Vengeance

The beloved Silenus fosters the sacred infant Dionysus.

Neither life nor death nor rebirth, as natural processes, deals with vengeance. Vengeance, like strip mining or firing squads, is a human invention. The cycle of death and rebirth is a learning, not a retribution - a gift, not a curse. In many cases, people receive from life what they choose to receive.

This receiving what you choose is illustrated in the story of Midas. A rich king, Midas succors the beloved stepfather of Dionysus, Silenus. In return, a very grateful Dionysus offers Midas a reward, anything the king wishes to receive. Avarice has free reign. King Midas requests everything he touches be turned to gold. Knowing this to be the very prayer of a fool (modern Americans have a saying: "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.") the young and wise god posed the question a second time, to give the king an opportunity to change his mind. Midas insisted on his requested reward. The king then spent a miserable period where he was unable to eat or drink. He also divested loved ones of life by turning them into gold with the most simple gesture of affection. The experience ends when Dionysus allows Midas to wash away in a river this horrid gift of the king's own choosing.