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Midas

ancient king of Phrygia, 1560s; the name is of Phrygian origin.  He was given by the gods the gift of turning all he touched to gold, but as this included his food he had to beg them to take it back again. Hence Midas touch (1883). But the oldest references to him in English are to the unrelated story of the ass's ears given him by Apollo for being dull to the charms of his lyre.

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Definitions of Midas from WordNet

Midas (n.)
(Greek legend) the greedy king of Phrygia who Dionysus gave the power to turn everything he touched into gold;
From wordnet.princeton.edu