Length 25 km | Source Tmolus | |
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Pactolus (Turkish: Sart Çayı) is a river near the Aegean coast of Turkey. The river rises from Mount Tmolus, flows through the ruins of the ancient city of Sardis, and empties into the Gediz River, the ancient Hermus. The Pactolus once contained electrum that was the basis of the economy of the ancient state of Lydia.
Legend
According to legend, King Midas divested himself of the golden touch by washing himself in the river. The historian Herodotus claimed that the gold contained in the sediments carried by the river was the source of the wealth of King Croesus (Karun).
References
Pactolus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA