“The most significant understanding gained by acknowledging the mother of Midas as an archetype in archaic iconography and ideology comes from her narrative. For the mother of Midas is a figure who has a life history, although, remarkably, she has no name. The anonymous woman of the story of Gordius and the kingship of Midas is, first of all, a woman who comes from a clan possessing prophetic wisdom (the Telmessians); she is, second of all, a parthenos, a virgin girl eligible for marriage, and said to be of great beauty; she is next a bride, nymph;, who mates with the man who will be father to the great king; then she becomes the mother, meter, of the young king; and finally, when she dies and is given honors by the great king, Midas, she is “the goddess of Midas,” or the divine Mother. All of these elements are understood to be present in the Mother whenever she is evoked in image or by name, although not all of these stages can be described or depicted simultaneously. Envisioned at each stage, as virgin, as bride, or as mother in a work of art, a poem, or a votive prayer, she stands for the completion of all these stages of life.
In this respect, the Mother of the Gods represents potentiality. She is the sign of good things to come rather than a presence herself. (Hence she has no personal name.) When Greek sources attempt to look directly at her and describe her personal qualities, she immediately becomes transcendent; she becomes the Mountain Mother, giver of water, nurturer of animals and mankind, and in effect she becomes the world. For this reason, too, the story of the mother of Midas always mentions her as she is in the process of effecting a transition, and bringing about something good in the world. (As Plutarch tells us, she is also called “the Good Goddess,” or Bona Dea in Latin.) Among the qualities of the woman who becomes the mother of Midas is her ability to inspire “love at first sight.” She has the power of Aphrodite about her, and this was a feature associated with women who consorted with the tyrants of Lydia.”
- Mark Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion. University of California Press, 2006. pp. 101
