Location of Abdera and its two successive metropolises, Clazomenae and Teos. A metropolis (from the Greek μήτηρ mētēr meaning 'mother' and πόλις pólis meaning 'city/town' is a big City, in most cases with Klazomenai (also spelled Clazomenae, Greek: Κλαζομεναί, modern-day Kilizman near İzmir in Turkey) was an Teos (Greek Τέως or Teo, was a maritime city of Ionia, on a peninsula between Chytrium and Myonnesus

The chief coin type, with griffon.

Ruins of the ancient city of Abdera.

Abdera (Άβδηρα) was a town on the coast of Thrace 17 km east-northeast of the mouth of the Nestos, and almost opposite Thasos. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe The Mesta (Места or Nestos (Νέστος is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Thasos or Thassos (Θάσος is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river At coordinates 40°57′N, 24°59′E, the site now lies in the Xanthi Prefecture of modern Greece. Xanthi (Ξάνθη Xánthi, ˈksanθi is one of the Prefectures of Greece. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The current municipality of Abdera, or Avdira, has 3,917 inhabitants (2001).

Its mythical foundation was attributed to Heracles (on behalf of his fallen friend Abderus), its historical one to a colony from Klazomenai. In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera " or Abderus ( Greek:) was in Greek mythology a divine hero a son of Hermes by some accounts and Eponym of Abdera. Klazomenai (also spelled Clazomenae, Greek: Κλαζομεναί, modern-day Kilizman near İzmir in Turkey) was an This historical founding was traditionally dated to 654 BC, which is unverified, although evidence in 7th century BC Greek pottery tends to support it. Events and trends Occupation begins at Maya site of Piedras Negras Guatemala. The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC. Thanks to its hardy nature pottery bulks large in the archaeological record of Ancient Greece, and because we have so much of it (some 100000 vases are recorded in the Corpus ^[1] But its prosperity dates from 544 BC, when the majority of the people of Teos (including the poet Anacreon) migrated to Abdera to escape the Persian yoke (Herodotus i. Events and trends 546 BC — Croesus, Lydian king, is defeated by Cyrus of Persia near the River Halys Anacreon ( Greek) (570 BC-488 BC was a Greek lyric Poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash 168). The chief coin type, a griffon, is identical with that of Teos; the rich silver coinage is noted for the beauty and variety of its reverse types. Griffon is a type of Dog, a collection of Breeds of originally hunting dogs

In 513 BC and 512 BC, the Persians conquered Abdera. Events and trends 519 BC — Zhou Jing Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. Events and trends 519 BC — Zhou Jing Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. In 492 BC, the Persians again conquered Abdera, this time under Darius I. Events By place Greece The first expedition of King Darius I of Persia against Greece commences Darius I the Great (c 549 BC&ndash486 BC 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavahuš: "Possessing goodness" Having ascended to power amidst controversy and bloodshed It later became part of the Delian League and fought on the side of Athens in the Peloponnesian war. The Delian League was an association of approximately 150 5th-century BC Greek City-states under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue

Abdera was a wealthy city, the third richest in the League, due to its production of corn and status as a prime port for trade with the interior of Thrace and the Odrysian kingdom. The Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that endured between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC. ^[1]

A valuable prize, the city was repeatedly sacked: by the Triballi in 376 BC, Philip II of Macedon in 350 BC; later by Lysimachos of Thrace, the Seleucids, the Ptolemies, and again by the Macedonians. The Triballi were an ancient Thracian people whose earliest home was near the junction of the Angrus and Brongus (the South and West Morava) Events By place Greece The Athenian admiral Chabrias wins a naval victory for Athens over the Spartan fleet off the Philip II of Macedon, ( Greek: Φίλιππος Β' ο Μακεδών &mdash φίλος = friend + ίππος = Horse Events By place Persian Empire Sidon, the centre of the revolt against Persia, seeks help from its sister city of Tyre Lysimachus ( Greek: Λυσίμαχος Lysimachos; 360 BCE - 281 BCE was a Macedonian officer and diadochus (i The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i The Ptolemaic dynasty (sometimes also known as the Lagids, from the name of Ptolemy I's father Lagus) was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family In 170 BC the Roman armies and those of Eumenes II of Pergamon besieged and sacked it. Events By place Greece In Thessaly, King Perseus of Macedon repulses a Roman army which is commanded by Aulus Hostilius Eumenes II of Pergamon (Εὐμένης Α' τῆς Περγάμου (ruled 197 - 159 BC was king of Pergamon and a member of the Attalid dynasty.

The town seems to have declined in importance after the middle of the 4th century BC. The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. The air of Abdera was proverbial in Athens as causing stupidity,^[2] but it counted among its citizens the philosophers Democritus and Protagoras, and historian and philosopher Hecataeus of Abdera. Democritus ( Greek:) was a pre-Socratic Greek Materialist Philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace ca Protagoras ( Greek:) (ca 490&ndash 420 BC was a pre-Socratic Greek Philosopher and is numbered as one of the Sophists by See Hecataeus of Miletus for the earlier historian Hecataeus of Abdera (or of Teos) was a Greek Historian and

The ruins of the town may still be seen on Cape Balastra; they cover seven small hills, and extend from an eastern to a western harbor; on the southwestern hills are the remains of the medieval settlement of Polystylon.

Abdera is a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church in the province of Rhodope on the southern coast of Thrace, now called Bouloustra. A titular see in the Roman Catholic Church is a Diocese or Archdiocese that now exists in title only

Landmarks

• Abdera Archaeological Museum

Sources

• Grant, Michael. Abdera Archaeological Museum is a Museum in Abdera, Greece. The museum houses archaeological artefacts found in the city which date from around 7th A Guide to the Ancient World. Michael Grant Publications, 1986.

Notes

External links

• Richard Stillwell, ed. Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, 1976: "Abdera, Thrace, Greece"
• Hellenic Ministry of Culture on Abdera
• http://www.avdera.gr/ (Greek)

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia