King Midas was a wealthy king of Phyrgia, in Asia Minor. When an elderly companion of Dionysus was separated from his master, Midas showed great hospitality. Therefore, when Midas returned the old satyr to Dionysus, he was granted one wish. He wished for the golden touch, which quickly turned out to be more of a blessing than a curse. He could not even eat without his meal turning into gold. When Midas confronted Dionysus about this, he was told to travel to the river Paktolos, and bathe there. Midas obeyed, which rid him of the power, and imbued the river's sands with gold. Later, he was asked to judge a musical contest between Apollo and Pan. When he chose the pipe over the lyre, the lyre-god gave him donkey ears. Ashamed of this, Midas hid these ears under a Phyrgian cap, the traditional cap of the nobility.
Works Cited
Atsma, Aaron J. "MIDAS." Theoi Project. Theoi. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. <http://www.theoi.com/Heros/Midas.html>.
Photograph. Home.comcast.net. Comcast. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. <http://home.comcast.net/~bmill07/TurkeyTrip_files/image005.jpg>.
Photograph. Realmagick.com. RealMagick. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. <http://realmagick.com/articles/69/1169-1.jpg>.
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