Mystery message carved into statue forged by King Midas is read for FIRST time in 2,600yrs after one-in-a-million photo
For the first time in almost two millennia, a mystical phrase etched into a statue that King Midas carved has been read.
During a trip to what is now southern Turkey, a historian was able to decipher it by taking a once-in-a-million photograph that revealed previously undiscovered details.
Mark Munn found that the term Materan, which means “mother goddess” in ancient Indo-European, appears on the 2,600-year-old stone monument known as Arslan Kaya.
The Phrygians, a civilization that lived in the area from about 1200 to 600 BC and is most famous for its mythical King Midas, who was renowned for having a golden touch, crafted this statement.
Images of lions, sphinxes, and the mother goddess standing in a doorway beneath the inscription adorn the 52-foot-tall monument, which is sculpted to resemble a building front.
Eight identical buildings, including Arslan Kaya, can be found in the Phrygian Highlands, a peaceful area in western Anatolia, Turkey, that is currently inhabited by a small number of villagers and the ruins of an old monarchy.
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They are believed to be temples or shrines devoted to Cybele, the mother goddess, who is the most venerated figure in the polytheistic religion of the Phrygians.
The Phrygian Mother is regarded as a strong deity who rules the natural world, according to Munn, a professor of Ancient Greek History and Archaeology at Pennsylvania State University, who spoke to Newsweek.
In April, Munn visited Arslan Kaya for the first time and made a significant discovery.
He was able to capture the amazing image of the faded inscription because to favorable lighting circumstances, which revealed information that had escaped other scholars.
These residues can’t be identified from rock fissures if the light isn’t appropriate,” Munn said.
He verified that the Mother Materan’s name is unmistakably visible in the middle of the inscription by comparing his images to those taken in the 1890s and 1950s.
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Some letters were somewhat readable, but not enough to create whole words.
Munn also went into detail about the inscription’s grammatical structure.
He pointed out that Materan is the accusative form of Mater, meaning it is probably the object of a sentence or phrase that comes after a verb.
Like better-preserved Phrygian inscriptions, he surmised, this one might have listed the name of the person who made Arslan Kaya or dedicated it to the goddess.
At least two of the other major Phrygian facades bear the name of the Phrygian Mother, but only Arslan Kaya has both her name and her image engraved on it,” he continued.
Munn verified the monument’s early or mid-6th century BC date based on the sculptures’ style.
“This monument is very worn and has been badly damaged by treasure seekers before it was further damaged or destroyed,” he added, adding that he had no expectation of finding anything new.
The monument’s inscription was already severely deteriorated when it was first recorded in the 1880s.
However, Munn pointed out: I was fortunate to witness some aspects that had not before been observed or accurately reported.
Others determined that the word Materan was unintelligible, despite earlier researchers’ suggestions that it might be a component of the inscription.
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This argument has been settled by Munn’s thorough analysis, which affirms that Arslan Kaya was made in honor of the Phrygian mother goddess.
He claimed that I could verify the reading by comparing my photos to the best ones taken by previous guests.
Who was King Midas?
Ancient mythological character KING Midas is most renowned for his fabled gift and curse, called as the “Midas touch,” which is the ability to change anything he touches into gold.
Although his tale has Greek mythological roots, it is connected to the actual Phrygian kingdom, which flourished in what is now Turkey from 1200 to 600 BC.
In legend, Midas was a king of Phrygia who, in exchange for his benevolence toward the satyr Silenus, received a request from the deity Dionysus.
Midas asked for the ability to change everything he came into contact with into gold. He initially reveled in his newfound power, but when he realized that he could no longer touch, eat, or drink his loved ones without turning them into gold, the gift quickly turned into a curse.
Midas pleaded with Dionysus to return the gift out of despair. In order to rid Midas of his golden touch, the god gave in and told him to wash in the Pactolus River.
This is said to be the reason the Pactolus River developed abundant gold resources.
In the late eighth century BC, a monarch by the name of Midas ruled over the Phrygians.
He may have served as the inspiration for the fabled character, according to archeological evidence, such as the opulence of his tomb in Gordion.
The superhuman powers ascribed to King Midas in legend, however, were probably not possessed by the real King.
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