Ancient Abdera

Abdera was founded by Greek colonists in the seventh century BC and refounded in the sixth, becoming wealthy enough to pay heavy tribute to Athens, and it produced two of the most consequential thinkers of antiquity: Democritus, who proposed that matter is made of indivisible atoms, and Protagoras, who said that man is the measure of all things. Ironically the Abderites had a reputation elsewhere in Greece for stupidity, a running joke in ancient comedy. The site occupies a low coastal plain with walls, two harbours, houses, a theatre and cemeteries, excavated over decades; the modern museum in Avdira village presents the finds thematically, with grave goods, gold jewellery, pottery and a fine collection of coins bearing the city's griffin.

History

The city lay 17 km east-northeast of the mouth of the Nestos, almost opposite Thasos, a Greek colony planted in Thracian land in the age of colonisation; the Phoenicians apparently began settlement here before the mid-7th century, and the town long kept Phoenician weight standards in its coinage. In the early Middle Ages a new settlement, Polystylon, later called New Abdera, grew up near the ancient city (Wikipedia, Abdera, Thrace).

The main sights

• The city walls - fortification lines running down to the two harbours.
• The house quarters - excavated streets and buildings of the classical town.
• The museum - grave goods, jewellery and the griffin coinage.
• The coastal setting - low shore and marsh where the harbours lay.

When to go

Spring and autumn; the site is flat, open and hot in summer, with mosquitoes near the marsh. The museum keeps standard hours and closes on some weekdays.

Before you go

The remains are low and spread out, requiring imagination and a plan; the museum carries most of the interest. Signage on site is limited. Visitors expecting a monumental city will find foundations instead.

Nearby

Xanthi is half an hour north; Porto Lagos and the lagoons lie east along the coast.

Key facts