
Pactolus  (PAK-toh-lus)

Phrygian river with significant deposits of gold in ancient times. These were attributed to the legendary King Midas, who had been granted the ability to transmute whatever he touched into gold. The king found drawbacks to this power and was permitted to wash it away in the river. Mythological fiction intersects with historical fact in that the Pactolus was source of the wealth of King Croesus, who ruled in the sixth century B.C.E. Both the legendary Midas and historical Croesus survive in figures of speech. One speaks of the "Midas touch" and being "as rich as Croesus".
With the Midas touch, food loses in digestibility what it gains in monetary value. (zoom)