Myth of the Month: Midas

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.

Myth of the Month: Actaeon

Artemis became not only the Goddess of the hunt and the wilderness of the natural world, but also of virginity. She beseeched Her Father Zeus to remain unwed and therefore a virgin for all time. Out of love for His daughter, He granted this request, and Artemis became a fierce guardian of Her own chastity, especially if it came to be threatened or disrespected by men. There was one day a hunter named Actaeon, grandson of Kadmos, who accidentally happened upon Her bathing naked in the forest. Instead of turning away in a pious manner and leaving, he chose to stand and stare at Her body sexually. When Her eyes caught him, there was no escape from the offense. She transformed him into a deer, and turned his own 50 hounds upon him who ripped him to shreds.

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Myth of the Month: Iphigenia

The Trojan War lay on the horizon for the Greek fleet, but Agamemnon, supreme commander of all Hellenic forces, made the fatal mistake of killing one of Artemis' sacred animals, some say a deer, others a hare and its children. She responded by unleashing battering winds upon the ships so that they could not sail.

Agamemnon was told that he needed to sacrifice his oldest daughter (Iphigenia) to Artemis, otherwise the fleet would never reach Troy. As a war that would be the defining event of his life and career, Agamemnon decided to concede to the demand.

Luring his daughter to the altar with the false promise of marriage to Achilles, he prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, but before he could deliver the fatal blow, Artemis Herself came and spared Iphigenia, putting a deer upon the altar in her place, and later taking the girl to serve as Her priestess to the City of Tauris.