Midas was king of Phrygia, a region in Asia Minor, east of Troy. It may be that the name Midas was a dynastic title, and was therefore carried by more than one king, but this Midas found himself loved by Dionysos.
Midas received generous blessings from the God, but Midas was never satisfied. He wanted everything, and so the God gave him the ability to transform anything he touched into pure gold. Thus, all around Midas began to turn into the gorgeous metal.
Even the floors upon which he walked, and the clothes that covered him, became solid gold. At first, all seemed a wondrous splendor for Midas, for he would now have wealth beyond imagination. But when he went to eat the drink, the food and liquid also turned to gold as it entered his mouth, making it impossible to consume. Even as he cried out for help, the people he touched turned to golden statues, even his own daughter.
Midas fell to his knees and begged Dionysos to reverse all that had been done and take the power away from him. The God told him to take a bath in the holy river of Pactolus, a lush water source on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor.
The powers of gold were then washed away, and since then after, the remains of gold could be found in the sediments of the river.
