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Abdera |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.06 sec. |
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Abdera (ăbdē`rə) or Avdira (ävdē`rä), town, NE Greece, in Thrace, near the mouth of the Mesta River. It is a small agricultural settlement. Founded (c.650 B.C.) by colonists from Clazomenae, it was destroyed by the Thracians (c.550 B.C.) and rebuilt (c.500 B.C.) by refugees from Teos. The town passed to Macedon in 352 B.C. and in 198 B.C. became a free city under Roman rule. The term Abderite was used by the ancient Greeks as a synonym for stupid. However, the philosophers Protagoras, Leucippus, and Democritus lived there. AbderaCity of ancient Thrace on the Aegean Sea nearly opposite Thasos. First settled in the 7th century BC, it was colonized a second time c. 540 BC. A prosperous member of the Delian League, it was crippled in the 4th century BC by Thracian invasions. It was the home of Democritus and Protagoras. Abdera maritime city whose inhabitants were known proverbially for their stupidity. [Gk. Folklore: Benét, 2] See : Stupidity How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Protagoras of Abdera, and Prodicus of Ceos, and a host of others, have only to whisper to their contemporaries: `You will never be able to manage either your own house or your own State until you appoint us to be your ministers of education'-- and this ingenious device of theirs has such an effect in making them love them that their companions all but carry them about on their shoulders. |
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