King Midas has appeared in many retellings of Greek mythology, which portray him with varying degrees of sympathy. Some see him as a corrupted fool, others as more of a bumbling figure who tried to reform his ways after the mistake of the golden touch. One of the most well-known versions appears in Ovid’s Latin poetry collection Metamorphosis, which tells the stories of many strange mutations and transformations that happen to humans in Greek mythology. You can read a translation of Ovid’s take on Midas here.

While the gods usually transform on demand, the morphing of humans into other creatures is subject to the whims of the gods. In this case, both Dionysus and Apollo intervene in Midas’s state of being. After an unfortunate run-in with Apollo, Midas is left with the ears of a donkey. His cover-up for his mutation is called a Phrygian cap. Learn more about the ancient kingdom of Phrygia here.

Was there really a King Midas? This article tries to get at the truth behind the myth, and this piece confirms that there was a ruler called Midas, and that the excavation of his former kingdom has led to some surprising discoveries.

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