Gold has inspired many myths, legends and stories throughout history. Some examples are; The legend of King Midas, who wished that everything he touched turned to gold, but regretted it when he could not eat or hug his daughter and the legend of El Dorado, a mythical city of gold that attracted many explorers and adventurers to South America.
Gold had a significant role in legend, symbolism and folklore. For example Greece, India and China have myths and legends about gold. The myths and legends have survived. They have been adapted to the general superstitions of today.
In ancient Greece gold was a metal that was precious to the gods to the extent that they were dressed in gold. Gold is mentioned in Greek mythology for examples as varied as King Midas, the Golden Fleece stolen by Jason who possessed the power of resurrection through to the Golden Apples of Hesperidin.
. The Golden Apples were guarded by the hundred-headed dragon Ladon. The dragon conferred immortality on whoever ate them. Gold has always been associated with the eternal, the unending, incorruptible and embracing powers of the divine.
The color and lustre of gold continues to be associated with the sun and the sacred masculine. Mythological and legendary mentions of gold cover are referenced in all ancient literature. The Bible itself references gold at least four hundred times.
Gold has shaped and destroyed civilizations. Since ancient times, gold has been endowed with innate value due to qualities including its resistance to corrosion and tarnishing. It is often attributed supernatural properties by several religious practices and folkloric belief. Despite the variance in culture, religion, or race, gold has always been attributed to certain deities, and was conferred specific deistic properties as embodied by the metals themselves.
Even now, there is still a certain superstitious belief that deifies Gold, an explanation why its value is not only inherently monetary, but something deeper in the human psyche.
Although the Symbolism of Gold appears throughout mythology, legend, and folklore, we even find excellent examples of Gold’s Symbolism the Tarot deck. The card of “The Fool”, along with several other cards, contains a Golden Sky. The Quest, or the Purpose, Symbolized by these particular cards is taking place under the Shining Wisdom of the Eternal Heavens, and that spiritual perfection and superiority are the Lesson contained within that card.
Golden Apples
Being known for his deeds, Hercules was the son of the god Zeus in the ancient Greek mythology. Once he was obliged to get three golden apples from a magic tree which bore precious fruits. The golden apple tree grew in the wonderful garden of the mighty giant Atlas. Hercules deceived the giant Atlas and snatched golden apples, which he then brought to the altar of the goddess of warfare Athena Pallas.
The Golden Status
In the IX century BC, the Assyrian queen Semiramis ordered to make a statue of the ancient Greek goddess Rhea from pure gold. The monument was gigantic in its size. The mother of the gods of Olympus sat majestically on her throne, surrounded by obedient golden lions.
According to the stories of the ancient chroniclers, the weight of the gold sculptural composition was 250 tons. However, traces of the existence of a precious statue have not been found.
Golden Staff
Cusco is the oldest Peruvian city. According to the legend, his founder was Manco Capac, the first Inca emperor. The beliefs of the ancient people were associated with the phenomena of nature and the heavenly bodies.
The legend states that the Father-Sun and Mother-Moon sent their children to the earth. The son was given a golden staff and was ordered to build the city on the same place where the magic staff would penetrate the ground.
Manco managed to plunge the golden staff into the soil of the fertile valley near Mount Wanakuri (southeast of Peru.) Children of the Sun gradually began building a great city there, which later became the capital of the richest Inca empire. The word Cusco, translated from the Quechua language, means the Center of the Universe or the Center of Peace.
Golden RA
The most revered deity in ancient Egypt was the supreme god of the sun, the creator of the world and people. An ancient legend says that the inhabitants of the country erected a gilded 60 meters high statue in the honor of Ra. The long hair of the mighty Ra was made of pure gold.
According to legend, the bird Phoenix is the soul of the god Ra. Having revived from the ashes, the bird greeted each and every sunrise on the golden top of the monument. It is still unknown whether the “Golden Ra” really existed or not.
Gold has always drawn people’s attention. One always seeks to accumulate the amount of the noble yellow metal — a symbol of wealth and prosperity.
*Some parts of this article are extracts from Robert McDowall’s series on Folklore & Finance.