Gold in myth and legend

Introduction

Over the years, the beauty and rarity of gold have inspired almost every culture. Its value has inspired some fascinating myths and legends. In some cultures gold was believed to have special powers as well as being a symbol of great wealth and prosperity.

King Midas

One of the best known of all gold legends is that of Midas, King of Phrygia, Greece in 800 BC. Midas wanted to be the richest and most powerful man on Earth. When he hosted a friend of the god Dionysus for several days, Dionysus offered to grant Midas any wish he desired. Midas asked to be given the golden touch, so that anything that he touched would be turned into gold.

At first Midas was happy and went around his palace turning everything into gold, but when he discovered that even his food and wine turned to gold, he realised how foolish he had been. He returned to Dionysus and begged to be freed of his gift. He was told to wash in the Pactolus River to remove the 'golden touch'. When he did so the golden power passed into the river and the sands of the river became touched with gold.

The Golden Fleece

In another Greek legend, the Golden Fleece was the golden wool of a flying ram. The ram had been sacrificed to the Greek god Zeus and then left in a sacred grove of trees. In order to claim his inheritance and to assume his rightful place as king, Jason sailed off in search of the Golden Fleece.

He eventually found it and was granted his kingship. It is believed that this legend came from the early gold-seeking method of separating gold particles from river sand by straining the grit through a sheep fleece.

The Golden Stool of the Ashanti

The Golden Stool is the symbol of the collective soul of the Ashanti tribe, one of the tribes of Ghana, Africa. The stool is believed to have descended from the heavens in about 1700 AD and is a symbol of political, religious and cultural authority and unity. Ashanti kings are referred to as 'occupying the Golden Stool', even though the Stool has never been sat upon. It is never permitted to touch the ground and always rests on its side.

Tommyknockers

The legend of the tommyknockers originated in Cornwall, England. They are said to be small, gnome-like creatures that live inside the walls of mineshafts. Tommyknockers are never seen but are known for their knocking on the walls of a mineshaft to warn miners of an impending collapse. They are also believed to steal tools, lights and other equipment. They also like to steal lunches, especially Cornish pasties! See image 1

El Dorado

When the first Spanish explorers arrived in South America, they heard amazing stories of a ruler known as 'El Dorado' or 'the Gilded One'. El Dorado was a native Indian King whose body was said to be covered in gold. He would bathe in gold as part of a religious ceremony. His subjects would also throw gold into the water as offerings. Since then it is believed that El Dorado sometimes appears to his people by a lake in the mountains. See image 2

Blackbeard's gold

One of the most notorious pirates who ever lived, Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, ruled the high seas in a reign of terror, from 1716 to 1718. During this time Blackbeard and his crew robbed countless ships on the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, ambushing them at dawn or dusk when the pirate ship was hardest to see. His robberies amassed Blackbeard a huge fortune in gold and other treasures. When he was finally captured and killed, the secret of his treasures' whereabouts went with him. See image 3