AGDE  , a

town of southern France, in the department of Herault, on the left bank of the river of that name, 21 M. from the Mediterranean Sea and 32 M . S.W. of Montpellier on the Southern railway . Pop . (1906) 7146 . The town lies at the foot of an extinct volcano, the Montagne St Loup, and is built of black volcanic basalt, which gives it a gloomy appearance . Overlooking the river is the church of St Andre, which dates partly from the 12th century, and, till the Revolution, was a cathedral . It is a plain and massive structure with crenelated walls, and has the aspect of a fortress rather than of a church . The exterior is diversified by arched recesses forming machicolations, and the same architectural .feature is reproduced in the square tower which rises like a donjon above the building . The Canal du Midi, or Languedoc canal, uniting the Garonne with the Mediterranean, passes under the walls of the town, and the mouth of the Herault forms a harbour which is protected by a fort . The maritime commerce of the town has declined, owing partly to the neighbourhood of Cette, partly to the shallowness of the Herault . The fishing industry is, however, still active . The chief public institutions are the tribunal of commerce and the communal college .

Agde is a

place of great antiquity and is said to have been founded under the name of a'yaOi rats (Good City) by the Phocaeans . The bishopric was established about the year 400 and was suppressed in 1790 .