the Foolishness of Midas

Was Midas too overwhelmed by the possibilities of his riches that he lost his moral values?

I believe he was because he was quick to decide on his wish. He didn't put time into considering the aftermath of his decision and thus ruined him. He lost his ability to touch his loved ones and even eat or drink. Its a wonder he fixed his decision as fast as he did, otherwise he would've gone pretty badly dehydrated and died. There's also the consideration that the value of gold would decline as it would be the new standard for material if it expanded as much as he could've. To make such a wish to begin with, his moral values must've already been corrupt, although the fact that he cried for his family meant that he did care about them which means he wasn't utterly overpowered by greed.

Midas just couldn't pass up the opportunity, but if he were more wise, and considered what would've been a right choice, he surely would've bettered the world around him instead of destroy it for himself.

The Midas Touch

Q. To understand happiness do you have to lose everything to gain everything?

A. King Midas lost true happiness by making a foolish wish "for everything my body touches change into gold". Yes gold and wealth makes you content but doesn’t support your true needs and won’t give you life long satisfaction. King Midas felt poor even with the magic touch and even though he lost everything he realized you want what you can not have and there are more things in life that are important then wealth and riches.

Folly of Greed: King Midas

King Midas's craving for wealth overpowered his basic needs (food, water, shelter) why did Midas make such a foolish wish?

The wish for wealth is a motivator for everyone, sometimes people choose to wish for wealth for self use or to impress others. In king Midas's case he wanted it because it made him feel powerful, he feels that every luxury can be purchased by gold. When Midas got his wish he realized that the most important things in life are not paid for by great wealth this is when Midas realizes that his wish was foolish for he gets rid of his basic needs to achieve power in the view of himself and others.

Is foolishness a just cause for punishment?

Yes:

-Negative reinforcement is a proven method of improvement. If a child is backhanded everytime they do something foolish, would they do it again?

-Natural selection should be allowed to take place, causing the weak and foolish to die or atleast not rise in society.

No:

-Negative reinforcement is considered "cruel and unusual punishment" in today's society. (allowing geneticly inferior people to prosper and ruin the world)

-Sometimes people just cannot help their foolishness. (because natural selection was not allowed to run its course)

Should greed garner sympathy?

King Midas was wise to a certain degree and stupid in many others. He took in Seilenus because he knew that Dionysus favoured Seilenus and by taking him in Midas may gain a wonderful gift from Dionysus by taking care of his friend. When Dionysus is reunited with his friend he promises Midas anything he wants – this is where his wise thinking takes a turn to the greedy and stupid side. He, in his greed, requests to have the magic golden touch. He can’t eat, he can’t drink – he can’t touch anything with his skin. Distraught he pleads to Dionysus and Dionysus takes pity on Midas and tells him how to rid himself of the golden touch and he commits the action, finally able to continue living his life but should his stupidity, should his greed, have garnered sympathy?

In my opinion, no it shouldn’t have. Dionysus promised Midas anything he wanted, he could have asked for anything in the world but he let his greed overshadow his sense and therefore was ‘cursed’ with the golden touch. Dionysus shouldn’t have let him revoke the wish, shouldn’t have given him the cure, as it was Midas’ fault to begin with. He was greedy, not kind to his people or his loved ones by wishing for something that would benefit all. His greed, his lack of foresight, left him hungry and thirsty, left him yearning for human contact that he couldn’t have. All of this because he was foolish.

While I condemn him for his faults I also have to bring to light the fact that most people, most human beings, are inherently greedy and many may ask for a similar wish. Midas was just doing what his nature prompted him to do. I can’t say for certain that my first thought wouldn’t stray to money; it is just part of our society. Not many humans can say that if they were given the chance to ask for anything that their first thought would not center on money – Midas just chose his own personal monetary wish with little foresight. This myth teaches us to be wise, to think before we act, and to not be greedy as it can backfire on you. It teaches a valuable lesson that must be remembered especially in a monetary driven society.

Can You Keep a Secret?

Is it possible to keep secrets from spreading?

Throughout time keeping information to oneself has been a very difficult task. In the myth of Midas, King Midas is given ears of an ass as punishment for disagreeing with Apollo. As he was King, Midas did not want anyone to know of his horrible deformity, for this reason he wore a turban and the only soul that knew of his plight was a servant that cut the King's hair. This servant was sworn to secrecy, but a secret of that magnitude was impossible to hold inside. For this reason the servant dug a hole and told the secret to the ground, the reeds that grew on that soil whispered the King's secret to passersby.

This story poses a very interesting question of the ability to keep a secret. In today's society it has become increasingly difficult to keep secrets due to modern forms of technology and a person's natural instinct to share secrets especially for personal gain. Unfortunately, people have a very difficult time keeping their problems to themselves and look for advice from their friends or other people that they trust, these people in turn are sworn to secrecy, but now they too carry this burden of something that they need to share. As these secrets are spread they are altered and often exaggerated causing many conflicts among friends, showing that in today's society it is seemingly impossible to keep a secret unless you do not share your confidential stories with anyone.

How to voice an opinion

In the myth of King Midas, a competition is held between Apollo, the sun god who possesses a great gift for music, and Pan, a country god of lesser importance and lesser musical talent. When the mountain god Tmolus deems Apollo to be the master musician, King Midas, a spectator to the competition, argues that since he preferred Pan's country music, the decision was unjust. Midas is punished by Apollo for exercising "poor taste and even poorer judgement." Midas was a foolish king and by no means a musical scholar, with little understanding of the music of the gods. Despite this, he insisted that Tmolus was wrong, and that he was right.

Should an opinion be voiced if the speaker doesn't understand the subject, and if so, how?

Of course, everyone has a right to varied thought and opinion, and is welcome to share with others. Everyone does not, however, have the right to assume their own correctness. When opinions are voiced, opinions of others must be respected; sometimes we can even learn from the opinions of those more knowledgeable than ourselves. Midas, who pitted his own sentiments against those with experience and understanding of the nuances of music, would have been wiser to not weigh not only what he knew (the aesthetic appreciation of music) but also what he didn't know (technique, level of difficulty, mastery of an instrument) before formulating his opinion.

When one wishes to voice an opinion on a subject he knows little about, he must first distinguish whether or not there is merit to his opinion. In Midas' case, he found the country ditty that Pan played more pleasing to the ear. Instead of insisting that he was right and expecting universal acceptance of his opinion, he should have justified why he believed he was correct while also inviting others to share the reasons behind their own beliefs. It is a win-win situation; while expressing your sentiments to others and spurring them to consider your justifications, you also become more educated on the subject you are ignorant of by hearing the opinions of those more educated than you.

Gold, Midas, Greed.

Does greed always overcome?

Greed is something that overcomes you without even realizing it. Most people become greedy for money, jobs, desires, and needs. I think that it depends on the person’s attitude and outlook on life.

In the myth Midas the king shows greed by asking Dionysus to grant him the power to turn everything to gold. In this situation greed over]comes king Midas. He does learn from his lesson in the end.