The Plague of Athens 430 – 427 BC – First Recorded Epidemic

 

 

Once again the Greeks did it first but this time, it was not something to brag about, pandemics and epidemics have plagued society throughout history but the earliest recorded outbreak, the plague of Athens ( Λοιμός τῶν Ἀθηνῶν -Loimos tôn Athênôn), hit ancient Greece in 430 BC during the second year of the Peloponnesian War.

The plague returned twice more to Athens, once in, in 429 BC and again in the winter of 427/426 BC, before finally dying out in 426 BC.

 

 

A pandemic (πᾶν – pan all and δῆμος – demos – people), is a disease that has spread across a large region, continents, or even worldwide, while an an epidemic (ἐπί – epi – upon or above and δῆμος – demos people), is a disease which does not cross international borders.

A disease or condition is not a pandemic merely because it is widespread or kills many people; it must also be infectious, cancer causes many deaths but is not considered a pandemic because it’s not infectious or contagious.

 

 

As with most epidemics, the plague of Athens, thought to have originated in Africa, south of Ethiopia and then swept through Egypt and Libya, across the Mediterranean, into Persia, and entered Greece through port of ancient Athens, Piraeus, was totally unexpected and resulted in one of the largest recorded loss of life in ancient Greece, killing around 75,000 to 100,000 people, about a third of the population and by most accounts, was the most lethal episode of illness in Classical Greece history.

Much of the Eastern Mediterranean was also affected by the plague, but Athens bore the brunt of it.

We are provided with rather gory details surrounding the plague of Athens, by Thucydides (460- 400 BC), an Athenian historian and general, who at the time happened to be writing his ‘History of the Peloponnesian War’, the fifth century war between Sparta and Athens (431–404 BC), and who was unlucky enough to fall prey to the illness but fortunate enough to survive.

 

Thucydides’s Account of the Plague of Athens

 

 

Two years into the Peloponnese war between Sparta and Athens, Thucydides, took a break in writing his ‘History of the Peloponnesian War’, to write a description of the plague, known in Greek as πανούκλa – panoukla, or, a more polite version of the word, πανώλη-panoli.

 

 

Being mostly land-based powers, Sparta and her allies had rounded up large armies, who, under the orders of Pericles, Greek statesman and general of Athens, retreated inside the city walls  of Athens, not a wise move as it turned out as the mass exodus into an already overflowing city, caused overpopulation and food shortage.

Owing to the close quarters, and poor hygiene, Athens became a breeding ground for disease. (Pericles, his wife and sons eventually died from the Athens plague).

 

 

Thucydides tells us, symptoms of the illness, which came to be known as the Plague of Athens, began in the head and worked their way through the rest of the body.

‘Violent heats in the head; redness and inflammation of the eyes; throat and tongue quickly suffused with blood; breath became unnatural and fetid; sneezing and hoarseness; violent cough’ vomiting; retching; violent convulsions; the body externally not so hot to the touch, nor yet pale; a livid color inkling to red; breaking out in pustules and ulcers.’

He goes on to tell us, temperatures were so high, sufferers could not bear the touch of clothing against their skin and found the sole relief was to immerse themselves in cold water.

Other vile symptoms were a raging thirst, which, no matter how much liquid was drunk, could not be quenched, sleep was nearly impossible and many died seven to nine days after the onset of the symptoms.

 

 

Many survivors suffered from disfigurement of their genitals and extremities plus a loss of sight and memory, those who did survive the plague though, had developed immunity and so were able to tend to those who later fell victim to the disease.

Ancient Greece had never experienced anything like it, doctors, knowing nothing of the disease, which was spreading like wildfire, were helpless and usually the first to succumb to the illness, through their constant close contact with the victims of this catastrophe.

The dead were left to rot, or piled, one on top of the other, into mass graves, or burned on funeral pyres, the sight of which, caused the Spartans to flee from their posts and Athens.

 

The Backlash of the Plague of Athens

 

People began ignoring the state laws, to them, it seemed they were already sentenced to death, some, as they did not expect to live long enough to enjoy whatever wealth they had amassed, started throwing their money around as if there were no tomorrow, the poorer citizens were more optimistic, and dreamed of living long enough to become wealthy by inheriting the property of their relatives.

 

 

Many, who did remain in Athens, turned out to be metics (a foreign resident of Athens, who did not have citizen’s rights in their Greek city-state of residence) and who had either forged their papers or bribed officials to conceal their original status, metics who were rounded up, often became slaves.

This resulted in tougher laws, applying to who could become an Athenian citizen, which, in turn, resulted, not only in the reduction of potential soldiers but also in poor treatment and loss of rights for metics in Athens.

Athens, never recovered from the catastrophic plague, morale, among both civilians and soldiers, was at an all time low, political power was weakened and to top it all, Athens fell from its position as an ancient Greek super power, when she was defeated by Sparta.

 

A religious Rift

 

The plague of Athens struck haphazardly, seemingly with complete disregard for the gods or a person’s religious leanings, leaving the people feeling abandoned and doubting their faith.

The temples of ancient Greece, once places of refuge, were now places of despair, brimming with the dead and dying, people began to give up on the gods, in whom they had once placed their hope, surely, they told themselves, if gods existed, they would have not have let this affliction destroy their country and their lives.

 

 

Suspicions began to form in the minds of the ancient Athenians, were this not evidence that the gods were rooting for the Spartans, and were against the Athenians?

Even the oracle at Delphi, had prophesied that Apollo, patron deity of the sanctuary there and god of disease and medicine, would fight on the side of the Spartans and if that was not bad enough, an earlier prediction warned a Spartan war was at hand, which would bring with it pestilence.

 

 Modern day evidence of the plague of Athens

 

The first real evidence supporting the writings of Thucydides, about the plague of Athens, did not come to light until 1994, when a mass grave, together with hundreds of tombs, dated at around 430-426 BC were discovered a little way outside Athens’ ancient Kerameikos cemetery.

 

 

Excavators found that the grave did not have the usual monumental character, offerings left there were cheap, and the bodies had been placed very quickly into the grave, suggesting the whole thing had been managed in a state of panic, owing to a plague maybe?

 

 

Α reconstructed appearance of Myrtis, an 11-year-old girl who died during the plague of Athens and whose skeleton was found in the Kerameikos mass grave, National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

 

What caused the plague of Athens?

 

 

In addition to the overcrowding of ancient Athens, a shortage of food and water, a probable increase in fleas, rats, and refuse, causing extremely unhygienic conditions, could have aided maybe more than one epidemic, initially, historians and scientists, had thought the disease which caused the Plague of Athens, to be an outbreak of the bubonic plague.

Now, after more careful consideration of the symptoms described by Thucydides, they are coming up with alternative explanations, such as typhus, smallpox, measles, and toxic shock syndrome.

On comparing similarities with recent outbreaks in Africa, as well as taking into account that the Athens plague originated there, Ebola or a related viral hemorrhagic fever has been considered.

Since the first known endemic, the plague of Athens, in 430 BC, many more pandemics and endemics have wiped out large numbers of the human population worldwide.

Below are ten of the most significant pandemics to have struck human kind, including coronavirus, a pandemic in the making.

 

1. Plague of Justinian (541 – 750 AD)

 

 

An outbreak of the bubonic plague during the reign of Justinian I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, in the 6th century, is thought to have killed between 30 million and 50 million people, maybe, at that time, half of the world’s population, the Roman Empire was never united again, and the Dark Ages began.

 

2. Black Death (1347 – 1351)

 

 

Between 1347 and 1351, bubonic plague spread throughout Europe, killing about 25 million people, European population levels took over 200 years to return to their level from

before 1347. It killed more people in Asia, especially China, where it is thought to have originated.

 

3. Smallpox (15th – 17th centuries)

 

Europeans introduced new diseases when they arrived in the continents of the Americas in 1492, one of these was smallpox, a contagious disease that kills around 30% of those infected and claimed the lives of around 20 million people, about 90% of the population of America.

The pandemic helped Europeans colonize and develop the newly deserted areas, altering American history forever.

 

4. Cholera (1817 – 1823)

 

The first cholera pandemic broke out in Jessore, India, and spread to neighboring areas, it was the first of seven cholera pandemics that have killed millions of people

John Snow a British physician, discovered how to prevent it spreading, and in 1854 prevented an outbreak by isolating its source to a particular water pump in London’s Soho neighborhood.

 

5. Spanish Flu, or H1N1 (1918 – 1919)

 

 

 

Spanish Flu, also known as the 1918 influenza pandemic, was an outbreak of a H1N1 virus that infected around 500 million people, a third of the world’s population, in the early 21st century.

At the time of the outbreak, World War I was coming to an end and public health authorities had no official protocols in place for dealing with viral pandemics, which contributed to its large impact.

 

6. Hong Kong Flu, or H3N2 (1968 – 1970)

 

Fifty years after the Spanish Flu, another influenza virus, H3N2, hit the world, with the number of global fatalities reaching around one million people, about 100,000 of who were in the United States.

The 1968 pandemic was the third outbreak of influenza to occur in the 20th century, the other two being the Spanish Flu in 1918 and the Asian flu pandemic of 1957.

 It’s thought that the virus responsible for the Asian flu evolved and reemerged 10 years later as “Hong Kong flu,” resulting in the H3N2 pandemic.

 

7. HIV/AIDS (1981 – present)

 

The first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported in 1981 but still continue to infect and kill people today, since 1981, 75 million people have had the HIV virus and approximately 32 million have died as a result.

 As a sexually transmitted disease, for, which, as yet, there is no cure, HIV/AIDS is an epidemic which continues to strike millions of people every year, despite the lack of a cure for AIDS, antiretroviral therapy medications can control HIV and slow its progress, allowing infected people to live long lives.

 

8. SARS (2002 – 2003)

 

SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is an illness caused by one of the 7 corona viruses that can infect humans, in 2003, an outbreak that originated China became a global pandemic as it rapidly spread to twenty six countries, infecting over 8,000 people and killing 774 of them.

The consequences of the 2003 SARS pandemic were limited due to an intense public health response by global authorities, including quarantining affected areas and isolating infected individuals.

 Scientists studying the new 2019 coronavirus have found that its genetic makeup is 86.9% identical to the SARS virus; officials are now comparing the two, to see if governments can successfully duplicate the containment procedures from 2003.

 

9. Swine Flu, or H1N1 (2009 – 2010

 

 

 

A new form of the influenza virus emerged in 2009, infecting approximately 60.8 million people in the US; global deaths were in the range of 151,700 to 575,400.

Named “swine flu” as it appeared to pass from pigs to humans,  H1N1 differed from typical influenza outbreaks in that 80% of the virus-related deaths occurred in people younger than 65,  usually, 70% to 90% of deaths from influenza outbreaks occur in those older than 65.

H1N1 showed how quickly a viral pandemic can spread in the 21st century, indicating that additional preparations would be needed for the global community to respond faster in the future.

Swine flu exposed the vulnerability of many countries with advanced healthcare systems to a fast-moving, flu-like outbreak.

 

10. Ebola (2014 – 2016)

 

The Ebola virus is named after the river close to the initial outbreak and compared to modern pandemics, is limited in its range but still deadly.

It began in a small village in Guinea in 2014 and spread to neighboring countries in West Africa, killing 11,325 of the 28,600 infected people, with most cases occurring in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

 

Corona virus or COVID-19 (2019 – present)

 

 

 

The outbreak of coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19, has revealed vulnerabilities in the global community’s response to outbreaks of viruses.

As of March 5, 2020, worldwide cases had grown to over  97,000, with more than 3,300 deaths, the majority of cases are in China, although it has spread to at least 86 other countries.

Estimates indicate that Corona virus will spread throughout the world and could eventually infect 40% – 70% of the global population

A study by The Australian National University estimates the corona virus will cause millions of deaths and will register a hit to global GDP of $2.4 trillion.

Even the smallest of flu outbreaks are cause for concern, but full blown pandemics are the stuff nightmares are made of, be sensible, be responsible, wash your hands frequently, stay away from crowded places.

Above all, don’t start stockpiling on hand wash, food and loo rolls, don’t be selfish, think of others, you know the golden rule, right? ‘Do unto others as you would have others do unto you’.

Stay calm, catch up on your Netflix series, and read all those books you have been meaning to get around to (and if you’re anything like me, have a YouTube “True Crime’ bonanza!).

Stay safe!