How did a myth about the consequences of poor judgment become a parable for aspiration? The question is posed by the Greek writer-actor Alex Andreou in his fabulously entertaining new podcast. His topic is the ancient myth of Midas, king of Phrygia, who was granted his wish to have everything he touched turn to gold. Midas’s new world was brilliant for all of five minutes. What is a man to do with piles of metal when every person he comes into contact with is reduced to the same?
The Midas myth has been mangled many times; Andreou recalls that Donald Trump co-authored a book in 2011 entitled Midas Touch in which he promised to reveal the secrets to entrepreneurial success. After much research, Andreou concludes that the story began to change from one of a tragicomic curse to a covetable superpower with the launch of HMS Pactolus in 1813 – the ship was named after the river in which the Anatolian king attempted to wash away his powers.
While the trailer to Podyssey suggests a slippery format, anticipating coverage of all things Greek from ‘pathos’ and ‘hubris’ to ‘sour grapes’, the focus so far has been on mythological characters. As well as Midas, the first four episodes have introduced Narcissus, Orpheus and Persephone. Andreou spends about 20 minutes retelling the stories of each before pulling the narratives apart to see how they have been romanticised or contorted down the centuries.
His interpretations are often unexpected. Orpheus was historically admired for his attempt to retrieve his wife Eurydice from the Underworld. Not so in Andreou’s books.
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