Lydia (LID-ee-a). A region ruled in ancient times by King Croesus, centrally located in what is today Turkey. Croesus was a historical king of proverbial wealth, derived from gold deposits in the river Pactolus. These were said to have been left there when the legendary King Midas washed away the "Midas touch", the power to turn whatever he touched into gold. Lydia was also the home of the mythological Tantalus, who offended the gods and was condemned in Tartarus to eternal hunger and thirst, with water and fruit always just out of reach.