(April 25, 2022 at 12:36 am)Foxaire Wrote: Why didn't he just have a servant feed him? He was rich enough to afford one.
It's allegory. Midas was king of Phrygia, the place that supposedly invented the concept of coined money (according to legend, that is). So this kingdom was fantastically rich, which leads to other problems.
Midas also supposedly had the ears of a donkey, which he kept secret from everyone except his barber. The barber whispered this secret into the ground (he had to say it out load). Some reeds grew from this spot and the wind passing through revealed Midas' secret.
And yes, in the story, the food and drink would turn to gold upon touching his mouth.
Midas' father was named Gordias. According to another legend, the city of Phrygia was told that the new king would appear with a wagon. Gordias and Midas then appeared leading a wagon and Gordias (or Midas, depending on the version) was made king. The wagon was tied up with a knot that was supposedly very complicated. This Gordian knot carried a prophecy that anyone who could untie it would become ruler of the world.
Later, Alexander the Great tried to untie the knot, but got so frustrated that he took out his sword and sliced through it. When he later conquered a good part of the known world, it was decided that he solved the knot in the right way.
Again, an allegory for being able to find an out-of-the-box solution to a problem.
