Phrygian king who turned everything he touched into gold: Who is Midas?

But when he eats the food, it turns into stone, and when he hugs his daughter, he turns into a statue. The message of the story is well known: Be careful what you wish for.

The Ancient City of Gordion, which was recently included in the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), was the capital of the Phrygians who ruled during the Iron Age.

The ancient city, which is at least 4,500 years old, looks more like a quarry or the crater of an extinct volcano than a barren, windswept plain 90 km southwest of Turkey's capital Ankara.

Although not everyone is familiar with the name Phrygia, another name identified with Gordion may seem familiar. Archaeologists believe that Gordion was ruled by the legendary King Midas.

Midas was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into pure gold. 

The story of Midas, known as the "man with the golden touch", is told as a part of the story: Midas does a favor to Dionysus, the god of wine, and in return, he is granted a wish.

However, instead of something useful, the greedy king wants everything he touches to turn into gold. He immediately realizes his mistake: The food he eats turns to stone, and when he hugs his daughter, he turns into a statue. The message of the story is well known: Be careful what you wish for.

Prof Lynn Roller from the University of California, USA, who has been researching Gordion since 1979, says, "The story is not actually completely true. However, although many legends have been distorted while being passed down over the centuries, there is historical accuracy at their core."

So who is Midas and where does the idea of the "golden touch" come from? To separate fact from fiction, archaeologists had to show that King Midas was a real person. The easiest way to understand this was to look at ancient texts.

A Phrygian king named Midas is mentioned in various ancient sources, including the annals of Sargon II, the king of Assyria.

The Assyrians viewed him as a powerful king and one of their main rivals during their attempts to expand their borders in the 8th century BC.

It is possible to find more evidence of the existence of Midas in Yazılıkaya, known as the "City of Midas", two hours west of Gordion. The place, rarely visited by tourists, is a magnificent hill with volcanic structures.

The most impressive of the monuments in this place full of ancient caves and temples is a magnificent temple façade, 17 meters high, carved into a rock surface about 3 thousand years ago.

The text on the top inscription in Ancient Phrygian language, "Ates […] dedicated [this] to Midas, the leader of the army and the ruler," is proof that Midas was such an important and real king that a local lord named Ates dedicated the temple to him.

"Since Midas was a powerful king, there's a good chance he's buried somewhere in Gordion. Finding his tomb would be a very important discovery. One obvious place to look is one of the mounds surrounding the city," says Rose.

There are 125 mounds surrounding Gordion, created between the 9th and 6th centuries BC. These huge earthen structures, just like the Egyptian pyramids, were built to protect the tombs of important people from robbers.

The largest of these is the second-largest tumulus in Turkey, with a height of 53 meters. Experts estimate it took about two years to build, requiring 1,000 people.

"Early archaeologists called this structure 'Midas Tumulus' because they thought Midas was buried here," Rose said.

"But they weren't sure about that. They had to be very careful when digging because it's a big pile of compacted earth, if you do it wrong the whole structure could collapse on top of you," he says.

In 1957, experts working with Turkish coal miners carefully tunneled through the mound. Inside, they found a large burial chamber made of pine and juniper. Here they found a perfectly preserved airtight cocoon approximately 3 thousand years old.

Today, visitors can follow the same excavation tunnel and visit the tomb, which is the oldest still-standing wooden structure in the world.

It is so fragile that it is now supported by beams and protected by a metal fence. Still, like the Pompeii of the Turks, it is a breathtaking moment to look at this ancient structure, 800 years older than Pompeii, hidden underground for so long.

The owner of the tomb is a man in his 60s, lying on a collapsed bed surrounded by bronze jars, embroidered bowls, wooden furniture, and pieces of elaborate clothing.

These are valuable items that would be consistent with the burial of a king, but is this Midas?

In the early 2000s, Gordion archaeologists turned to tree ring analysis to find the answer. However, they ran into an obstacle while examining the wood from which the room was made.

"The trees date back to around 740 BC. However, according to Assyrian records, Midas was still alive around 709 BC, 31 years later. The tomb cannot belong to Midas," says Rose.

So who was the man in the grave then? From the way he was buried, it was clear that he was a king, but which one?

The date of death could only mean one thing.

"Midas' father had died about three years before his son came to power. So we're pretty sure Midas' father was Gordias," Rose says.

Like his son, Gordias became legendary. According to what is said, when the previous king died without a successor, the townspeople consulted the oracle.

The oracle announced that the first man to enter the city on an oxcart would be the king. Shortly after this, farmer Gordias entered the city with his oxcart. His coronation ceremony was held and the city was named Gordion in his honor.

To celebrate this, his oxcart was displayed in a temple with an intricate knot. This is the famous Gordian Knot.

According to legend, whichever man untied this knot would rule Asia. Many people tried this for years but were unsuccessful.

"We found no evidence of any oxcart or knot," Rose said. "But different Ancient Greek historians report that Alexander the Great came here in 333 BC to defeat the Persian army. When he encountered the knot, he drew his sword and cut it. So we think the knot actually existed." Alexander later confirmed the prophecy by conquering much of Asia,” he says.

What about the "golden touch"? Where did this idea come from?

Surprisingly, archaeologists did not find much gold among the 40 thousand artifacts they unearthed at Gordion, except for a few jewels, gold coins, and an elegantly gilded sphinx cat.

If there was gold in the city, it may have been looted over the centuries or hidden in 85 burial mounds that are still unexcavated.

However, archaeologists have another theory regarding the origin of the legend. "We think it's a metaphor," Rose explains.

"Under Midas' rule, Gordion grew rich and powerful. The story became a metaphor for those who achieved great wealth. Even today, when we say 'the touch of gold' we mean that a person becomes rich easily. This was a talent attributed to King Midas," he explains.