Hand of Midas

Hand of Midas
Vital statistics
Type	Magical Object
Effects	Turns objects that come into contact with it into gold
Source	Unknown
Cost to buy	No Price
Cost to sell	No Price

The Hand of Midas appeared in Aladdin and the King of Thieves. It has the power to turn anything to gold. Aladdin's father, Cassim, spent much of his life looking for the Hand in the belief that he could use it to help his family, but when he finally found it, he realized that all he had accomplished was taking himself away from his family, prompting him to discard the Hand by throwing it to the bottom of the sea.

It is based on the famous myth of King Midas and the Golden Touch, hence the object's name and ability, which is odd because the story of King Midas is a myth of Greek origin, not Arabian.

However, among the Arabs, there is an amulet called Hamsa, also known as Hand of Fatima, Hand of Mary, Hand of Miriam or Hand of the Goddess.

Appearance

It is a solid gold left hand with what appears to be a bronze handle. One must be careful not to touch the actual hand section, or they will turn to solid gold. Only objects that directly touch the hand will be turned to gold. Objects touching the gold created by the hand will not be affected, even if the hand is still touching the gold item, allowing the hand to sink the Forty Thieves' ship after it turned the ship into gold without the transformation affecting the thieves or the surrounding water. It is currently unknown whether or not the Hand of Midas can reverse the effects if a person or object (that touches the actual hand section) is turned to gold.

History

According to legend, it belonged to the legendary King Midas of Phrygia, who possessed the same power as the artifact: to turn everything he touches into gold. True to said legend, the Hand of Midas, like its tragic namesake owner, who also accidentally turned his young daughter into unfeeling metal, can instantly transform anything with which it comes into contact, into solid auric metal. Anything touched by the Hand of Midas turns to gold, but its bronze handle is perfectly safe.

The power of the Hand of Midas is so great it was even able to transform inanimate objects and living beings into gold, regardless of what state they are in, as it ultimately did to the vicious thief Sa'Luk who was blinded by his own greed.

But in the end, Cassim grows a conscience and realizes his real "ultimate treasure" was his son and tosses the Hand of Midas into the sea after calling it a curse. Although Cassim did not seek vengeance against the Forty Thieves for their betrayal, he unintentionally causes their demises as the Hand accidentally lands on their ship, turning it to gold. The solid gold ship proves unseaworthy, and it sinks to the bottom of the sea, dragging the Hand with it.

Powers

The Hand of Midas is a golden hand that has the ability to turn everything it touches into solid gold, even people. The previous owner(s) accidentally turned their ship into gold and it sank to the bottom of the sea. For unknown reasons, it ended up on the Vanishing Isle. Using the Oracle, the Forty Thieves found the Hand of Midas, and it turned Sa'luk into solid gold. After the island sank, Cassim threw it into the sea, calling it a curse.

Trivia

• The name Midas refers to the mythological king of Pessinus, a city of Phrygia, with whom many myths became associated, who as a child was adopted by King Gordias and Cybele, the goddess whose consort he was, and who (by some accounts) was the goddess-mother of Midas himself.
  • He was known to have been granted the Midas touch by Dionysus, as told in a Greek myth in which King Midas turned anything he touched to gold.
• The hand could also be a reference to The Golden Arm folktale. It is a story appearing in multiple cultures through oral tradition and folklore, most famously told by Mark Twain and also used by him to instruct others in how to tell a story. The tale begins with a death or a recently deceased victim who has an artificial limb, usually an arm, made of gold. The victim has their limb stolen after their death, most often by a loved one or trusted one in greed. Then the victim comes back from the grave looking to get their golden limb back and scares the robber into giving back their arm.