Why do people say or "King Midas has donkey ears!". The Story of King Midas The Story of King Midas

Midas was a passionate admirer of the god of wine, sat at the same table with him more than once and knew all his companions. When one day the peasants brought him some drunken old man, Midas recognized Dionysus' tutor, Silenus, in him. Midas received him cordially and, after a ten-day merry feast, personally brought Silenus to Dionysus. Delighted, the god volunteered to fulfill his every desire. Then Midas wished that everything he touched would turn into gold. Dionysus expressed regret that nothing better came to his mind, but he kept his word.

At first, Midas was beside himself with delight. He broke off a branch from an oak, and it turned into gold, picked up a stone from the ground, and it turned into gold, picked an apple from a tree, and it became golden, no worse than an apple from orchards. But when Midas sat down at the table and took a piece of bread, he could not eat it, as it immediately turned into gold. Gold creaked in Midas's teeth when he put a piece of meat in his mouth, wine turned to gold when he wanted to take a sip. In desperation, Midas turned to Dionysus, begging him to be delivered from this curse. And since the gods are merciful, if people admit their guilt and ask for mercy, Dionysus granted his request. He told Midas to come to the river Pactol and bathe in it in order to wash away the guilt of an unreasonable wish. Midas obeyed with joy - and from his misadventures with gold, only legend and golden sand in the river, which today is called Gedir, remained.

Knowing the vanity of wealth, Midas lost interest in his duties as a ruler and indulged in wanderings through forests and fields. He loved solitude and simplicity; but even here he went too far. Once, while walking on Mount Tmol, he became an uninvited witness to a musical competition between the god of the shepherds, Pan and. Pan's playing on the shepherd's flute could not be compared with the divine sounds of the golden lyre of Apollo, and the god of Mount Tmol, who judged this competition, rightfully awarded the championship to Apollo. But then Midas, whose opinion no one asked, raised a cry, protesting against this decision: they say, a simple shepherd's song was much better. One can argue about tastes, but not with the gods. Enraged, Apollo pounced on Midas and pulled his ears so hard that they became long, like those of a donkey.

Midas carefully hid his ears under his long hair, but the servant, who cut the king's hair from time to time, discovered this secret of his. It was dangerous to issue her, but also unbearable to keep, so the servant went far beyond the city, dug a hole in the ground and whispered into it: "King Midas has donkey ears." However, even the earth will not hide a secret given out once: a reed grew over a covered pit, at the first breeze, the reed rustled the words sown in the ground, and they spread throughout the world.

The legends about Midas sound so fabulous that for many centuries they saw him as just a mythical character. Meanwhile, the "father of history" Herodotus, and after him a number of other historians, mentioned Midas as a real-life ruler. And in the last century, an inscription of the Assyrian king Sargon I was found, referring to 717 - 715 years. BC e., in which King Midas from the Phrygian Gordion (in the Assyrian transcription of Medes) appears as an indisputably historical figure. In Phrygia, a rock-cut tomb with a richly decorated facade has been preserved, which is traditionally called the “Tomb of Midas” (to the east of the current city of Kutahya). Archaeologists have also found Gordion, the capital of King Mida. So, Midas of Gordion really existed. Then how to explain that he became the hero of fairy tales? The history of gold most likely reflects the wealth of this king; the brilliance of gold has long excited human imagination. But today an explanation has been found for the story of Midas' donkey ears. In the ruins of Gordion, coins were found with the name and image of Midas: instead of a crown on his head, he has a donkey's head along with ears. Thus, he really did have donkey ears, though not on his head, but on his cap; Midas ruled at the end of the 8th century. BC e. His mother was clearly not the goddess Cybele (just in ancient times, monarchs loved to clean up their genealogy), but Gordius, who, apparently, also really existed, could well have been his father.

The Midas legends are usually told as two separate, independent stories. The first of them is one of the ancient mythological parables about the "curse of gold", the second is one of the most common fairy tales in the world. The German researcher Lehmann-Nietzsche counted a total of twenty-eight "national versions" of this plot (Greek, Roman, but also Armenian, Serbian, Irish, Moroccan, Persian, Mongolian, Indian, etc.), and he took into account only folklore options. This means that it does not include the author's adaptations of this plot, such as, for example, the poem King Lavra (1870) by Havlicek-Borovsky, which is widely known in the Czech Republic, or Vrchlitsky's play Midas' Ears (1890).

Ovid used the story of Midas in his "". The oldest images of Midas on vases date back to the end of the 7th century. BC e. Of the European masters, we should first of all mention Schiavone ("Midas Court", mid-16th century) and Poussin ("Midas and Bacchus", c. 1630). The opera "King Midas" was written in 1931 by Kempf.

"Midas and Medusa: The Shortest Romance"

The expressions with the name of Midas became common nouns: “the barber of Midas” (who cannot keep secrets), “Midas court” (the court of the ignorant), “Midas ears” (about stupidity or ignorance that cannot be hidden).

"Intending to write the Midas judgment
I wanted to write off your ears for Midas"
- I. A. Krylov;

S. Zweig: "... like King Midas, he choked on his own gold"(“The Discovery of Eldorado”) - here is the image of Midas, dying from a magical gift to turn everything into gold.

Robot boxer Midas from the movie "Real Steel» (Real Steel) 2011.

Once, a very long time ago, in those days when the gods still lived on Earth, a king lived on the territory of modern Turkey Midas. In the town Gordion(Gordion or Gordieion) state capital Phrygia The golden king Midas built a palace and, according to legend, descended into his vault and constantly counted the countless treasures that he owned. He is described as a very greedy and greedy king. It is believed that he judged the competition of Apollo himself and awarded the victory to the opponent. For this, Apollo made king Midas big ears. But this is not what the Phrygian king Midas became famous for ...

There are legends about the countless treasures of Midas. It is said that no other king in the world had such great wealth. Many adventurers and archaeologists have tried to find these jewels, but so far no one has been able to find anything. In 1957, archaeologists began excavating a mound in which the legendary Phrygian king was supposedly buried. The mound is 300 meters in diameter and about 60 meters high.

Photo from 1957

The remains that were found there were sent to the laboratory for examination. The radiocarbon analysis carried out gave an approximate date of death. The time of burial did not coincide with the time of the life of the golden king Midas. In addition, when a reconstruction of the head of the king was made on the basis of the found skull, it turned out to be a bit of a Mongoloid appearance.

Most likely, one of the Mughal (or Mongol) khans was buried in the barrow. And of course, no fabulous wealth was found in the mound. This once again confirms that archaeologists have not unearthed the tomb of King Midas.

The photo shows a modern view of the mound. Now the mound can be viewed, but the main finds have been transferred to museums.

In today's Turkey, in a slightly different place, the facade of a tomb carved into the rock with an entrance leading to nowhere has been preserved. This tomb is called Tomb of King Midas» ( Tomb of King Midas). It is believed that the gods were able to move to the other world through portals that only they knew how to open. Perhaps King Midas knew this way and went into that world along with all his wealth. Although it is difficult to say whether or not earthly riches are needed in the afterlife. But in any case, no gold and jewelry have been found so far.

The location of the tomb of King Midas is indicated on the site map.

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There is a very beautiful and instructive legend about the golden king Midas.

The god of winemaking, Dionysus, passed through the kingdom of Midas on his way to India. And he lost his beloved teacher Silenus in the Phrygian kingdom. The servants of King Midas accidentally found Silenus in a state of extreme intoxication. Everyone knows that the god Dionysus was the god of winemaking, so this is not surprising. The servants brought Silenus to the palace to Midas. The king gave a hospitable welcome to the teacher. When Dionysus found out where his teacher was and that he was alive and well, he was very happy. As a token of gratitude for saving Silenus, Dionysus offered to fulfill any desire of Midas.

Painting by N. Poussin (Nicolas Poussin)

It is known that Midas loved his only daughter more than anything in the world, but he loved gold even more. And so he wished that everything he touched turned into gold. Dionysus asked if he understood exactly what the king wanted or if he wants to change his mind and wish for something else. The king did not heed the warnings and insisted on his own: "I want everything I touch to turn into gold."

Dionysus granted the wish. Whatever Midas touched now turned to gold. He touched the tree - the tree became pure gold. He took the stone in his hands - the stone became an ingot of the purest gold. Midas was very pleased, his cherished desire came true, now he will definitely become the richest man in the world. In a good mood, he fell asleep. In the morning he was hungry and he ordered to bring the most delicious dishes of the kingdom. He planned to arrange a solemn feast. As soon as he raised the goblet of wine to his lips, the wine immediately turned into gold. The king tried to bite off a piece of meat, but could not - the meat also turned into gold. Then his beloved daughter entered the room and he kissed her as usual ... and to the horror of the king, she turned into a golden statue. The grief of Midas knew no bounds. He could neither eat nor drink and knew that soon he would simply die of hunger. In addition, he turned even his beloved daughter into gold.

Painting by British artist Walter Crane

The golden king Midas hurried to Dionysus and begged him to remove this curse from him. He was ready to give all his gold and precious stones, if only his beloved daughter would open her eyes again and he could talk to her. Dionysus took pity on the greedy king and told him to go to the river and bathe. After that, the curse will be washed away. And so it happened. Midas was able to eat and drink again ... But he could not return his daughter and soon died of grief. And gold is still being found in that river, but I will not say its name so that no one would have a desire to look for this damned gold, especially since those ancient times the name of the river has changed several times and it is difficult to establish which one it was river.

There is another version of this legend, according to which Midas still managed to revive his daughter, but he could not cope with his greed and again asked Dionysus to return to him the gift of turning stones into gold. Dionysus agreed. The golden king Midas made so many gold bars that gold simply ceased to be valued. It has become no more expensive than an ordinary roadside cobblestone. Now gold could not be exchanged even for a piece of bread. God Apollo was angry with King Midas and took away this gift from him, and as a punishment he made him long ears.

In any case, greed and greed do not lead to good!

By the way, in memory of the legend about the golden king Midas in the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2004, a commemorative coin was issued in 100 tenge of pure gold 999 samples.

The coin is called Gold of King Midas».

The infamous king Midas became famous for centuries for his greed (he begged Bacchus (Dionysus) to make everything that the royal hand touches immediately turn into gold) and stupidity. This last quality was eloquently evidenced by the donkey ears with which Midas was crowned for illiterate refereeing of the competition, which today, presumably, would have received the name "competition of variety performers."
The myth of the greed of King Midas.
One day, Silenus, the mentor of Bacchus, after a big drinking party, got lost in the forest and wandered for a long time in search of his comrades, until he finally reached the palace of Midas, the king of Libya. As soon as Midas saw the red nose and the fat body of the lost wanderer, he immediately recognized him as Silenus, the teacher of Bacchus, and volunteered to take him to the divine disciple. Seeing Silenus, Bacchus was delighted and promised that he would fulfill any request of Midas. Midas, who was very greedy, fell on his knees and asked God to make everything he touches turn into gold immediately. Bacchus immediately assured that his wish would be granted, and Midas, rejoicing that his enterprise was a success, touched various objects with his fingers on the way to the palace, and they all instantly turned into gold. The sight of these and other miracles caused by a simple touch filled his heart with joy, and he ordered the servants to prepare a sumptuous feast and invited all his courtiers to share in his joy. His orders were carried out without delay, and Midas beamed with happiness, seating himself at the head of the banquet table and looking around at the dishes and wines prepared for the treat. But then an unexpected discovery awaited him - tablecloths, plates and goblets also turned into gold, as well as food and drink, as soon as he touched them with his lips. And in the midst of abundance, he was tormented by the pangs of hunger, and the precious gift that did not allow Midas to satisfy this hunger became a curse for him. The exhausted Midas walked the road along which he proudly moved a few hours ago, again threw himself on his knees in front of Bacchus and asked him to take away the gift that was no longer needed, because of which he could neither eat nor drink. His despair touched Bacchus, and he ordered Midas to bathe in the Pactol River if he wanted to get rid of the gift that had so quickly become a curse. Midas hurried to the river and plunged into its waters, not noticing that even the sand under his feet turned to gold. And since then, the Paktol River has been flowing along the golden sands on the shore.
Donkey ears of King Midas.
Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses" tells of the musical contest between Apollo and Pan. It was on the slopes of Mount Tmola. The judge was the god of that mountain. The simple, unsophisticated sounds of Pan's flute could not be compared with the majestic melody of Apollo. The golden strings of the cithara rattled solemnly, all nature plunged into deep silence. The god of Mount Tmola awarded Apollo the victory. Everyone praised the great kifared god. Only one Midas, the king of Phrygia, did not admire the game of Apollo, but praised Pan. Apollo got angry, grabbed Midas by the ears and pulled them out. Since then, King Midas became the owner of donkey ears, which he diligently hid under a large turban, trying to keep his ugliness a secret. But he did not succeed: the talkative barber, who learned the secret of Midas, unable to remain silent, dug a hole and whispered his secret. A reed grew out of the hole, a pipe was cut out of the reed, and the song of the pipe glorified the unlucky king all over the world. And the saddened Pan, defeated by Apollo, retired deeper into the thicket of forests; often full of sadness, gentle sounds of his flute are heard there, and young nymphs listen to them with love.
However, the latest discoveries of American archaeologists refute the conventional wisdom about the king and brilliantly confirm the saying that the truth should be sought not anywhere, but in wine.
Scientists from the Archaeological Museum of the University of Pennsylvania discovered that 2,700 years ago in Asia Minor, at the wake of the deceased Midas, a strange drink flowed like a river (now it would be called a cocktail) - a mixture of beer, wine and honey.
Probably a modern drinker would not be filled with enthusiasm at the thought of this nectar. But a meticulous chemical analysis showed that exactly the same grog or punch was consumed by the Greeks in Crete from the time of Minos, and in the Bronze Age it was drunk by the inhabitants of Mycenae, the city whose mythical ruler, Agamemnon, commanded the Greek army in the Trojan War.
According to scientists, the discovery of the remains of a cocktail in the tomb of Midas in the center of modern Turkey, near Ankara, indicates that the myth about this king is at least partially true. His subjects, the Phrygians, were not from the Middle East at all, but Europeans from what is now northern Greece.
The fact is that the cocktail mentioned above belongs to the ancient European drinking tradition. Its remains were found in excavations in the Scandinavian lands and even in Scotland, where traces of material culture of five thousand years ago were found.
When King Midas ascended the Phrygian throne in the 8th century BC, the peoples of the Middle East had been smoking wine for five thousand years. But in Greece it appeared only in ancient times.
Archaeologists at the University of Pennsylvania have been excavating the capital of Phrygia, Gordion, famous, among other things, for the notorious Gordian knot for half a century. In 1957, they managed to find the wooden sarcophagus of Midas with a well-preserved skeleton of the king, but only recently it occurred to them to make a complete chemical analysis of the contents of the clay vessels found in the tomb, and it turned out that the participants in the funeral meal ate fried lamb and goat meat seasoned with Mediterranean herbs and some leguminous plants, most likely lentils. And in a bronze barrel with the image of a lion and a lamb, there were the dried up remains of that same cocktail.
If the myth is to be believed, Midas was a Macedonian king and lived in a palace surrounded by a garden filled with almost nothing but roses. It was at this stage of his biography that the god Dionysus endowed the king with the deceptively useful ability to turn into gold everything that his hand touched. Very soon, Midas realized that he was stupid, asking God to give him such an inconvenient gift (both food and drinks that he touched turned into gold), and began to beg to take this ability back. Dionysus respected this request as well, but agreed with some conditions, and Midas had to go to Asia, where he was adopted by the childless Phrygian king Gordius.
According to scientists, the Phrygians were an Indo-European people, immigrants from Greece, who crossed the Mediterranean Sea at the very end of the first millennium BC or a little earlier and settled in Asia Minor, conquering the Hittite tribes that dominated there. And Midas, who was not at all a greedy fool, but a brave and skillful warrior, ruled over Phrygia at the time of its highest economic and military power. The neighboring Assyrian tribes knew him under the name Mita and called him a warrior king.
Just in the era of Midas, brass was invented - a beautiful yellow alloy of copper and zinc. According to some assumptions, it was this invention that made a great impression on contemporaries and gave rise to the myth of the king who turned everything into gold.
Around 700 BC, Midas died of natural causes at the age of 60-65.
However, there is also a hypothesis, the supporters of which argue that the Phrygians did not come from Europe, but from the east. This theory was mentioned by the ancient chronicler Herodotus, who reported that, according to the Egyptians, the Phrygians were the most ancient people of the Earth.
Archaeologists did not find gold or other treasures in Gordion (but they found a lot of beautiful carved wooden furniture with mosaic inserts, perhaps the most ancient on Earth). True, there is no evidence that Midas led a half-starved existence either. He ate meat, drank a cocktail and, judging by the state of the skeleton, did not suffer from any serious ailments during his lifetime. And, of course, he did not wear donkey ears.
In the end, Phrygia came under the rule of Lydia, and she, in turn, was captured by the Persians, because the Lydian king Croesus did not find anything better than to heed the thoughtless and irresponsible, to put it mildly, advice of the Delphic oracle and attack Persia. And in the end, he destroyed one of the greatest empires of antiquity - his own.

Nicholas Poussin. Midas and Bacchus

Contest of Pan with Apollo, circa 1630

G. B. Tiepolo. King Midas judges the contest between Apollo and Pan

Gillis van Walkenborch. Midas honors Bacchus and Silenus. 1598.

Retelling by V.N. Vladko
Per. from Ukrainian A.I. Belinsky

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 grew in the gardens - white, red, pink, purple. Once upon a time, 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 - King Midas has also changed. Roses no longer interested him, except perhaps only the most yellow ones, on which he sometimes fixed his pensive glance and whispered:

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

And Midas angrily plucked a living rose and threw it on the ground, for now he loved heavy, cold gold more than anything in the world. Everything that looked like gold attracted his attention; everything that was real gold, Midas took away and hid in his underground treasury. And if there was anything else dear to the heart of Midas, 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 reduce his passion for gold, but, on the contrary, only strengthened it. The blinded king sincerely believed that his daughter would be the happiest if she had piles of gold. That is why Midas finally began to dream only of collecting as much of the heavy yellow metal as possible in his treasury. However, the more gold he had, the more often he was sad looking at him:

I have a lot of gold. But how much gold still remains in the earth! Now, if I could collect all this gold here ... then I would definitely be happy! ..

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.

One day, when he sighed especially sadly, holding a heavy golden cup in his hands, a noise was heard in the palace. Midas was angry: who dared 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 went into the gardens of Midas. At first, the servants of Midas were frightened, because they had never before seen satyrs: the upper body of Silenus was human, but the legs, like those of a goat, were covered with wool, with hooves. I must say that Silenus was also frightened. Noticing this, the servants seized him, tied him up, and brought him before Midas.

The king immediately realized that before him was not an ordinary creature. He ordered the release of the frightened Silenus, invited him to his chambers, fed him, let him 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 turned to 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 considered. Indeed, what would he wish for? You can ask Dionysus for a large pile of gold, but what is it worth compared to all the gold of the whole earth? .. And suddenly a happy thought dawned on him.

I'm not nearly as rich as you think," he began. Yes, I do have some gold. But how much work did I put in to collect it! But if you, Dionysus, help, then it will be easier for me to collect gold in the future ...

What can be my help? Dionysus asked.

I want everything I touch to instantly turn into gold! - said Midas, and he himself was frightened of his insolence. Did he anger Dionysus?

However, Dionysus only looked sternly at Midas and asked:

And you won't 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 own the golden touch.

It is difficult to say whether Midas was able to sleep that night. But as soon as the first, weakest daylight peeped through 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 merry god had simply played a trick on him.

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

In desperation, Midas dropped his head on the pillow and covered his face with his hands. In the meantime, more and more of it dawned. From behind the tops of the trees, the first ray of sunlight flashed. He quietly peered into Midas's room and lingered on the couch. King Midas ignored this. But a warm ray tickled his ear, as if comforting the king. Midas raised his head and was immediately surprised:

What is the amazing color of my pillow? Just yesterday it was white... and now... for some reason it's yellow... as if... no, can it really be?...

Yes, Dionysus kept his promise. All the pillows and bedspreads on his bed became golden, pure pure gold. The gift of the god Dionysus Midas found with the first sunbeam!

Delighted, Midas jumped up from the bed. Like a child, he ran from one object to another, testing his newly acquired ability to turn everything he touched into gold. He touched the leg of the table - and it immediately turned into a massive golden column. He threw aside the window curtain - and it immediately became heavier in his hand, turned golden. Everything, everything became golden around Midas, all objects, all clothes, all utensils! Even the little handkerchief that his daughter embroidered for Midas turned gold. However... Midas did not like this very much: he would gladly leave him as he was before, as his beloved baby brought him a handkerchief.

However, is it worth getting upset over trifles? The handkerchief was hardly worth attention, while around Midas everything turned to gold! Everything took on a red-yellow color and gladdened the heart of Midas. In order to better see his new wealth, he even brought a large crystal of crystal to his eyes, turning the faces so that objects were seen through them enlarged. To his great surprise, Midas saw nothing through the crystal! The still transparent crystal immediately turned into a thick golden prism.

This seemed to Midas not very convenient, but he thought: "You should not pay attention! My eyes see well so far, and all sorts of little things, if I need it, my daughter will consider with her clear, keen eyes."

Not talking about anything else, Midas ran into the garden.

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

But Midas knew how to make these beautiful roses even more beautiful. Hastily 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 entire garden of Midas has become golden!

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

And Midas went to the palace, where the table for the royal breakfast was already set. 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 hasn't been there yet.

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

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

The fact is that she cried very rarely. She was a wonderful girl, almost always only laughed, and tears appeared in her eyes no more than once every six months. Midas was not pleased that his child was crying, and in order to console her, he decided to surprise her. He quickly touched beautifully
th, painted with flowers and animals cup daughter and immediately turned it into gold. Will not the daughter be delighted to see such a transformation? ..

Meanwhile, the girl entered the hall. She was crying as if her heart was being torn to 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 beautiful! Midas exclaimed. - Did this wonderful golden flower make you cry?

Oh, father, - the girl sobbed, - she is not at all beautiful. On the contrary, this is a bad flower, it can't 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 without smell. I even pricked my nose with this flower... What happened to the flowers, father?

Is it worth it to cry over this? - answered Midas, ashamed to admit that he himself was responsible for such a transformation. - Yes, for one such rose, which is in your hand, you can get a hundred ordinary roses!

Anyway, I don't even want to look at her, - the little girl said angrily and threw the golden rose on the floor.

The girl sat down at the table. But she did not even notice the change that had taken place in her cup, for she thought only of the rose. And her father no longer dared to draw her attention to this. Perhaps it was better that way, because his daughter was very fond of looking at the little animals painted on the cup when she drank milk; and now they were all gone in the yellow sheen of metal.

In the meantime, Midas poured himself some milk, and noted with satisfaction that the jug immediately turned gold as soon as he touched it. "By the way," thought Midas, "I should think about where I will have to store my golden dishes now. After all, very soon everything around me will be golden ..." Thinking in this way, he raised 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 in dismay.

What, father? - asked the daughter. There were still tears in her eyes.

Nothing, child, nothing, said Midas.

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

I don’t quite understand,” he muttered, “whether I can even have breakfast ...

He took a delicious crispy pie and quickly threw it into his mouth so that the pie did not have time to turn into gold. But he immediately jumped up from his chair and ran around the room, spitting. He tried to spit out from his mouth a large ingot of gold, into which the pie immediately turned, and could not do this, because he burned his mouth. Midas was jumping around the table, stamping his feet and moaning plaintively. Finally, he managed to spit out the gold ingot. Midas stopped, breathing heavily.

Father, dear father, what happened? shouted the frightened daughter. - Did you burn your mouth? What happened to you?

Ah, my dear child," groaned Midas, "I myself don't know now what happened to me...

Indeed, it is difficult even to imagine a more unpleasant state of affairs. On the table was the most expensive breakfast imaginable. But it was not to be eaten, at least not to Midas. The poorest villager, who had nothing on the dining table except a plate of stew and cakes, was happier than this richest king! .. And what will happen next? After all, he was threatened with 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 saddened that he wept loudly, forgetting even the presence of his daughter, who looked at him in surprise. Until now, the girl was just worried, not understanding what happened to her father. But now, seeing his tears, she could not stand it and, seized with a desire to console her beloved father, rushed to him and clasped his knees with her hands, since she could not reach higher. Midas felt that his daughter was a thousand times more precious to him than the hated gift, and, bending down, kissed her.

My beloved, my dear child! he said softly.

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 rosy face froze in the yellow sheen of gold, even the undried tears on her cheeks turned into golden drops. Midas froze, feeling how hard 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 wringed his hands, looking at his dead daughter, groaned, cried and was killed. He did not even have the strength to look at the golden statue of his daughter ... She looked so much like his beloved girl! an insatiable desire to have as much gold as possible!

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

The young god greeted him gloomily.

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

Midas shook his head sadly.

I am unhappy, heartbroken, - he answered quietly.

Are you unhappy? Dionysus looked surprised. Didn't I fulfill your wish? After all, you can now have as much gold as you want.

Gold cannot make a man happy,” Midas sighed bitterly. - Having received it, I lost what was dearest to me. Now I understand it.

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

Oh, fresh, cool water! groaned Midas. - It must never again refresh my parched mouth! ..

What is best for man, 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, as she was only an hour ago?

Oh my child, my daughter! cried Midas. “I wouldn’t give even the tiniest freckle on her face now 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 wouldn't be able to help you. Tell me, do you really want to get rid of your miraculous ability?

She hates me! said Midas fervently. Then a fly landed on his nose with a nasty buzz, but immediately, turning into a piece of gold, fell to the floor. Midas winced.

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

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

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

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

But 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 Paktol River - and the flowers came to life again, became fragrant, sparkled with vibrant colors.

From that time on, Midas never entered his treasury again 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 that.

Fearing wealth, Midas began to live as simply as possible, often wandering through the forests and mountains where the god Pan lives, surrounded by his constant companions - nymphs. Pan played loudly on a flute he made with his own hands, delighting the ears of the nymphs, and along with the nymphs, Midas. Midas really liked the game of Pan, and he repeatedly told him:

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 contest.

Apollo agreed, thinking he would have a lot of fun.

The judge was Tmol, the god of the mountain, on which the competition was supposed to take place. Tmol, with the gravity befitting the moment, settled down on a piece of rock covered with a goatskin. Nymphs, dryads and other deities of this area were placed around it. King Midas sat with a thoughtful air, 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 eyes, was waiting for 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 from the sharp piercing sounds of his barbaric instrument, the goats grazing on the surrounding peaks rushed down in horror. But now Pan has finished his game. Tmol, nymphs, dryads were silent, looking down. Only Midas clapped his hands in delight - he liked Pan's music so much.

Now it's Apollo's turn. He raised the kithara - and the enchanting, iridescent sounds of silver strings poured out. They resembled the gentle rustle of green oak forests, the murmur of light streams running down Mount Tmol, the chirping and singing of birds. It seemed that all the beauty of the native land harmoniously merged into the melody of Apollo.

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

Well, hurry, 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 bold 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 accused Tmolus:

You're wrong, Tmol! You are unfair! Pan must be recognized as the winner, his melody is incomparably more pleasant for our ears! ..

Although it was not appropriate for a celestial to be offended by mortal people, Apollo was angry at the words of Midas. Departing from Mount Tmol, surrounded by the Muses, Apollo threw Midas over his shoulder:

He who prefers the melodies of Pan to my cithara must have other ears, Midas! ..

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

What's this? he exclaimed. - What happened? Midas leaned over a fast stream that ran down from 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's this? Is it me, is it my ears?

Alas, there was no doubt: it was his head, and these were his ears! Now only Midas understood the meaning of the words uttered by Apollo: because Midas preferred the game of Pan to the game of Apollo, the Sun-faced rewarded him with donkey ears.

In horror, Midas rushed into the bushes: what if someone sees his donkey ears ?! But what to do now? How can he appear to 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, he tied a piece of cloth around his head so that his ears were completely hidden.

Since then, King Midas has not parted with the bandage, and none of the mortals have seen his ears. None of the mortals, with the exception of only one servant who cut the king's hair, beard and mustache when they grew strong! From this servant, King Midas could not hide his deformity. Under 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 really languished from the desire to communicate it to at least someone, and therefore lived in terrible confusion.

Finally, he could not stand it: one fine day, having once again shaved 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 filled the hole with earth.

Not much time passed, and in the place where this hole was, reeds grew. Some local shepherd, passing by with his flock, plucked a bulrush 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.

In the mythology of ancient Greece, there are many instructive stories that ridicule human vices. A striking example is the story of King Midas, who ruled the ancient state of Phrygia, presumably in the XIII-XII centuries. BC e.

It is believed that this mythological character was the adopted son of the ruler Gordius and the local goddess Cybele. Cicero in his work “On divination” mentioned that ants collected grains of wheat and put them in the baby’s mouth, which was a prediction of unprecedented wealth. Midas' teacher was Orpheus himself, personifying the power of musical art.

ill-considered desire

According to legend, Vladyka grew unique and luxurious gardens of roses. It was they who once attracted the aroma of the tipsy satyr Silenus, who is considered the teacher of Dionysus and travels in his retinue. Having drunk, the satyr wandered into the rose gardens and fell asleep under one of the fragrant bushes. The subjects of the king, having found an outsider on the territory of the palace, tied him up and took him to the ruler, who, however, received the unexpected guest cordially.

For several days Silenus drank the best wine in the Phrygian palace and told fascinating stories to the owner. Only Midas' deep reverence for Dionysus made the narrator let go. God of winemaking and fun decided to thank the savior of the spree pan and offered to fulfill his every wish. Inspired by such luck, the greedy wished that everything he touched would turn into gold.

It is not known for certain what caused such a craving for luxury: the instructions of the foster father, greed or the desire to ensure a prosperous future for his daughter - but, according to the myth, Dionysus fulfilled the desire of a person. He immediately hurried to check the acquired ability. And indeed: everything that the royal hand touched turned into gold.

For joy, the ruler of Phrygia arranged a great feast for himself and his daughter. However, any food instantly turned into a shiny metal, one had only to touch it. Realizing what a trap he had driven himself into, the man experienced fear and despair, which caused tears to flow from his eyes. The frightened daughter rushed to console her father, but froze, turning into a beautiful statue, barely hugging him, which was the last straw.

miraculous deliverance

According to the most common version, Dionysus heeded the pleas of Midas, who once again was disgusted with wealth. He ordered him to go to the source of the Paktol River, wash himself and sprinkle everything that suffered from the "golden touch" with spray. After a while, everything returned to normal.

The story could have ended there if the greedy man had not decided to clarify his desire: let things turn into gold only from his will. He reasoned that if Dionysus took his gift, then the hospitality towards Silenus remained unrewarded. God agreed to the new conditions, but warned that he would not help in correcting other people's mistakes.

Midas became the richest man in the world. But this only brought trouble to his state: everyone had too much gold, and it quickly lost value. Then the Phrygian lord decided to get rid of the ability again, leaving everything accumulated earlier. But, remembering the warning of the god of drunkenness, he realized that he would have to achieve the goal himself. Not counting on success, he nevertheless headed for the familiar Paktol River, and its waters once again carried away with them a destructive skill.

Punishment for greed

Trade in Phrygia improved, but the ruler did not leave the feeling of loss and longing. Once he was invited to a musical competition as a judge, as a student of the great Orpheus. He could not miss such an opportunity.

At the end of the competition, there were two participants left - Pan Marsyas and Apollo. The other judges and most of the audience were in favor of the latter's victory, but Midas reasoned that if the companion of Dionysus won, then he might come again to thank the Phrygian. According to another version, he simply liked the cheerful melody of the pan pipe. The unjust speech greatly offended the sun god.

He promised that the Phrygian king would answer for dishonoring the name of the great teacher. Dionysus did not come, but donkey ears appeared on the man's head. Frightened of shame and ridicule, he tried to go out to people less often and wear bandages and hats. The only person who was forced to see the disease was the palace barber. Later, he will go to the river bank, where a hole dug in the ground will tell the secret that tormented him.

The opinions of ancient Greek sources on further events differ. Some believe that reeds grew in that place, with their rustling spreading the news of donkey ears around the world. Others believe that the news was spread by a reed pipe made by an unknown shepherd boy.

Out of despair and shame for his greed, he drank the blood of a bull, which is considered fatal for donkeys, and suddenly died.