KING MIDAS LEGENDS
1. KING MIDAS AND GOLDEN TOUCH
KRAL MİDAS from Eryaman on Vimeo.
Midas’s Golden Touch
Midas is the king of Phrygia. He is not so smart and his idiocy causes him a lot of trouble.
One day Midas’s men find old Silenus in the rose garden.
One of the men asks: “What are you doing here, Mr. Silenus?”
“I lost my way while I was looking for Dionysus and found myself here.” Answers Silenus
And suddenly, he collapses.
It turns out, Silenus is drunk. Midas’s men cover Silenus with roses while he is sleeping.
“Let’s take him to Midas, he will be welcomed before the King.” One of the men suggests.
Midas says :”Silenus, you are my guest. Enjoy your time here and I’ll take you to Dionysus when it’s time.”
Midas hosts Silenus 10 days and 10 nights. Silenus eats and drinks, sings and sleeps and Midas decides to take him to Dionysus: “My good friend, it’s time to go.”
Dionysus rejoices to see Silenus again:
“Welcome, Silenus, I’m so glad to see you again. Midas, my friend, you can wish anything from me.”
Midas:”Dionysus, I don’t deserve this. All I want is to turn anything I touch, into gold.”(giggling)
Dionysus actualizes this wish but poor Midas understands what a terrible wish he asked, when he sits on the dinner table. Anything he grabs turns into gold. Spoons, glasses, apples… Then, his daughter comes running towards him for a hug. Midas holds his beloved daughter. But she turns into gold as well. Midas, sobbing, rushes to Dionysus, begging him to undo the spell.
Dionysus says:”Don’t worry Midas, go wash in the Pactolus river. Midas washes in the river and takes some water back home and spills it over his daughter and she turns back into a human being.
Today, those who look at Pactolus river see golden sands…
Midas is the king of Phrygia. He is not so smart and his idiocy causes him a lot of trouble.
One day Midas’s men find old Silenus in the rose garden.
One of the men asks: “What are you doing here, Mr. Silenus?”
“I lost my way while I was looking for Dionysus and found myself here.” Answers Silenus
And suddenly, he collapses.
It turns out, Silenus is drunk. Midas’s men cover Silenus with roses while he is sleeping.
“Let’s take him to Midas, he will be welcomed before the King.” One of the men suggests.
Midas says :”Silenus, you are my guest. Enjoy your time here and I’ll take you to Dionysus when it’s time.”
Midas hosts Silenus 10 days and 10 nights. Silenus eats and drinks, sings and sleeps and Midas decides to take him to Dionysus: “My good friend, it’s time to go.”
Dionysus rejoices to see Silenus again:
“Welcome, Silenus, I’m so glad to see you again. Midas, my friend, you can wish anything from me.”
Midas:”Dionysus, I don’t deserve this. All I want is to turn anything I touch, into gold.”(giggling)
Dionysus actualizes this wish but poor Midas understands what a terrible wish he asked, when he sits on the dinner table. Anything he grabs turns into gold. Spoons, glasses, apples… Then, his daughter comes running towards him for a hug. Midas holds his beloved daughter. But she turns into gold as well. Midas, sobbing, rushes to Dionysus, begging him to undo the spell.
Dionysus says:”Don’t worry Midas, go wash in the Pactolus river. Midas washes in the river and takes some water back home and spills it over his daughter and she turns back into a human being.
Today, those who look at Pactolus river see golden sands…
2. ANKARA CASTLE ( ANCHOR) LEGEND
3.GORDIAN KNOT
Gordion was the capital of Phrygia under its most renowned ruler, King Midas (725-675 BC). It was located at the site of modern Yassıhüyük, about 70–80 km southwest of Ankara (capital of Turkey).
As for the GORDIAN KNOT, here's the legend:
In Anatolia , near Ankara , there was a rich and beautiful region called Phrygia in olden times. The people were well-to-do and happy in those days. They were busy with their daily work; some had mines of gold and quarries of fine marble;some dwelt in the valleys had fruitful vineyards and olive orchards; some kept great flocks of sheep, the wool from which was the best in the world.
For a long time these people (Phrygians) were without a king. An oracle at Telmissus (the ancient capital of Phrygia) decreed that the next man to enter the city driving an ox-cart should become their king. A peasant farmer named Gordius, his wife, and their son Midas rode in an oxcart into the town that would soon be known as Gordion. A legend had foretold just such a coming by oxcart of a savior king, so Gordius was proclaimed ruler.
The cart that had brought them was put in a Temple to Zeus, and it was said that anyone who could untie the knot of cornel bark which fastened the cart pole to the oxen yoke would rule all of Asia.
The knot may in fact have been a religious knot-cipher guarded by Gordion's priests and priestesses. It may have symbolized the ineffable name of Dionysus and its secret would have been passed on through generations of priests and revealed only to the kings of Phrygia.
In any case, Alexander the Great came along, defeated the Phrygians in battle, captured their fortress, and therefore had access to the remainder of Asia.
As for the GORDIAN KNOT, here's the legend:
In Anatolia , near Ankara , there was a rich and beautiful region called Phrygia in olden times. The people were well-to-do and happy in those days. They were busy with their daily work; some had mines of gold and quarries of fine marble;some dwelt in the valleys had fruitful vineyards and olive orchards; some kept great flocks of sheep, the wool from which was the best in the world.
For a long time these people (Phrygians) were without a king. An oracle at Telmissus (the ancient capital of Phrygia) decreed that the next man to enter the city driving an ox-cart should become their king. A peasant farmer named Gordius, his wife, and their son Midas rode in an oxcart into the town that would soon be known as Gordion. A legend had foretold just such a coming by oxcart of a savior king, so Gordius was proclaimed ruler.
The cart that had brought them was put in a Temple to Zeus, and it was said that anyone who could untie the knot of cornel bark which fastened the cart pole to the oxen yoke would rule all of Asia.
The knot may in fact have been a religious knot-cipher guarded by Gordion's priests and priestesses. It may have symbolized the ineffable name of Dionysus and its secret would have been passed on through generations of priests and revealed only to the kings of Phrygia.
In any case, Alexander the Great came along, defeated the Phrygians in battle, captured their fortress, and therefore had access to the remainder of Asia.