What Lesson Did King Midas Learn From His Greed?

Some days I get this silly thrill connecting anime-style tragic greed to actual history, and the myth of King Midas is one of those moments where myth and archaeology high-five each other in my head. Growing up I devoured retellings of the golden-touch story and the donkey-ears episode as if they were campfire horror tales, but digging into the background made me realize the legend points back to a real place and a likely real ruler: a Phrygian king known in Greek tradition as Midas. The popular Greek and Roman versions — especially Ovid’s take in 'Metamorphoses' — gave the myth its shine, but if you trace the name in ancient records and tombs you get to a Phrygia centered at Gordium, in central Anatolia, where archaeology and Near Eastern inscriptions hint at an historical kernel behind the folklore. The archaeology around Gordium is the part that hooked me: big burial mounds, fancy grave goods, and a Mediterranean crossroads vibe that explains why a local potentate could be remembered as fabulously wealthy. Excavations in the mid-20th century turned up a massive tumulus (Tumulus MM) dating to the early first millennium BCE that many scholars associate with a powerful Phrygian ruler. Meanwhile, from the Assyrian perspective, there’s a clear echo — Assyrian records from the 8th century BCE mention a king called Mita (or Midas in Greek transliteration) of the Mushki. This Mita is probably the historical figure behind several legends. So rather than a single neat timeline, what you get is a cluster: a real Iron Age Anatolian ruler whose fame for wealth, power, and distinctive customs was later dramatized by Greek storytellers into the Midas of myth. I love that mix of gritty history and shiny myth: it makes the story feel alive rather than frozen in an encyclopedia box. The famous “golden touch” tale likely became attached to Midas because Phrygia was wealthy and unusual to Greek ears, and because myths love exaggerating what stands out. Later authors like those behind the Homeric tradition and Ovid polished the moral edges: greed punished, wisdom regained, the grotesque donkey-ears tale as a separate thread showing the same problematic hubris. If you’re the kind of person who likes to binge both historical documentaries and fanciful retellings, check out readable summaries of the Gordium excavations and then flip to 'Metamorphoses' for the literary sparkle. It’s one of those stories that’s just as fun when you imagine it on a game map as when you picture the real, dusty Anatolian hillside where tombs still guard their mysteries.

I still get a little thrill whenever I think about how Midas got that cursed gift. When I first read the story as a kid during a rainy afternoon, it felt like a fairy tale with a sting. The short version is: Midas helped a drunken wanderer — Silenus, who was a companion of the god Dionysus — by returning him safely to his divine master. In gratitude, Dionysus offered Midas one wish. Midas asked that everything he touched turn to gold. At first it seemed like the ultimate win: statues, cups, even the palace walls glittered. Then the horror arrived when his food, his drink, and tragically his daughter turned to lifeless gold. I always linger on that image when I think about greed vs. love. Midas begged Dionysus to take the gift back, and was told to wash in the River Pactolus; the gold washed off into the river, which is why the sands there were said to be rich. I like picturing him humbled, a king who learned to value warmth over shine — it still feels like a cautionary tale that works on so many levels in everyday life.

I get a little giddy whenever I spot the story of King Midas in a museum or bookshop — it’s one of those myths that artists have simply loved to dramatize. If you’re asking which artworks show Midas and his golden touch, the short route is to hunt through visual traditions tied to Ovid’s 'Metamorphoses' and to classical iconography. The most common scenes you’ll encounter are: Midas receiving the wish (or the god granting it), Midas discovering his food/girl turned to gold, and the purification scene when he washes in a river (often identified as the Pactolus) and gets rid of his curse. These moments show up across ancient vases and sarcophagi, Renaissance and Baroque paintings, engraved book illustrations, and even modern prints and cartoons. I often start at museum databases (Metropolitan Museum, British Museum, Louvre) and type in keywords like “Midas,” “Pactolus,” or “Midas and gold” — that usually surfaces vase paintings, Roman mosaics, and illustrated editions that depict the golden-touch episodes. When it comes to concrete image types: ancient Greek and Roman objects are prime. On Attic vases and Roman mosaics you’ll sometimes find Midas portrayed as a Phrygian figure; these tend to focus on narrative clarity (he touches, something turns to gold). Medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts and illustrated editions of Ovid’s 'Metamorphoses' are another huge source: 16th–19th century editors and printmakers loved to add plates showing the instant of transformation or the tragic aftermath. If you’re into prints, look through collections of early modern engravings and woodcuts — many Ovidian compilations include a plate for the Midas story. Those black-and-white engravings have a different kind of punch: the contrast makes the “touch” feel almost theatrical. For painters, the subject pops up in mythological series from the Renaissance through the 19th century. The styles vary wildly — some artists emphasize the grotesque absurdity (food turning to gold) while others lean into pathos (Midas’ regret on the riverbank). Baroque and Rococo treatments often stage the scene as a dramatic set-piece, with servants and onlookers to magnify the emotional stakes. In the 19th century, illustrators and book artists took liberties, sometimes turning the tale into a cautionary picture for children’s books, complete with gilded pages and moral captions. If you like modern reinterpretations, you’ll see the concept reused in editorial cartoons, comics, and even commercials as shorthand for greed or a ruinous wish — the visual shorthand (a touch followed by glittering limbs or objects) is powerful and immediate. If you want to chase down specific pieces, two practical tips from my museum-hopping: first, search illustrated editions of Ovid’s 'Metamorphoses' (look for 16th–19th century editions online — they’ll often have plates labeled with story names). Second, use museum online catalogs with filters for “mythology” and search “Midas” or “Pactolus” — that usually brings up vases, prints, and paintings. Finally, don’t overlook local or regional museums and art books on myth in art; some of the most charming Midas images live in small collections or old engraved books rather than in the big-name galleries. If you want, tell me whether you prefer classical art, book illustrations, or modern reinterpretations and I’ll point you toward some standout examples I’ve loved spotting in real life and online — there’s a Midas image to match every taste.

There’s something almost comically tragic about King Midas to me—like watching someone trip on their own shoelaces while carrying a trunk of treasure. I’ve always been drawn to the version in 'Metamorphoses' where Midas, drunk on greed, asks Dionysus to make whatever he touches turn to gold. At first it’s a glittering dream: statues, door knobs, coins—all instantly transformed. But the comedy curdles into horror very quickly. Bread and wine turn to metal the moment they meet his hands; his food becomes inedible, servants and household objects solidify into useless gilded things, and worst of all, when he embraces his daughter (sometimes called Marigold in later retellings), she becomes a lifeless statue. That’s the literal mechanism—his touch physically transmutes organic, living material into metal—but the deeper loss is social and emotional: the riches pile up, but they’re useless for sustaining life or relationships. Watching retellings in different books and animated shorts over the years, I’ve noticed two layers to his loss. First is the practical—if you can’t eat, you can’t live, and if everything you handle is unworkable, your wealth is more prison than asset. Midas doesn’t just lose access to comfort; he loses the ability to perform ordinary human acts: feeding himself, touching his child, even shaking hands. Second is the moral and psychological—his wish isolates him. Wealth becomes a barrier rather than a boon, and the golden touch is a symbol of how greed can harden a person’s heart and relationships. In most versions he begs Dionysus to reverse it, and the god instructs him to wash in the river Pactolus; the power (and some accounts say the daughter as well) is washed away and the river’s sands become rich with gold. That washing scene is oddly tender: it’s less about reclaiming material wealth and more about being allowed back into ordinary human connection. I always come away feeling oddly hopeful and melancholy. The myth isn’t just a morality tale about wanting too much—it's a sharp little parable about the difference between having things and being able to use them in life. Every time I read it, I think of small modern versions: people who chase attention or money at the cost of friends, or who build up online personas that keep them from real touch. If you’re ever tempted to wish for endless treasure, maybe imagine having dinner with your family first—because Midas discovers that some things you can’t afford to trade for gold.

There’s a version of this myth I always picture on a rainy afternoon, curled up with a battered translation of 'Metamorphoses' and a mug gone cold on the table beside me. In that telling, King Midas’s golden touch is exactly as curses often are in myths: it doesn’t feel like punishment right away. He’s delighted at first—every goblet, every fruit, even the flowers turn brilliant—but the joy curdles when hunger hits and his food becomes metal. The worst moment, the one that haunts me, comes when his daughter runs into his arms and she, too, becomes a statue of gold. The grief that follows is raw and immediate, and it’s his heartbreak that drives the rest of the story. Desperate and repentant, Midas begs the god who granted the wish—Dionysus—for the power to be taken away. Dionysus tells him to wash in the river Pactolus. Midas obeys, and as he bathes the magical touch washes off him, flowing into the river and leaving him mortal again. The goddess’s mercy (or the god’s instructions) restore what matters more than treasure: his child becomes flesh once again. The Pactolus river then becomes a mythic explanation for the gold dust found in its sands; the tale neatly ties a moral lesson about greed to a natural phenomenon. That practical-bookish bit—how myths explain geology—always makes me smile like a kid connecting dots in a museum. There are other versions too, which is part of what I love about folklore. In some retellings the transformed person is a lover or companion rather than a daughter; in medieval or later adaptations she sometimes gets a name like Marigold. A few versions emphasize that Midas learns humility through sacrifice—washing away the gift means losing the immediate thrill of gilded touch but gaining the richer, human rewards of love and ordinary food. Scholars debate whether the god was Dionysus, who originally gave the gift after Midas sheltered his satyr, or whether later storytellers shifted details. That fluidity is what keeps the myth alive: it can be adapted to teach different audiences about vanity, repentance, or the dangers of wanting instant wealth. Personally, the scene of Midas sobbing by the river stays with me. I once used the story to explain a moral to a small group of kids during a rainy museum visit and watched them gasp when I described the daughter turned to metal. The idea that a single desperate act—washing in a particular river—could undo such a catastrophe feels both hopeful and a little unsettling. If you want the original classical flavor, read 'Metamorphoses' for Ovid’s voice; if you prefer a simpler folk version, look for retellings that highlight the river Pactolus and the lesson about greed. Either way, the myth leaves me thinking about what I’d give up for a wish and whether I’d even recognize myself afterward.

Sometimes I go down rabbit holes of myth references in pop music and King Midas is one of those tropes that pops up everywhere — greedy-turned-golden metaphors, love turned to stone, that itchy 'everything I touch becomes gold' image. The clearest, classic call-out is 'King Midas in Reverse' by The Hollies (1967) — it actually uses the myth as a personal metaphor about everything going wrong for the narrator. Another super obvious one is 'Midas Touch' by Midnight Star (1986), which leans into the romantic/party angle: the Midas idea becomes a compliment about turning situations golden with someone’s charm. Those two are great starting points because one uses the myth in a melancholy, introspective way and the other plays it as a funky, celebratory motif. Beyond those, lots of artists borrow the Midas image without naming him directly — so you’ll see songs titled 'Midas Touch' across R&B, funk, and hip-hop catalogs where the phrase stands in for success and irresistible appeal. Genres like rap and soul especially love the shorthand: dropping 'Midas' or 'golden touch' into a bar signals wealth but also the curse angle if the lyrics turn darker. I’ve pulled up lines in indie and alt-rock where the singer bitterly references a golden curse; the tone shifts a lot depending on context, so it’s fun to compare how a 60s psych-pop band and an 80s R&B crew treat the same myth. If you want to hunt more, I usually search lyric sites (Genius, LyricFind) for the words 'Midas' or 'Midas touch', and then follow covers and samples — sometimes a song you like is sampled into a newer track that keeps the line. Spotify playlists named 'Golden Touch' or 'Midas Touch' often collect many of the titled songs, too. And for a deeper cultural play, check out how musical theatre and concept albums occasionally rework the Midas story into whole narratives — that’s where the myth gets its teeth into character study rather than just a single simile. If you want, I can dig up lyrics snippets or make a playlist of the most interesting 'Midas' usages I’ve found.

I get a little thrill digging into where myth and history first cross, and with Midas that crossroads is pretty neat. The earliest surviving reference that most scholars point to isn’t from a Greek poet at all but from Assyrian cuneiform: inscriptions of the 8th century BCE mention a ruler called 'Mita' (often written as Mita of the Mushki). Many historians link this Mita to the Phrygian king later remembered in Greek stories as Midas, though that identification isn’t 100% certain and some argue for a broader tribal leader rather than the mythic king of legend. Greek literary mentions come later — for example, Herodotus in his 'Histories' (5th century BCE) tells Phrygian stories about Gordias and Midas, and poets and Roman authors like those behind 'Metamorphoses' later retell the golden-touch myth. So if you mean the very first ancient source we can point to with surviving text, it’s those Assyrian records of 'Mita' from the early first millennium BCE, which then get folded into the richer Greek mythic tradition centuries afterward. I love that slippery boundary between an actual ancient ruler and the tall tales that grow around his name — it makes reading both inscriptions and poems feel like detective work.

I've been noticing that modern retellings of the King Midas story love to stretch that single, shiny idea into so many directions—some comic, some bitter, some weirdly tender. When I read contemporary shorts or urban fantasies that riff on the Midas legend, I keep seeing the curse zoomed out from a personal moral fable into a social or technological metaphor. Instead of a lonely king who touches gold, authors will make the ‘gold touch’ stand in for things like viral fame, data commodification, or even climate collapse. The genius move is that Midas becomes less of a one-off moral horror and more of a lens to explore our modern addictions: the craving for likes, the need to monetize everything, or the ecological consequences of turning natural resources into profit. I tend to read these tales on a slow Saturday with a coffee and a catalog of half-read novels stacked next to me, and the versions that stick are the ones that change point of view. Some retellings hand the narrative to the person who suffers because of the protagonist—an abandoned lover who gets turned into a statue of gold, a worker crushed by an economy obsessed with extraction, or a child who inherits a glittering but unlivable legacy. That flip of focus does two things: it humanizes the collateral damage and complicates the idea of blame. Other writers go intimate and psychological, making the curse literal but the real horror the protagonist’s inability to connect. Where the old story ended with a lesson, new versions often end on unresolved notes—showing the slow psychological erosion or the social ripple effects rather than neat moral closure. Tonally, I love when authors subvert expectation. Some play Midas for dark humor—imagine satires where everything turned to gold becomes an absurd bureaucratic nightmare—or for speculative sociology like Frederik Pohl's old riff on abundance in 'The Midas Plague', which flips scarcity-on-its-head into something dystopian. Other writers inject gender or identity politics, swapping the king for a queen or a nonbinary protagonist, which throws the power dynamics into sharp relief: who controls wealth, who pays the price, and how the “curse” maps onto systemic inequalities. There’s also the ecological take—where “gold” is oil, plastic, or mined minerals, and the curse becomes a metaphor for environmental degradation. Those versions feel the most urgent when read in a noisy café with climate stories on my phone and a little helplessness in my chest. If I had to give a tiny reading tip, I’d say look for the retellings that change the object of desire. Whether it’s influence instead of gold, data instead of metal, or simply a child’s need for touch, the successful retellings are those that make you empathize with the cursed person while still letting you see the ethical costs. And if a story leaves you unsettled in a good way—wanting to talk about it with someone afterward—that’s usually the one that'll linger in my head for days.