From Abderos to Abderitism
Abdera was founded in the middle of the 7th century B.C. by settlers from Klazomena, a city in Asia Minor, led by Timisios. The great obstacles that the settlers had to face, the conflicts with the native Thracians and malaria, did not contribute to a smooth development.
In the middle of the 6th century, in 545 BC, a second organized colonization was attempted by the inhabitants of Teos, the Greek city on the Erithrean peninsula in Asia Minor. In this operation according to the myth, the settler was Heracles who founded the city to honor his friend and son of Hermes, Abderos. The hero Abderos had helped Heracles in one of his 12 labors, the abduction of the man-eating horses of the king of the Viston Thracians, Diomedes, and according to the legend, the wild horses had devoured him.
Although there were the same problems with the first colonization, this time the Teians overcame them. Utilizing the fertile land, the two natural ports and the geographical position in general, Abdera developed into an important city of the North Aegean. The city minted a coin around 540 BC., a sign of economic growth. Many ancient writers such as Pindar, Herodotus, Hippocrates, Thucydides, Diodorus of Sicily and Pliny the Elder have mentioned in their works the city of Abdera from where we learn a lot about its evolution. Among other things, we learn from historical sources that Xerxes encamped in Abdera in 480 and 479 BC. during his campaign against the Greeks. Apart from the economic, the cultural development of the city was also great. The Greek philosopher of the 5th c. BC Leucippus came from Abdera, as well as his student Democritus. They developed the theory that matter is made up of atoms. In addition, the sophist and teacher Protagoras (490 BC - c. 420 BC) also lived in Abdera.
The attacks by the Thracian tribe of Triballi, in 376 BC and later by Philip II, king of Macedonia, in 350 BC in combination with the alluvium of the river Nestos, imposed the transfer and creation of a new city further south. This new city was built according to the Hippodamian plan. According to this, straight roads intersect vertically, creating building blocks and spacious squares. The locations of public buildings, residences and temples were defined. In addition to road construction, the city had walls, two ports, an acropolis and a theater. During the 1st century AD, the walls were destroyed, and the city fell in decline. In the 4th century AD, the small town moved further north to the hill of the ancient city and was named Polystylos, where it remained until the 14th century AD.
Historical testimonies and sources are confirmed by archeological excavations that have brought to light various private and public buildings and cemeteries.
The ancient city was to become known for "Abderitism", the naivety and misery of its inhabitants, which may have been due to diseases and high fever from the swampy areas near Abdera.
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