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Midas

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Phrygian king granted his wish that everything he touched turn to gold, then nearly starved when food became metal. Apollo gave him ass's ears for preferring Pan's music to his.

Detailed Definition
Midas, king of Phrygia, wished that all he touched turned to gold, causing starvation; later, he offended Apollo by preferring Pan’s music, earning donkey ears. His myths warn against greed and poor judgment. Poets use him to explore the perils of materialism and the shame of hidden flaws.
Example
Example in poetry:
Midas, king with the golden touch, appears in Ovid’s Metamorphoses after judging a musical contest; In Aristophanes’ Plutus, Midas’s ears are transformed into ass’s ears; Virgil references Midas’s folly in Eclogues; Ovid recounts his wish for gold turning to curse; Renaissance moral poetry uses Midas to symbolize greed; Modern verse employs Midas to critique materialism.
Additional Notes
Midas, king granted the golden touch and later ass’s ears for judging a musical contest against Apollo, embodies the perils of greed and poor judgment; his myths (Ovid, Aristophanes) caution against materialism and the shame of hidden flaws—useful in satire or moral allegory.
Also Known As
Golden-Touched King Judge of Music King of Phrygia
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