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| King Midas by Nathanial Hathorne | |||||||||
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Nathanial Hawthorne,
remains a key figure in American literature as well
as one of
R.W. Emerson most successful apostles.He adapted
many fanciful tales for children from classical mythology
including King Midas. His tales usually have a
strong moral theme which will still ring true and
fresh today. Stories organize our worlds: Share this story soon with a child close to you |
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Midas, his
cart & Alexander the Great
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During the reign of
Gordios, an oracle foretold that a poor man who
would enter Gordion by ox cart would one day rule
over the Phrygians. As the king and nobles were discussing this prediction, a farmer named Midas arrived at the city in his cart Gordios, who had no heirs, saw this as the fulfillment of the prophecy and named Midas his successor. Subsequently Midas had his cart placed in the temple of Cybele on the Gordion acropolis, where it was to stand for half a millennium, Somehow the belief arose that whoever untied the knot that fixed the cart to its yoke would become master of Asia. During his stay in the city Alexander the Great took it upon himself to undo the knot,severing it with his sword. |
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"Men know
they are sexual exiles.
They wander the |
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Midas
and Bacchus
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King Midas is
a key character in the two of the most enduring stories of
Bacchus
or
Dionysus as well as
being the figure best associated with the Carnaval
virtue of knowing thyself through hedonism.
His
historic kingdom of also references the important cultural
relationship this inland mountainous region of Asia Minor in
today's Turkey played in the formation of Dionysian theatre
and music.
The people of
Çatalhöyük
(pronounced cha-tal
hoy-ook;
Catal Huyuk
) in
the area of this region near Crete are credited with
creating history's first city about 7,000 BCE. Phrygia developed an advanced Bronze Age culture. The earliest traditions of Greek music, derived from Phrygia and transmitted through the Greek colonies in Asia Minor, included the Phrygian mode, considered the warlike mode in ancient Greek music. And Phrygian Midas, the king of the "golden touch," was tutored in music by Orpheus himself, according to the myth. Another musical invention that came from Phrygia was the aulos, a reed instument with two pipes.
We should take care
when asking God for anything, as we often get what we ask
for. |
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The Midas
Touch:
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| Once, Dionysus found his old school master and foster father, Silenus, missing. The old man had been drinking, and had wandered away drunk, and was found by some peasants, who carried him to their king, Midas (alternatively, he passed out in Midas' rose garden). Midas recognized him, and treated him hospitably, entertaining him for ten days and nights with politeness, while Silenus entertained Midas and his friends with stories and songs. On the eleventh day he brought Silenus back to Dionysus. Dionysus offered Midas his choice of whatever reward he wanted. | ||
"Make everything I touch turn to gold!"
quoth Midas. Dionysus consented, though was
sorry that he had not made a better choice.
Midas rejoiced in his new power, which he
hastened to put to the test. He touched and
turned to gold an oak twig and a stone. Overjoyed, as soon as he got home,
he ordered the servants to set a feast on the table. Then he
found that his bread, meat, and wine turned to
gold. Next he touched his daughter, and she also turned to
gold, breaking his heart. |
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Links
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| "King Midas has an ass's ears." visit our Pan page to learn more about the music contest with Apollo |
According to local legend, he was the son of
Gordius, a poor countryman, who was taken by the
people and made king, in obedience to the command of
the oracle. The Oracle said, according to the myth,
that their future king should come in a wagon. While
the people were deliberating, Gordius with his wife
and son came driving in his wagon into the public
square. |
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| King Midas by James Gillray (17561815) at nypl.org |
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Phrygian Cap: Phrygia retained
a separate cultural identity. Classical Greek
iconography identifies the
Trojan Paris as
non-Greek by his Phrygian cap.
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| Mithras shown with Phrygian cap, Mithras was the diety favored by Rome till Christianity won the day and many of his December 25th holiday customs or those of the Saturnalia still survive in today's Christmas. However many other traditions, such as role reversal between master and slave, were allowed room to vent later in the early spring at Carnaval |
The
Phrygian cap was worn
during the Roman Empire by former slaves who had
been emancipated by their master and whose
descendants were therefore considered citizens of
the Empire which is why it likely survived into
modern imagery as the "Liberty cap" of the American
and French revolutionaries. |
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HEDONISM the Philosophy born in Greece |
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Hedonsim (Greek,
hdonh,
"pleasure"), in philosophy, the doctrine that
pleasure is the sole or chief good in life and that
the pursuit of it is the ideal aim of conduct. Two important hedonistic theories were expounded in ancient Greece. Egotistic hedonists or the Cyrenaics, espoused a doctrine that the rational end of conduct for each individual is the Maximum of his own Happiness or Pleasure. Knowledge is rooted in the fleeting sensations of the moment, and it is secondary to attempt a system of moral values which weighs the desirability of present pleasures is weighed against the pain they may cause in the future. Unlike the Epicureans, or rational hedonists, who contended that the true pleasure is attainable only by reason for transient pleasures cannot satisfy, and that the predominance of self-love tends to defeat its own end. They stressed the virtues of self-control and prudence. |