Pessinus was a city in
Asia Minor, a geographical area corresponding today to modern
Turkey on the upper course of the river
Sangarios (Sakarya River), from which the mythological
King Midas (738-696 BC?) is said to have ruled a greater
Phrygian realm. However, archaeological
research by Ghent University](1967–1973 under the directorship of Pieter Lambrechts; 1987–2008 under the directorship of John Devreker) showed that the city developed around 400 BC at the earliest, which contradicts any historical claim of early Phrygian roots. The investigations of the temple area, which was discovered in 1834 by the French explorer Charles Texier in the south of the village along the Gallos river, Angelo Verlinde's yet to be published 2012 PhD dissertation should greatly add to the understanding of the temple area.