The Irony of King Midas's Golden Touch
How culture shapes interpretation.
I’m certain everyone familiar with pop culture has heard of Midas Touch—perhaps even mentioned it once or twice. It is a concept associated with glory, good luck, and prosperity. Romantic songs and movies reference it, and underdogs yearn for their Midas’s moments; a time when everything they touch turn to gold.
But what exactly is the origin of the Midas Touch? Who was King Midas? How did he come to possess this golden touch? Has pop culture taken his narrative out of context? If so, does it even matter? After all, language and meaning are shaped by the people using them at any given time.
Before we continue, I want to take you down memory lane.
I spent most of my childhood reading literature I didn't fully understand but found deeply entertaining. My father purchased countless books and I read them all. One stood out: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton. I read this book so often that the cover became wrinkled and worn, though it never tore. It was my comfort book and I read it over and over because the tales of Greek and Roman gods and heroes greatly fascinated me. Eventually, I foolishly lent it to a relative who never returned it.
The point is: my knowledge is from books. The literature I used to read for fun now makes sense in ways I couldn't grasp as a child. Dante’s Inferno, Sophie’s Choice, and Shakespeare are some of the texts I read as a child but now understand to have layered meanings as an adult with deeper reflection. I can now apply logic and practicality to contexts.
I first encountered the story of King Midas as a child. Back then, I attached no lesson to it. It was just an interesting narrative about a king and a Roman god. But as I grew older, I saw Midas Touch referenced everywhere in pop culture. The first thing that struck me was how much of the original narrative has been stripped away. So I have, since then, sought an audience to tell the unabridged story of King Midas and his golden touch. Its application in our current cultural landscape has changed its interpretation, and this change is valid. However, I think it is also important for the real narrative to be known as a way to preserve history, past cultures, and past values. Even if the present context has changed, it is still important to acknowledge and understand the origin.
Now, let's get into it.
The Unabridged Narrative of King Midas
In ancient Greek culture (I won't be calling it a mythology because I'm examining this from the perspective of the culture of a people), there were gods: Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Dionysus (known as Bacchus in Roman texts). They resided and convened in Olympus, though Homer, in The Iliad, never explicitly described where Olympus was. From the way it was mentioned, we can infer it was either atop a great mountain or was the mountain itself. The gods rarely lived among mortals but were revered in temples and served by priests who interpreted their messages.
This exploration begins with Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, who is known as Dionysius in Greek tradition.
One day, Bacchus's old tutor, Silenus, wandered into King Midas’s palace in a drunken stupor. King Midas, the ruler of Phrygia, an actual historical kingdom, welcomed Silenus and ensured his safe return to Bacchus. In gratitude, Bacchus told Midas to request for a wish to be granted.
Midas, a wealthy king who was aware of his prosperity and like most humans wanted more, didn't think deeply. He requested that all he touched be turned to gold.
Bacchus granted it.
I imagine it must have been thrilling for King Midas at first. He touched a table, it turned to gold. He touched a lamp, it turned to gold. The increasing prosperity excited him. He kept on touching things and they all turned to gold. Prosperity flowed from his fingers.
This is where pop culture stops. This is the Midas Touch people desire. The supposed superpower of turning all things gold, and the reason for the desire is clear: when all you touch turn to gold, isn't that lifelong generational prosperity? However, it doesn't end there.
King Midas's queen brought him food to eat, but when he touched it, it turned to gold, leaving him unable to eat. He went to his majestic garden to tend to his flowers, and as he touched them to appreciate their beauty, they too became gold.
Then the worst happened.
Midas’s daughter, in an innocent display of affection, embraced her father, and she turned to lifeless gold. Midas became grief-stricken; he couldn't eat or drink, and his flowers were gone. His daughter was no longer living. At this point, he realized his folly: the wealth he had amassed only brought sorrow. All the joyful things he possessed and had access to were gone because he had touched them—an awful irony.
In desperation, Midas cried to Bacchus to reverse the wish, and the god directed him to bathe in the Pactolus River to rid himself of the golden touch. He must also touch all that had turned to gold again to restore them.
And reader, this is the unabridged story of King Midas's touch.
There are two things to take home.
1. Culture and Interpretation
I love the definition of culture: the way of life of a group of people. This includes traditions, language, and most importantly, how language is used. The story of Midas was never meant to be motivational. It was a cautionary tale. At the time it was told, capitalism didn't exist in the form we know today, but wealth was still accumulated through land, trade, and power. Greed, however, was considered a dangerous vice that must be avoided. Moral teachings across different civilizations, from ancient Greek philosophy and literature like Homer’s Iliad to Jesus Christ and the Bible, condemned unchecked greed. Long before the Christian doctrine, cultural narratives like that of King Midas served as cautionary tales about the dangers of greed.
Then time passed and culture shifted. The world is now capitalist. Greed, when framed as corporate ambition, is not only acceptable but celebrated. It is considered normal, even aspirational, for billionaires to endlessly seek more. The virtue of controlling greed is now unimportant and secondary.
And so Midas's story has been rewritten. The cultural shift reframed the story of King Midas. It is no longer a warning about unchecked greed, it is now a symbol of success; about the prosperity of the ability to turn objects into gold with just a touch. The lesson, how unchecked desires lead to destruction, has been stripped away. The focus is now on the ability to turn things into gold, because, in today's world, wealth is synonymous to power. Financial success now dictates survival. Thus, the meaning of Midas’s golden touch has shifted, demonstrating how culture shapes interpretation.
Perhaps in the future, culture will shift again. Maybe the version of Midas's story that resurfaces will focus on how he unintentionally caused his daughter’s demise. But right now, it is what it is.
Is the current cultural shift and interpretation of King Midas's narrative invalid? No. Language and meaning will always evolve with the mindset of the people who use them. However, understanding the full historical context is equally important because it preserves the fossilized remains of past values. History, past culture, and traditions will always be relevant.
2. Philosophy: What Is Enough?
Midas's story forces an important question: at what point do we know what is enough? I once asked myself a question too: Where will I get to that will make me say, 'I don't want to move along any further because I am content'?
How do we define satisfaction? How do we know when to stop chasing more? Is having everything truly desirable?
I don't have the answers. But one thing I picked up from the Midas’s story is that wanting everything (in our today context, money) is a form of greed that doesn't just harm the individual but also those around them. It has made me think about what ‘enough’ means to me. I know I don't want to be a billionaire. I simply want enough to live a secure and fulfilling life. However, this has led me to another important question that I don't have an answer to yet: what exactly will it mean for me to have a secure and fulfilling life?
What about you? Do you know?
In Conclusion
The irony of Midas's story is that its very interpretation has been shaped by the culture we live in. The meaning we attribute to things (and we know of) is dependent on the culture we live in.
This is why cultural preservation matters. Our past narratives, whether stories, myths, or historical events, are windows into the values of the ones who came before us. But does cultural evolution erase the true meaning of things? No. It simply means over time, we choose the aspects of a story that resonate with us most.
And so I leave you with this: how many things have we reshaped in our image because we have forgotten the lessons they once carried?
Let's remember for the culture.
Thank you for reading. Till next time.
Small Pieces of Everything, produced by Idayat Jinadu, is an independent publication that merchants knowledge to encourage and engage intellectual curiosity. Thank you for always reading. Kindly share with everyone you love.