garden of the Hesperides. Anything Midas touched immediately turned to gold. When he washed his hands, the water dripped from them in golden drops. Midas rejoices. So he came to his palace. The servants prepared a rich feast for him, and happy Midas sat down at the table. It was then that he realized what a terrible gift he had begged from Dionysus. From one touch of Midas, everything turned to gold. Bread, and all the food and wine became golden in his mouth. It was then that Midas realized that he would have to die of hunger. He stretched out his hands to the sky and exclaimed:

Have mercy, have mercy, oh Dionysus! Sorry! I pray for your mercy! Take this gift back!

Dionysus appeared and said to Midas:

Go to the sources of Pactolus (2), there in its waters wash away this gift and your guilt from your body.

At the behest of Dionysus, Midas went to the sources of Pactolus and plunged there into its clear waters. The waters of Pactolus flowed like gold and washed away the gift received from Dionysus from the body of Midas. Since then, Pactolus became gold-bearing.

(1) A country in the northwest of Asia Minor.

(2) A river in Lydia that flows into the river Germ (modern Gedis).

(Source: "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece". N. A. Kun.)

See what "Midas" is in other dictionaries:

Midas 1 ... Wikipedia

Midas 2 ... Wikipedia

Modern encyclopedia

King of Phrygia in 738 696 BC NS. According to Greek myth, Midas was endowed by Dionysus with the ability to turn everything he touched into gold. According to the ancient myth, the ignorant and self-confident Midas awarded the primacy in the musical ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Midas- MIDAS, king of Phrygia in 738 696 BC. According to Greek myth, Midas was endowed by Dionysus with the ability to turn everything he touched into gold. According to the ancient myth, the ignorant and self-confident Midas awarded the primacy in ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

The Phrygian king, to whom Apollo put donkey ears for the fact that he gave the palm in the game of the lyre to the god Pan. Hence: a fool who does not understand anything about art. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Or the carriage, the planted sea turtle Chelonia mydas. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Noun., Number of synonyms: 1 king (32) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

- (MidaV) the name of many Phrygian kings. The first M. was the son of Gordiai Cybele, whose cult was very developed in Pessinunte. His name is associated with stories about the fatal gift, by virtue of which everything he touched turned into gold, and about donkey ears, ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

King Midas King Midas on one hundred Kazakh tenge coin 2004. Gold ... Wikipedia

Why do people pronounce themselves or "King Midas has donkey ears!"

Midas

This amazing story happened to the Phrygian king Midas. Midas was very rich. Wonderful gardens surrounded his magnificent palace, and thousands of the most beautiful roses - white, red, pink, purple - grew in the gardens. Once, Midas was very fond of his gardens and even grew roses in them himself. This was his favorite pastime. But people change over the years - so did King Midas. Roses no longer interested him - except perhaps the most yellow ones, on which he sometimes stopped his pensive gaze and whispered:

Oh, if only these beautiful yellow roses were not just golden, but truly golden! How rich I would be!

And Midas angrily plucked a living rose and threw it to the ground, for now he loved heavy, cold gold more than anything else in the world. Anything that resembled gold attracted his attention; everything that was real gold, Midas took and hid in his underground treasury. And if there was anything else in the world dear to Midas's heart, it was his little daughter. She was lovely, with light golden hair, a cheerful smile, clear eyes and a voice as clear as a bell.

However, love for his daughter did not diminish his passion for gold, but, on the contrary, only intensified it. The blinded tsar sincerely believed that his daughter would be the happiest if she had piles of gold. This is why Midas eventually began to dream only of collecting as much heavy yellow metal as possible in his treasury. However, the more gold he had, the more often he grieved, looking at him:

But, of course, Midas was unable to collect all the gold and therefore could only sigh, looking at his treasures hidden in a deep dungeon.

Once, when he sighed especially sadly, holding a heavy gold cup in his hands, a noise was heard in the palace. Midas got angry: who dared to disturb his peace? But it turned out that this is one of the constant companions of the god Dionysus, the satyr Silenus, lost his way and entered the gardens of Midas. The servants of Midas were frightened at first, because they had never seen satyrs before: the upper part of Silenus's body was human, but the legs, like a goat's, were covered with wool, with hooves. I must say that Silenus was also frightened. Noticing this, the attendants seized him, tied him up and brought him to Midas.

The king immediately realized that he was not an ordinary creature. He ordered the release of the frightened Silenus, invited him to his chambers, fed him, gave him a rest for several days, and after that he himself took him to the god Dionysus, knowing that he would thank him for such a service.

And so it happened. The merry god Dionysus addressed Midas:

I know, Midas, that you are a very rich man, and therefore I cannot thank you with any gift. Tell me what you would like yourself, and I promise to fulfill your wish. Speak I'm listening!

King Midas pondered. Indeed, what could he wish for? You can ask Dionysus for a large pile of gold, but what is it worth in comparison with all the gold of the whole earth? .. And suddenly a happy thought struck him.

I'm not nearly as rich as you think, ”he began. - True, I have some gold. But how much work I put into putting it together! But if you, Dionysus, help, then in the future it will be easier for me to collect gold ...

What can be my help? Dionysus asked.

I want everything I touch to instantly turn to gold! - said Midas and he was frightened by his insolence. Did he not anger Dionysus? ..

However, Dionysus only looked sternly at Midas and asked:

And you will not regret it later?

In no case! I will be the happiest person on earth!

Good, said Dionysus. - Let it be as you wish. From tomorrow's sunrise you will have a golden touch.

It is difficult to say if Midas was able to fall asleep that night. But as soon as the first, faintest daylight peeped out from behind the tops of the trees, Midas was already sitting on his bed, waiting for the fulfillment of what Dionysus had promised him, and fearing that the cheerful god was just making fun of him.

Midas gently touched the chair that stood near his bed, but the chair remained the same as it was - wooden ...

Desperate, Midas dropped his head on the pillow and covered his face with his hands. Meanwhile, more and more dawned. The first sunbeam flashed from behind the tops of the trees. He glanced quietly into Midas' room and lingered on the couch. King Midas ignored this. But a warm ray tickled his ear, as if it were comforting the king. Midas raised his head and was immediately surprised:

What awesome color is my pillow? Yesterday it was white ... and now ... for some reason yellow ... as if ... no, can it really be? ..

Yes, Dionysus kept his promise. All the pillows and bedspreads on his bed became gold, of pure red gold. The gift of the god Dionysus Midas received with the first ray of the sun!

Overjoyed, Midas jumped up from the couch. As a child, he ran from one object to another, testing his acquired ability to turn everything he touched into gold. He touched the table leg - and it immediately turned into a massive golden column. He tossed aside the window curtain - and it immediately grew heavy in his hand, dyed golden. Everything, everything became golden around Midas, all objects, all clothes, all dishes! Even the little handkerchief that Midas had embroidered by his daughter turned gold. However ... this did not really please Midas: he would willingly leave him as he was before, as his beloved baby brought him a handkerchief.

However, is it worth it to be upset over trifles? The handkerchief was hardly worth the attention, while everything around Midas turned to gold! Everything took on a red-yellow color and made Midas' heart happy. To get a better look at his new wealth, he even raised a large crystal of crystal to his eyes, turning the edges so that objects could be seen magnified through them. Much to his surprise, Midas saw nothing through the crystal! The hitherto transparent crystal immediately turned into a thick golden prism.

Without thinking about anything else, Midas ran into the garden.

And here everything turned golden - the railing of the stairs, the doors, the sand in the alleys - as soon as he touched them. And here are the blooming roses! Fragrant and multicolored, they raised their heads to the morning sun and swayed under the breath of the warm summer breeze.

But Midas knew how to make these beautiful roses even more beautiful. Hurriedly moving from one bush to another, he touched the roses until they all drooped with heavy golden heads, until golden leaves hung on the bushes, until even a small worm inside a flower turned golden. The whole garden of Midas is golden!

Happy Midas looked around: no one in the world had so much gold! True, for this I had to work hard, continuously touching various objects! But now you can have breakfast with great appetite.

And Midas went to the palace, where the table for the king's breakfast had already been laid. At one end of the table was a cup of milk and a fresh bun for his little daughter, who always had breakfast with her father. The baby itself was not yet there.

Midas ordered to call her, and he sat down at the table. But I didn't start eating. He loved his daughter so much, and he could not wait to please her with the news of the wonderful ability he had acquired. However, the daughter did not appear. King Midas was already about to call her a second time, when suddenly he heard a child crying.

"Is it really my baby crying? - he thought. - Why?"

The fact is that she rarely cried. She was a wonderful girl, almost always only laughed, and tears appeared in her eyes no more than once every six months. Midas was unpleasant that his child was crying, and to comfort her, he decided to surprise her. He quickly touched beautifully

th, painted with flowers and animals cup of his daughter and at once turned it into a gold one. Wouldn't the daughter be delighted to see such a transformation? ..

Meanwhile, the girl entered the hall. She cried so hard, as if her heart was breaking into pieces.

My joy, - Midas turned to her, - what happened?

Instead of answering, the daughter silently handed him one of those roses that Midas had just made golden.

Very nice! Midas exclaimed. - Did this wonderful golden flower make you cry?

Oh, father, - the girl sobbed, - she is completely ugly. On the contrary, this is a bad flower, it cannot be worse! As soon as I woke up, I immediately ran into the garden to pick some roses for you. And such a misfortune! All the roses that were so beautiful until now smelled so wonderful - they all turned nasty yellow, like this one, and completely odorless. I even pricked my nose with this flower ... What happened to the flowers, father?

Is it worth crying over this? - answered Midas, ashamed to admit that he himself is the culprit of such a transformation. - Yes, for one such rose that you have in your hand, you can get a hundred ordinary roses!

Anyway, I don’t even want to look at her, ”the baby said angrily and threw the golden rose on the floor.

The girl sat down at the table. But she didn’t even notice the change in her cup, as she thought only of the rose. And now her father did not dare to draw her attention to this. Perhaps it was better this way, because his daughter was very fond of looking at the animals drawn on the cup while drinking milk; and now they all disappeared into the yellow sheen of metal.

Meanwhile, Midas poured himself some milk and noted with satisfaction that the jug immediately turned golden as soon as he touched it. "By the way," thought Midas, "we should think about where now I will have to store my golden dishes. After all, very soon everything around me will become golden ..." Thinking in this way, he lifted the cup to his mouth and took a sip of milk. Suddenly his eyes widened in surprise. He felt it solidify into an ingot of metal.

That's the thing! Midas exclaimed, discouraged.

What, father? - asked the daughter. Her tears have not yet dried in her eyes.

Nothing, child, nothing, ”Midas replied.

He took a small fried crucian carp from the dish and put it on his plate. The fish smelled wonderful, and hungry Midas even swallowed saliva. He took the crucian by the tail and stopped in horror. The fish turned golden at once, became heavy in the hands. Only the most skilled jeweler could make such a fish out of gold. There was no price for such a fish. But she was inedible ... And Midas wanted to eat, not admire the fish.

I don’t quite understand, ”he muttered,“ if I can have breakfast at all ...

He took a delicious crunchy pie and quickly tossed it into his mouth so that the pie did not have time to turn into gold. But at once he jumped up from his chair and ran around the room, spitting. He tried to spit out a large ingot of gold from his mouth, which immediately turned into a pie, and could not do this, because he burned his mouth. Midas galloped beside the table, stamping his feet and moaning piteously. Finally he managed to spit out the gold bar. Midas paused, breathing heavily.

Father, dear father, what happened? - shouted in the meantime a frightened daughter. - Did you burn your mouth? What's the matter?

Ah, my dear child, - groaned Midas, - I myself now do not know what happened to me ...

Indeed, it is difficult even to imagine a more unpleasant state. The most expensive breakfast you could think of was on the table. But it couldn't be eaten, at least for Midas. The poorest peasant, who had nothing on the dinner table except a plate of stew and flatbread, and he was happier than this richest king! .. And what will happen next? After all, he was threatened by starvation among luxurious dishes! ..

Midas realized that Dionysus was right when he asked him if he would ever regret having received a wonderful gift. And the king was so sad that he wept loudly, forgetting even about the presence of his daughter, who looked at him in surprise. Until now, the girl was simply worried, not understanding what had happened to her father. But now, seeing his tears, she could not resist and, seized with a desire to console her beloved father, rushed to him and clasped his knees with her arms, since she could not reach higher. Midas felt that his daughter was a thousand times dearer to him than the hated gift, and, bending over, kissed her.

My beloved, my dear baby! he said gently.

But the girl was silent.

What I've done! Midas exclaimed in horror. - What I've done!

At the very moment when his lips touched the head of his dearly beloved daughter, an amazing and terrible change took place. The girl's lively, cheerful and pink face froze in the yellow glitter of gold, even the wet tears on her cheeks turned into golden drops. Midas froze as he felt how firm and motionless the arms and legs of his lovely baby had become. Oh, what a disaster! His beloved daughter became a victim of his greed and turned into a dead golden statue! ..

It is difficult to describe the grief of Midas, who wrung his hands looking at his dead daughter, moaned, cried and was killed. He lacked the strength even to look at the golden statue of his daughter ... She looked so much like his beloved girl! insatiable desire to have as much gold as possible!

Finally, Midas remembered Dionysus. He, he, the mighty Dionysus, can help him in grief. And Midas ordered to give the chariot and as soon as possible to take him to Dionysus.

The young god greeted him gloomily.

What do you say, Midas? Dionysus asked. - You must have come to thank me, tell me how happy you are? ..

Midas shook his head sadly.

I'm unhappy, heartbroken, ”he replied quietly.

Are you unhappy? - Dionysus feigned surprise. - Haven't I fulfilled your wish? After all, now you can have as much gold as you want.

Gold cannot make a person happy, ”Midas sighed bitterly. - Having received it, I lost what was most dear to me. Now I figured it out.

Do you understand? Dionysus asked. - We'll check it now. Tell me, Midas, what is more valuable to a person - gold or a jug of clean cold water? As you thought yesterday, I know that. What do you think today?

Oh, fresh, cool water! - moaned Midas. - She must never again refresh my dry mouth! ..

What is best for a person, ”Dionysus continued. - gold or a piece of bread?

A piece of bread, - said Midas, - is more valuable to me than all the gold in the world!

What is better for you - gold or your daughter, alive, cheerful, what she was just an hour ago?

Oh, my child, my daughter! - Midas cried. - Now I would not give even the tiniest freckle on her face for all the gold in the world!

You have grown wiser, Midas, - said Dionysus. - And I see that your heart, fortunately, did not have time to turn into a piece of cold gold. Otherwise, I could not help you. Tell me, do you really want to get rid of your wonderful ability?

She is hateful to me! - said Midas fervently. Then a fly with a nasty buzzing landed on his nose, but immediately, turning into a piece of gold, fell to the floor. Midas shuddered.

Good, said Dionysus. “Listen to me, Midas. Go take a dip in the Pactol River - its water will wash away the power of the golden touch from you. Take a jug with you and take some water from the river. With this water you spray all the objects that you would like to see again, not golden, but as they were before. Understood?

Midas was already running away, hurrying to the Pactol River.

Like a madman, he grabbed an earthen jug (which immediately turned gold) and rushed to the water. He was trembling all over: what if the water in the river also turns golden ?! But no-transparent, fresh waves splashed around him, the cool water did not change, touching his feet. Now they had to fill the jug with water ... Wouldn't it then become gold? .. No, on the contrary, the jug instantly turned into an earthenware.

As the greatest treasure, Midas carried home this earthen jug of water. He did not stop for a moment, he hurried to his daughter. Here it is, a motionless golden statue! With trembling hands, Midas began to sprinkle water from a jug on her. No, this is not enough! Hurry, hurry! The water from the jug poured over the daughter's head. And finally, she came to life! She again became a real living girl! Midas put the jug aside and wrapped his arms around his beloved daughter, crying and laughing at the same time.

And the girl did not understand anything: after all, she had no idea that for some time she had been a golden statue.

Father! she exclaimed in surprise. - Why are you pouring water on me? You ruined my new dress!

Midas just laughed happily.

Of course, Midas and his daughter immediately went to the garden. They sprinkled golden roses with water from the Pactol River - and the flowers came to life again, became fragrant, played with living colors.

Since that time, Midas no longer entered his treasury and did not like gold in any form!

But King Midas was so unlucky that as soon as he got rid of one misfortune, he immediately fell into another - this time his conceit let him down. And it was like this.

Fearing wealth, Midas began to live as simple as possible, often wandering through the forests and mountains where the god Pan dwells, surrounded by his constant companions - the nymphs. Pan played loudly on a flute made with his own hands, delighting the ears of the nymphs, and together with the nymphs and Midas. Midas really liked Pan's play, and he told him more than once:

You are a wonderful musician, Pan! I suppose you could compete with Apollo himself!

And Pan was so confident in his skill that he challenged Apollo to a competition.

Apollo agreed, hoping to have a lot of fun.

The judge was Tmol, the god of the mountain, on which the competition was to take place. Tmol, with the importance of the moment, settled on a piece of rock covered with goatskin. Around it nymphs, dryads and other deities of the area were located. King Midas sat with a thoughtful look, confident in the victory of his beloved god Pan, who, clutching his flute in his hands, with a challenge, but also with some uncertainty in his gaze, awaited the start of the competition with Apollo himself. The golden-haired Apollo stood to the right of Tmol, in a snow-white tunic, with a silver-stringed cithara in his left hand.

Get started! - Tmol ordered importantly, feeling the significance of the moment.

Pan raised the flute to his lips - and, fleeing the sharp piercing sounds of his barbarian instrument, the goats grazing on the surrounding peaks rushed down in horror. But Pan finished his game. Tmol, nymphs, dryads were silent, looking down. Only Midas clapped his hands in delight - he loved Pan's music so much.

It was Apollo's turn. He raised the cithara - and the enchanting, iridescent sounds of silver strings poured out. They resembled the gentle rustle of green oak forests, the murmur of light streams that ran down from Mount Tmol, the twittering and singing of birds. It seemed that all the beauty of the native land harmoniously merged in the melody of Apollo.

The sounds of the divine cithara froze, and Midas impatiently turned to Tmol:

Well, hurry up, Tmol, declare your will: who do you consider the winner? We are waiting, Tmol!

Tmol rose and proclaimed loudly so that all living things could hear around:

No matter how daring Pan was in his claims, his barbaric music cannot be compared with the singing of the cithara. The winner is Apollo!

And everyone around - nymphs, dryads, other deities - supported this decision:

Truly so, Apollo is the winner!

Only Midas remained adamant and blamed Tmol:

You're wrong, Tmol! You're unfair! Pan should be recognized as the winner, his melody is incomparably more pleasing to our ears! ..

Although it is not proper for a celestial dweller to take offense at mortal people, Apollo was enraged by the words of Midas. Leaving Mount Tmol, surrounded by muses, Apollo threw Midas over his shoulder:

Anyone who prefers Pan's melodies to my kifara should have different ears, Midas! ..

In great annoyance, Midas returned to his home after this competition: still, he believed that Tmol judged unfairly. Walking down the mountain all alone, Midas suddenly felt his ears become heavy. He grabbed his ears - oh horror! - his ears grew, lengthened and covered with soft hair.

What is it? he exclaimed. - What's happened? Midas bent over a fast stream that ran down the mountains, and was numb with fear: in the water, as in a mirror, his head was reflected, which was decorated with long donkey ears, covered with a silvery white fluff!

How?! What is it? Is it really me, is it really my ears?

Alas, there was no doubt: it was his head, and these were his ears! Now only Midas has reached the meaning of the words uttered by Apollo: for the fact that Midas preferred the game of Pan to the game of Apollo, the Sun Face rewarded him with donkey ears.

In horror, Midas rushed into the bushes: what if someone saw his donkey ears ?! But what to do now? How can he appear to the courtiers, relatives and friends? If he appears among people with such ears, everyone will laugh at him, every child will point his fingers at the unlucky king! ..

Only in the evening did Midas return home. He returned at dusk, and besides, having tied a piece of cloth around his head so that his ears were completely hidden.

Since then, King Midas did not part with the bandage, and no mortal saw his ears. None of the mortals, except for one only servant, who cut the king's hair, beard and mustache when they grew strongly! From this servant, King Midas could not hide his ugliness. On pain of death, Midas forbade him to divulge a terrible secret. And the servant promised to keep her.

But the barber was so talkative that the secret entrusted to him by the king weighed heavily on him. He was downright weary of the desire to tell her to at least someone, and therefore lived in terrible confusion.

Finally, he could not resist: one fine day, once again shaving the king, he ran to the river bank, dug a hole in the ground and, bending low over it, whispered:

King Midas has donkey ears !!!

And immediately he hastily covered the hole with earth.

Not so much time passed, and reeds grew in the place where this hole was. Some local shepherd, passing by with his flock, picked a reed and made a pipe out of it. When he blew into it, the pipe suddenly began to play:

King Midas has donkey ears! King Midas has donkey ears! ..

Thus, all people learned the secret of King Midas.

Phrygian coin 253-268 King Midas in a Phrygian hat (with which he covers his donkey's ears).