Pactolus, anciently the name of a small brook of Lydia, in Asia Minor, which rises on the northern slope of Mount Tmolus (modern Buz
Dagh), flows north past Sardis (Sart), and empties itself into the Hermus (Kodus). It is never more than ten feet broad and one foot deep. The sands or mud of Pactolus were long famous in antiquity for the particles of gold-dust which they contained. The collection of these particles, according to legend, was the source of Cæsus' vast wealth. The brook is now called Sarabat.