10. The Real King Midas
We know from ancient Greek and Assyrian sources that there actually was an eighth century BC King Midas of Phrygia. Per Greek accounts, this Midas married a Princess Hermodice, whom some ancient sources credit with the invention of Greek coinage, or money. Thanks to Midas’ wife, Phrygia, as an early adopter of coined money, probably experienced an economic boom compared to its neighbors, who still relied on barter for trade. From that perspective, it is easy to see how the stories of Phrygia’s King Midas having a golden touch might have gotten started. Simultaneously, Assyrian tablets from that period refer to a King “Mita” who attacked Assyria’s east Anatolian territories.
Even more evidence of Midas’ existence emerged in 1957, when archaeologist Rodney Young opened a massive tomb near the site of ancient Gordium, in today’s Turkey. It contained a royal burial from circa 740 BC, with the remains of a coffin in which lay a 5 foot 3 man in his 60s. He was accompanied into the afterlife by ornate tables and bronze vessels that contained traces of alcohol – apparently, a final feast for the departed. Young named the tomb the “Midas Mound”, after the legendary king of the golden touch. However, later dating indicates that it was probably not the grave of the Midas of legend, but that of his father
