a maritime town of Thrace, not far from the mouth of the river Nestus, on the east side; (Strabo.) The foundation thereof, according to Herodotus, was attempted to be laid by Timæus the Clazomenian; but he was forced by the Thracians to quit the design. The Teians undertook it, and succeeded; setting there, in order to avoid the insults of the Persians.

Several singularities are told of Abdera. The grass of the country round it was so strong, that such horses as eat of it ran mad. In the reign of Cassander king of Macedon, this city was so pestered with frogs and rats, that the inhabitants were forced to quit it for a time.

The Abderites, or Abderitani, were very much derided for their want of wit and judgment: yet their city has given birth to several eminent persons; as, Protagoras, Democritus, Anaxarchus, Hecataeus the historian, Nicænetus the poet, and many others, who were mentioned among the illustrious men.—In the reign of Lyrimachus, Abdera was afflicted for some months with a most extraordinary disease: this was a burning fever, whose crisis was always on the seventh day, and then it left them; but it so distracted their imaginations, that they fancied themselves players. After this, they were ever repeating verses from some tragedy, and particularly out of the Andromeda of Euripides, as if they had been upon the stage; so that many of these pale, meager actors were pouring forth their tragic exclamations in every street. This delirium continued till the winter following; which was a very cold one, and therefore fitter to remove it. Lucian, who has described this disease, endeavours to account for it this manner: Archelaus, an excellent player, acted the Andromeda of Euripides before the Abderites, in the height of a very hot summer. Several had a fever at their coming out of the theatre; and as their imaginations were full of the tragedy, the delirium which the fever raised represented perpetually Andromeda, Perseus, Medusa, &c., and the several dramatic incidents, and called up the ideas of those objects, and the pleasure of the representation, so strongly, that they could not forbear imitating Archelaus's action and declamation: And from these, the fever spread to others by infection.