Greed has always fueled humanity's relentless pursuit of power and wealth, however, unbridled thoughtless greed only leads to tragedy. The myth of king Midas is perfectly illustrative of the consequences of when man puts his greed above all other things, the moral of the myth of King Midas is powerful and even till now is still a relevant story that teaches lessons even after 3000 years since the story was first told.
In the distant kingdom of Phrygia, the god Dionysus-the god of wine, could not fine Salinas his faithful drinking companion, he was also the god's master and foster parent. Salinas was considered a sage, who delivered his best lessons when he was drunk, and he also acquired the power of prophecy. The wise old man was found passed out by peasants in the forest after he had suffered an alcoholic coma and so they took him to King Midas who recognized and welcomed him immediately with full hospitality. There were days of drinking and feasting in honor of the illustrious guest, the god Dionysus was pleased to find his old companion being treated so well by his host. So, he greeted King Midas and as a sign of gratitude for the good deed, and so he agreed to fulfil any of Midas's wishes, the ambitious king did not reflect deeply on the matter and quickly chose his wish and he told the god that he wanted everything he touched to turn into gold, the god asked; "are you sure?" and he abruptly answered; "Yes OfCourse, I will be the richest man who ever lived". And so, Dionysus fulfilled his wish, but he felt sorry for the ignorant King for not making a better choice.
Midas, eager to test out his new ability, picked up a small stone that laid on the ground and it immediately turned into a gold nugget. Ecstatic, Midas immediately went around touching several things and they all immediately turned to gold, apparent because of the golden color they now possessed. Midas then became hungry and decided to eat an apple, and just like everything else he had previously touched, it also turned to gold, so he tried a new approach. He took a fork which soon turned golden and then he stuck the fork into a piece of bread, and as he brought the bread to his mouth and tried to bite into it, he felt his tooth crack as the bread had also turned to gold.
It was then that the king realized that what he thought was a gift was actually now a curse, Midas felt that his end was then inevitable since he would quickly die without food, and he collapsed in tears on the dining table. The king's daughter soon arrived at the palace and saw her dad weeping at the table and in an attempt to console him, she touched her father's hand. Midas looked in utter horror as his daughter turned to a statue made out of solid gold.
Wretched and in desperation he sought after the god Dionysus and when he found him, he knelt and begged the god to remove such a terrible power and so the god took pity on Midas as he had no intention of hurting Midas and his unfortunate daughter. So, Dionysus told Midas to plunge himself into the waters of the river Pactolus and when he is in the water, he should ask that the power of his gold touch should be removed. Midas bathed in the waters and the riverbed became covered with a golden sand and the scales of the fish also began to glitter like gold.
The King was finally free of the curse and everything he had previously touched returned to normal, including his daughter. After such a traumatic experience, Midas abandoned all his wealth and left in the company of his daughter and Pan (a deity of fertility belongs to the mythological Faunus species), to live simply and humbly in the fields and forests.