King Midas/Ancient Phrygia-Zoom History Talk-Dr James Rietveld June 13, 8pm

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Join us for "King Midas &amp; Ancient Phrygia" a virtual Zoom history talk -Dr. James Rietveld -Thursday, June 13, 8pm

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Join us for a "King Midas &amp; Ancient Phrygia " Zoom Talk by Dr. James Rietveld on Thursday, June 13 at 8 p.m.Pay What You Wish: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/878507739297Way back in 1993, Dr. James D. Rietveld ventured into Phrygia and visited what has been identified as the TOMB OF MIDAS at GORDIUM since Antiquity, specifically Plato in his “Phaedrus”(264D) and Dio Chrysostom in his “Oration 37 (38). The Great Tumulus attributed to Midas measures 300 meters in diameter and 47 meters in height, and found within this ancient mound a wooden chamber measuring about 6 x 5 meters. The wood was petrified with age, but was empty, with the contents now in the ANKARA MUSEUM, which—of course—he visited immediately after that—and which includes the skeleton of the man that was once interred in the inner wooden chamber of the tomb, his furniture (including a fold-up table), his dishes, and even the remnants of his last meal! Through dendrochronology, the wooden chamber can be dated back to about 740 BCE, but was the occupant King Midas? An Assyrian text mentions the ruler of "Muški", who asked Assyrian support in 710/709–is this the same as “MIT-ta-a”, the Phrygian name for Midas? Eusebius states Midas died in 695, but the dendrochronology can be a few years off. There are other controversies too which we will unravel together. According to Plato and Dio Chrysostom there was once a Greek epitaph on the tomb that declared: “A maid of bronze am I. I mark the grave of Midas. While water flows and trees grow tall, here will I bide by the tear-drenched tomb and tell ye passers-by that Midas lies here. In this presentation, Dr. Rietveld will not only delve into King Midas, but investigate the history of the Kingdom of Phrygia and see where myth meets history!In antiquity, Phrygia was a rich, powerful, advanced Bronze Age kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia (now Turkey), whose legendary king Midas (aka Mit-ta-a) ruled in the last decades of the eighth century B.C. The mythic Midas of Thrace (Eastern Macedonia), was famous in heroic Greek mythic legends where satyr Dionysus bestowed upon him the famous "golden touch." In one account, discovering that turning food into gold left him hungry and thirsty, Midas traveled to Asia Minor to wash away the gift, transferring gold into the river Pactolus. There he was adopted by childless Phrydian king Gordias (famous for the legend of the Gordian knot) and taken under the protection of the Great Mother goddess Cybele. Another Midas legend was of the divine gift of the asses’ ears, awarded by Apollo for publicly disagreeing with his decision in the Apollo vs. Pan musical contest. Despite concealing his donkey ears in a turban, and swearing his barber to secrecy, enchanted reeds and wind conspired to broadcast the King's shameful secret. Aristotle wrote that Midas died of starvation as a result of a "vain prayer" for the gold touch, but historian, Strabo, documented Midas' despairing suicide by bull's blood during an attack in which the Cimmerians destroyed his city and kingdom around 695 B.C. Nonetheless, Phrygia continued to exist and prosper for decades afterwards. The 1957 discovery of the Midas Mound, thought to be the final resting place of the legendary King, or possibly his father Gordias, revealed burial artifacts and the remains of the funeral feast, providing new insight into Phrygian history and culture. Come join us to hear the legends and history of this colorful King of Ancient Phrygia.This lecture will be posted on the Dr. James Rietveld Salon Lecture You Tube channel, where you can also watch previous lectures: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jamesrietveldsalonlectu2903Dr. James Rietveld is a professor at CSU, Fullerton and Cal Poly Pomona, CA of History, Anthropology, Religion with a PHD from Claremont School of Religion, is author of two books, and can be seen on History channel's "Crazy Rich Ancients."

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King Midas/Ancient Phrygia-Zoom History Talk-Dr James Rietveld June 13, 8pm

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King Midas/Ancient Phrygia-Zoom History Talk-Dr James Rietveld June 13, 8pm

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