Xanthi - Prefecture Attractions Xánthi

Abdera 27km/17mi south of Xánthi is Avdíra, the site of the ancient port of Abdera, founded in 656 B.C. by settlers from Klazomenai in Asia Minor (near Izmir). It owed its prosperity in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. to its fertile soil and its trade with the hinterland. It was the birthplace of Protagoras (ca. 485-ca. 415 B.C.), the first of the sophists, and Demokritos (ca. 460-ca. 380 B.C.), who developed an atomic theory. From 1950 onwards D. Lazarides excavated part of the ancient city on a promontory flanking a sheltered bay, bringing to light the foundations of houses, a stretch of town walls on the landward side of the site and remains of a theater.

The delta of the river Nestos with its many lagoons is a favored, but now endangered, port of call for a great variety of migrant birds.