One day, cheerful Dionysus with a noisy crowd of maenads and satyrs wandered through the wooded rocks of Tmol in Phrygia. Only Silenus was not in Dionysus's retinue. He fell behind and, stumbling at every step, very drunk, wandered through the Phrygian fields. The peasants saw him, tied him with garlands of flowers and took him to King Midas. Midas immediately recognized the teacher Dionysus, received him with honor in his palace and honored him with luxurious feasts for nine days. On the tenth day, Midas himself took Silenus to the god Dionysus. Dionysus rejoiced when he saw Silenus, and allowed Midas, as a reward for the honor he showed his teacher, to choose any gift for himself. Then Midas exclaimed:
- Oh, great god Dionysus, command that everything I touch turns into pure, shiny gold!
Dionysus granted Midas' wish; he only regretted that Midas had not chosen a better gift for himself.
Midas left rejoicing. Rejoicing at the gift he received, he plucks a green branch from an oak tree - the branch in his hands turns into gold. He picks ears of corn in the field - they become golden, and the grains in them are golden. He picks an apple - the apple turns golden, as if it were from the Garden of the Hesperides. Everything Midas touched immediately turned to gold. When he washed his hands, water flowed from them in golden drops. Midas rejoices. So he came to his palace. The servants prepared a rich feast for him, and happy Midas lay down at the table. It was then that he realized what a terrible gift he had begged from Dionysus. With one touch of Midas everything turned to gold. The bread, all the food, and the wine turned golden in his mouth. It was then that Midas realized that he would have to die of hunger. He stretched out his hands to the sky and exclaimed:
- Have mercy, have mercy, oh Dionysus! Sorry! I beg you for mercy! Take this gift back!
Dionysus appeared and said to Midas:
- Go to the sources of Pactol [there, in its waters, wash this gift and your guilt from your body.
Midas, at the behest of Dionysus, went to the sources of Pactolus and plunged there into its clear waters. The waters of Pactolus flowed like gold and washed away the gift received from Dionysus from the body of Midas. Since then, Pactol has become gold-bearing.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru