Gild

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death by suicide.

Raven Kennedy’s Plated Prisoner series is inspired by the Greek myth of King Midas and his famous golden touch. As she states in her author’s note, Kennedy’s goal is to reimagine the myth from a woman’s perspective. The original version of Midas is a legendary king in Greek and Roman mythology; he was said to rule the ancient kingdom of Phrygia in what is now Anatolia, and the mythological figure of Midas was possibly named after a real person who ruled during the eighth century BC. There are several versions of the myth. In one, Midas is an orphan who is adopted by King Gordias (the man who famously tied the Gordian Knot) and Gordias’s goddess-consort, Cybele, the mother-goddess of Anatolia. As Gordias’s adopted son, Midas inherits the throne. In another variation, Midas is the son of a peasant named Gordios. When the kingdom of Phrygia descends into chaos, an oracle prophesies that the new king will arrive on a wagon to save the people. Shortly afterward, Midas arrives by wagon with his father to pay homage to the Delphi Oracle and is therefore declared the king.