Fr. 90
Ἔνθ', Ἄβδηρ', οὗ νῦν .[. . .]λ̣εω φαρμακὸν ἀγινεῖ
notes
Fr. 90 Harder (= 90 Pf., = 192 Mass.) P.Mil.Vogl. I 18 col. II 29 sq.
[image], Trismegistos 59371
The Abderites had a custom of fêting a slave, leading him around the walls of the city as a way of purifying it, then throwing stones to drive him out of their territoy as a scapegoat. Human sacrifice also forms the theme for the next aition. It is possible that Abderus was a character in this aition; if so, it was he to whom Heracles entrusted Diomedes’ Bistonian horses. The horses killed him, and Heracles founded a cult in his honor.
Bibliography
Deubner, Ludwig. 1934. ‘Der Pharmakos von Abdera.’ Studi italiani di filologia classica, n. s., vol. 11:185-92.