Alyattes in the context of List of kings of Lydia

A tumulus (pl.: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as kurgans, and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built for various purposes, may also originally have been a tumulus.

Tumuli are often categorised according to their external apparent shape. In this respect, a long barrow is a long tumulus, usually constructed on top of several burials, such as passage graves. A round barrow is a round tumulus, also commonly constructed on top of burials. The internal structure and architecture of both long and round barrows have a broad range; the categorization only refers to the external apparent shape.

Bias (/ˈbiˈ.ɑːs/; Ancient Greek: Βίας fl. 6th century BC) of Priene was a Greek sage. He is widely accepted as one of the Seven Sages of Greece and spent his life working as a legal advocate free of charge for those who had been wronged. He also served as an envoy for Priene during mediation in a conflict with Samos, but he was unsuccessful. Bias is known for his belief that most men are bad. He is also reported as saying that it is unfortunate not to be able to bear misfortune, that one should fear the gods and credit them for one's good deeds, and that wealth and material possessions are unimportant. Several tales are associated with Bias, saying that he refused a tripod rewarded to him for being the wisest man alive, that he paid the ransom for kidnapped girls from Messenia, and that he fooled the Lydian king Alyattes into thinking Priene was too well-stocked to besiege. Bias is said to have died while arguing a case before the court in his old age. He was celebrated in his home town of Priene, and he received praise from Heraclitus, who was known for disdaining historical figures.

The Pactolus (Greek: Πακτωλός), also called Chrysorrhoas (Χρυσορρόας), the modern Sart Çayı or "'Sardis stream'", 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, which was the basis of the economy of the ancient state of Lydia, where the naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver was used to mint the first coins under Alyattes of Lydia.