Facts about King Midas
- 09
Gordium, King Midas's capital city in Phrygia, contained a famous knot so complex that Alexander the Great later cut it with his sword rather than untie it in 333 BCE.
- 08
Archaeological evidence suggests King Midas died around 696 BCE during a siege of his capital Gordium by the invading Cimmerian forces, leading to his legendary status in Greek mythology.
- 07
Plutarch recorded that King Midas owned rose gardens so magnificent near the Pactolus River that they produced 60-petaled blooms, considered the most beautiful flowers in the ancient world.
- 06
Midas's ear transformation into an ass's ears by Apollo became known when his barber spread the secret by whispering it into a hole dug near the Pactolus River.
- 05
Classical writers like Aristotle documented that King Midas introduced the practice of coining money in his Phrygian kingdom during the 8th century BCE.
- 04
In 8th century BCE Phrygia, King Midas's court was so wealthy that ancient Greek writers attributed his riches to divine favor rather than mere commerce or agriculture.
- 03
Ancient sources describe King Midas as controlling the Lydian kingdom's gold trade routes, which made the Pactolus River near his territory famous for containing alluvial gold deposits.
- 02
Midas's son was accidentally turned to gold in some versions of the myth, prompting the king to seek relief from Dionysus by bathing in the Pactolus River.
- 01
The historical King Midas ruled the Phrygian kingdom around 738 BCE and was famous for his vast wealth and gardens rather than a golden touch.