Place · river

Pactolus

Also known as Sart Çayı

The Pactolus is a small river in western Turkey that flows from Mount Tmolus past the ruins of Sardis into the Gediz, the ancient Hermus. In antiquity it carried grains of electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver, which enriched the Lydian kings and supplied the first coins. Greek myth explained the gold by King Midas washing away his golden touch in its waters.

Pactolus
Image: Spiridon Ion Cepleanu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Kingdom of LydiaSocioeconomy, Summary

Mentioned in 1 state history

Kingdom of Lydia

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Pactolus. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/pactolus
MLA
“Pactolus.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/pactolus. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Pactolus.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/pactolus.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Pactolus’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/pactolus (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻