Abdera, Spain

Abdera (τὰ Ἄβδηρα, Strabo; Ἄβδαρα, Ptol.; τὸ Ἄβδηρον, Ephor. ap. Steph. B.) was an ancient seaport town on the south coast of Spain, between Malaca (now Málaga) and Carthago Nova (now Cartagena), in the district inhabited by the Bastuli.^[1]

It was founded by the Carthaginians as a trading station, and after a period of decline became under the Romans one of the more important towns in the province of Hispania Baetica. It was situated on a hill above the modern Adra.^[1]

Of its coins, the most ancient bear the Phoenician inscription abdrt with the head of Melkart and a tunny-fish; those of Tiberius (who seems to have made the place a colonia) show the chief temple of the town with two erect tunny fish in the form of columns.^[1] Earlier Roman coins were bilingual: Latin inscriptions on one side, stating the name of the emperor and the town and a Phoenician ethnic on the other side, simply stating the name of the town ('bdrt).

References

1.  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abdera". Encyclopædia Britannica 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 33.

Further reading

•  Smith, William, ed. (1854). "Abdera". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography 1. London: John Murray. p. 2.

Coordinates: 36°44′N 3°01′W / 36.733°N 3.017°W