by Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Public Domain). Thucydides’ Plague of Athens and Sophocles’ Epidemic. Potidaea taken by Athens. Thucydides wrote his description of the plague as part of his narrative, History of the Peloponnesian War, and included the section, as he says, for “people to study in case it should ever attack again, to equip themselves with foreknowledge so that they shall not fail to recognize it” (Grant, 77). Crete. Many causes for the Athens Plague have been proposed by modern scholars and medical experts, including typhus, smallpox, typhoid fever, measles, bubonic plague, anthrax, scarlet fever, Rift Valley fever, Avian (bird) flu and even the Ebola virus! So the Athenians had fallen into the great misfortune and were being ground down by it, with people dying inside the city and the land being laid waste outside. The epidemic originated in sub-Saharan Africa, just south of Ethiopia. knowledge to understand the conditions in ancient Athens during the plague and devise simple protocols for slowing down or preventing the spread of the disease. Plague of war: Athens, Sparta, and the struggle for ancient Greece ... and in such cases the student would be more rewarded by reading the primary sources directly. The bodies of the dead and dying were piled on one another and people at the point of death reeled about the streets and around all the springs in their passion to find water. Submitted by Joshua J. fleets in Gulf of Corinth. The Plague of Athens (429-426 BCE) struck the city, most likely, in 430 BCE before it was recognized as an epidemic and, before it was done, had claimed between 75,000-100,000 lives. The Black Death Lesson for Kids: Facts & Symptoms ... according to Roman sources. About 270 years after the Iliad, or thereabouts, plague is the centerpiece of two great classical Athenian works – Sophocles’ Oedipus the King , and Book 2 of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War. Mark, J. J. The exterior of the body was not particularly hot to the touch or yellow, but was reddish, livid, and burst out in small blisters and sores. When we talk about ''the'' plague, we're usually talking about the one that killed off millions of Europeans in the medieval era. Web. The disease worked it way right through the body from the top, beginning with the affliction which first settled in the head. Jennifer T. Roberts is Professor of Classics and History at the City College of New York and the City University of New York Graduate Center.She is the author of Athens on Trial: The Anti-Democratic Tradition in Western Thought and Herodotus: A Very Short Introduction, and editor (with Walter Blanco) of the Norton Critical Editions of Herodotus' The Histories and Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War. Archaeological evidence for an epidemic in ancient Athens was discovered at the edge of the Kerameikos in 1994-1995, when a roughly-dug pit was found containing more than 150 skeletons, accompanied by humble grave goods dated by the excavators to 430-426 BC.The deceased were laid out in a disorderly manner, in more than five successive layers, without any … Scholar Michael Grant explains Thucydides' intention and final goal for writing his history: Thucydides differs from Herodotus, who from time to time displayed a moral, didactic, viewpoint, in that he continuously and deliberately intended to be instructive. None of the other common afflictions occurred at that time; or any that did ended in this. The following 5 points support this correlation. Other important primary evidence is archaeological: skeletal This was followed by sneezing and hoarseness, and in a short time the affliction descended to the chest, producing violent coughing. The Athenian general and historian Thucydides left an eye-witness account of this plague and a detailed description to allow … ... Primary sources place its mortality rate somewhere between 50% and 60%. More recent scholars have suggested that the Athens plague arose from bubonic plague, lassa fever, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, measles, typhoid, smallpox, toxic-shock syndrome-complicated influenza, … Samuel K. Cohn Jr., Epidemics: Hate and Compassion from the Plague of Athens to AIDS. Cite This Work In 430 BC, a plague struck the city of Athens, which was then under siege by Sparta during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). The Plague of Athens (Ancient Greek: Λοιμὸς τῶν Ἀθηνῶν, Loimos tôn Athênôn) was an epidemic that devastated the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year (430 BC) of the Peloponnesian War when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. No kind of constitution, whether strong or weak, proved sufficient against the plague, but it killed off all, whatever regime was used to care for them. The plague was a decisive factor, not only in the war but in the development of the city, and would influence the history of Athens for many years after it had moved on from the region. Homer’s Iliad, (around 700BC), commenc… Mark, Joshua J. Thus, Thucydides' work amounted to a social scientist's effort to make general, fundamental, principles emerge from particular actions in order to ensure that knowledge of the past form an effective guide to the future. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. In his remarkable documentation of the epidemic, Thucydides (who survi … Plague in an Ancient Cityby Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Public Domain). 1998 Jan;88(1):50-3. What the Greeks called the “plague” ( loimos) features in some memorable passages in Greek literature. He also encouraged the development of the arts and Greek science in the city as well as the works of notable philosophers such as Protagoras (l. c. 480-430 BCE), Zeno of Elea (l. c. 465 BCE), and one of his close friends, Anaxagoras (l. c. 500 - c. 428 BCE) as well as the careers of doctors such as Hippocrates and Greek tragedy playwrights of the stature of Sophocles. Thucydides, who lived from c. 460 to c. 400, was an Athenian general and political … 460–ca. Those who did go near to others died, especially those with any claim to virtue, who from a sense of honor did not spare themselves in going to visit their friends, persisting when in the end even the members of the family were overcome by the scale of the disaster and gave up their dirges for the dead. In his remarkable documentation of the epidemic, Thucydides (who survi … There was not a single remedy, you might say, which ought to be applied to give relief, for what helped one sufferer harmed another. The disease began with a strong fever in the head and reddening and burning in the eyes; the first internal symptoms were that the throat and tongue became bloody and the breath unnatural and malodorous. No one expected to live long enough to have to pay the penalty for his misdeeds: people tended much more to think that a sentence already decided was hanging over them, and that before it was executed, they might reasonably get some enjoyment out of life. The nature of the disease was beyond description, and the sufferings that it brought to each victim were greater than human nature can bear. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. The primary source for information on the event is the historian Thucydides (l. 460/455-399/398 BCE), an Athenian who suffered through the disease and survived. In other respects, too, the plague marked the beginning of a decline to greater lawlessness in the city. Most of what we know about the plague comes from the brilliant Athenian historian Thucydides, widely viewed by classicists as the single best source on Athens in the age of Pericles. Most died about the seventh or the ninth day from the beginning of the internal burning, while they still had some strength. The plague returned twice more, in 429 BC and in the winter of 427/426 BC. A. Some victims were neglected and died; others died despite a great deal of care. (63). The Black Death of 1347-1352 CE is the most infamous plague outbreak... Athens: A History, From Ancient Ideal To Modern City. Thucydides, in the History of the Peloponnesian War, paused in his narrative of the war to provide an extremely detailed description of the symptoms of those he observed to be afflicted; symptoms he shared as he too was struck by the illness. Last modified April 01, 2020. Linear B [At Ancient Scripts]; Image files of the linear B script deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick. Apart from the various unusual features in the different effects which it had on different people, that was the general nature of the disease. The Historical Sources of Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year by the British Museum by Call Number: Online - free - Open Library illustrated by extracts from the original documents in the Burney collection and manuscript room in the British Museum The sanctuaries in which people were camping were filled with corpses, as deaths took place even there: the disaster was overpowering, and as people did not know what would become of them, they tended to neglect the sacred and the secular alike. Our main source for the Peloponnesian War is the History by the Athenian author Thucydides.He is a great historian who sincerely tries to be objective, but his work must be read with caution, because - in spite of himself - he has his sympathies (e.g., for Hermocrates and Nicias) and antipathies (e.g., Cleon and Theramenes). Many who lacked friends, because so many had died before them, turned to shameless forms of disposal: some would put their own dead on someone else's pyre, and set light to it before those who had prepared it could do so themselves; others threw the body they were carrying on to the top of another's pyre when it was already alight, and slipped away. From the Plague of Athens to the "Spanish flu," the world has seen some pretty high death rates. World History Encyclopedia. Our main source for the Peloponnesian War is the History by the Athenian author Thucydides.He is a great historian who sincerely tries to be objective, but his work must be read with caution, because - in spite of himself - he has his sympathies (e.g., for Hermocrates and Nicias) and antipathies (e.g., Cleon and Theramenes). Moreover, supplication at sanctuaries, resort to divination, and the like were all unavailing. Tracy compiles and translates the scattered, elusive primary sources relating to Pericles. Thucydides is the main source of information concerning events related to the plague and the Peloponnesian War. It was a big deal. People in the Piraeus caught it first, and so, since there were not yet any fountains there, they actually alleged that the Peloponnesians had put poison in the wells. Thucydides (c.460/455-c.399 BCE): On The Early History of the Hellenes (written c. 395 BCE) [At this Site] Reports of Minos and Knossos [At this Site] From Plutrach and Herodotus. The First Peloponnesian War (c. 460-446 BCE) was fought primarily between Athens and Corinth (an ally of Sparta) but the second would be a direct conflict between the two antagonists. The distress was aggravated by the migration from the country into the city, especially in the case of those who had themselves made the move. Books In the end, people were overwhelmed by the disaster and abandoned efforts against it. Ancient History Encyclopedia has a new name! Plague of Athens in 429 BC, in the 2 nd year of . In addition, one person caught the disease through caring for another, and so they died like sheep: this was the greatest cause of loss of life. https://www.ancient.eu/article/1535/. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. In the next 3 years, most of the population was infected, and perhaps as many as 75,000 to 100,000 people, 25% of the city's population, died. The Athenian epidemic of 430-426 BC, at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, caused the death of the great statesman, Pericles, decimated the population and contributed significantly to the decline and fall of classical Greece. The cause of the plague was believed to be that the Peloponnesians had poisoned the reservoirs leading to the city of Athens. Thucydides' narrative begins at this point and he notes how, when the plague started, the people of the port city of Piraeus (just outside Athens and the Athenian's central port for trade) believed “the Peloponnesians” (Spartans) had poisoned the wells as part of their war effort. Many scholars discount the possibility that the event was bubonic plague because Thucydides never mentions buboes (growths) appearing in the groin, armpits, and around the ears which are standard symptoms accompanying bubonic plague as it attacks the lymphatic system and produces these types of swellings. If people did first suffer from other illnesses, all ended in this. 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Pages 2 0 R /Metadata 66 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [ 5 0 R ] /Count 1 /MediaBox [ 0 0 684 864 ] >> endobj 3 0 obj << /ModDate (D:20040127134442-06'00') /CreationDate (D:20040127134442-06'00') /Title (wh10a-IDR-0205_P1) /Author (Nicole Mains) /Creator (QuarkXPress\252 4.11: AdobePS 8.7.2 \(104\)) /Producer (Acrobat Distiller 5.0.5 for Macintosh) >> endobj 5 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 2 0 R /Resources 7 0 R /Contents 6 0 R /TrimBox [ 40 41 643 824 ] /CropBox [ 40.32001 41.75999 642.24001 823.67999 ] >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Length 3812 /Filter /FlateDecode >> stream 05 Mar 2021. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. No fear of the gods or law of men had any restraining power, since it was judged to make no difference whether one was pious or not as all alike could be seen dying. The main written primary source I am using in the present study is The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. (Peter van Halen / CC BY 4.0 ) The Plague of Athens Narratives . It attacked the privy parts, and the fingers and toes, and many people survived but lost these, while others lost their eyes. No one was willing to persevere in struggling for what was considered an honorable result, since he could not be sure that he would not perish before he achieved it. Most victims then suffered from empty retching, which induced violent convulsion: they abated after this for some sufferers, but only much later for others. (2020, April 01). The plague killed an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 people, around one quarter of the population, and is believed to have entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and sole source of food and supplies. The plague is named for … World History Encyclopedia. Feb 5, 2021 - Explore Ancient History Encyclopedia's board "Primary Sources", followed by 84327 people on Pinterest. Modern-day scholars believe it was most likely an outbreak of smallpox or typhus, but bubonic plague is still considered a possibility. However, it was not the only epidemic to reshape European history. Podcasts Jason Kelly March 18, 2020 pandemic, disease, outbreak, medical humanities, podcast, Plague of Athens, Thucydides Comment Practicing History Podcast Episode 5: Primary Sources In this episode, I discuss the nature and use of primary sources in historical interpretation. The Black Death … With your help we create free content that helps millions of people learn history all around the world. Thank you! Athens would ultimately be defeated by Sparta, and fall from being a major power in Ancient Greece. Many who had no one to keep watch on them even plunged into wells, under the pressure of insatiable thirst; but it made no difference whether they drank a large quantity or a small. Even so, the possibility that the Plague of Athens was bubonic plague has not been completely ruled out even though the symptoms Thucydides describes seem to align more closely with smallpox. Others, on first recovering, suffered a total loss of memory, and were unable to recognize themselves and their relatives. Around 165 CE, a mysterious disease broke out across the Roman Empire. But inside the burning was so strong that the victims could not bear to put on even the lightest clothes and linens, but had to go naked, and gained the greatest relief by plunging into cold water. ... he prefers to focus on the vast collection of primary sources to develop his argument. It struck the city of Athens suddenly. H�tWے�6��5[Z�HQ*?����8벵�ښ�DB"2 ����WlU�'�/�t��4Φ\�8$�їsN7������I�q�u�U�ӕ贘��8{��g�x\��Rlֹh�_3;�~���2-�z��{zЩ�/��V�جVb����L������h�l6������w�H��0K����H�$ۈr��g��Q�Hv��~����q�SQlWI��:�Nr�dOimW��#fXo�d�{��I���������4��%��{{�üz��#��I����m��������>6��^uO�N��~��y. Retief FP(1), Cilliers L. Author information: (1)Department of Latin, University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein. Shrewsbury, in “Plague of Athens,” identified the disease as being unique to Athens and provides a list of opinions from 1940s CE attempting to recognize the disease. The document also mentioned that the disease was said to have originated in “Ethiopia in upper Egypt… and spread from there into Egypt itself and Libya and much of the territory of the King of Persia.” 429 BC Athenian admiral Phormio (ramming tactics) twice defeated Pelop. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. It is estimated that it killed 100,000 people within three years, 25% of the Athenian population at the time. The Historical Sources of Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year by the British Museum by Call Number: Online - free - Open Library illustrated by extracts from the original documents in the Burney collection and manuscript room in the British Museum The plague that is described in Oedipus Rex could possibly be related to the plague that struck Athens in 430–429 bc , the primary source for which is the papers of historian Thucydides (where he refers to an epidemic that has been named the plague of Athens) . Historians have long believed that the plague, which swept through the Mediterranean region in the sixth century, led to a massive loss of life, rivaling even the Black Death. 1: Sources Thucydides. To the Editor: The plague of Athens (430-427/425 B.C.) A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. "Thucydides on the Plague of Athens: Text & Commentary." 460–400 BC), may be the first recorded influenza epidemic (Langmuir, 1985).However, most medical historians seem to agree that a disease outbreak in Greece in 412 BC, described by both the founder of medical science, Hippocrates (ca. He brings Athens's political atmosphere to life with archaeological evidence and the accounts of those close to Pericles, including Thucydides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, … Sparta, actually, withdrew from their planned assault on Athens because of the plague but continued their war efforts elsewhere. persists as one of the great medical mysteries of antiquity. The following narrative comes from the History of the Peloponnesian War, II.vii.3-54 as translated by scholar P. J. Rhodes and given by Michael Grant in his Readings in the Classical Historians: [The plague] is said to have broken out previously in many other places, in the region of Lemnos and elsewhere, but there was no previous record of so great a pestilence and destruction of human life. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. All the funeral customs which had previously been observed were thrown into confusion and the dead were buried in any way possible. The primary source for information on the event is the historian Thucydides (l. 460/455-399/398 BCE), an Athenian who … Thucydides makes the point clearly that there was nothing any human agency could do to stop its spread and ends his narrative by simply saying that it left Athens in a state of misfortune. Learn More. The Athenian fleet developed quickly and Pericles ordered walls erected around the city and monuments, temples, and public buildings which proclaimed the city's wealth and status. PRIMARY SOURCE Plague in Athens by Thucydides Thucydides, an Athenian historian, fought in the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian... Thucydides on the Plague of Athens: Text & Commentary, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. He referred to the pestilence as the plague but this designation was used in antiquity for any widespread outbreak of disease.

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