The plague of Athens
The Athenian plague was an epidemic that began in the summer of 430 B.C. in Athens—a year after the Peloponnesian war in 431 B.C. It was supposed that the plague was a result of excess number of Athenians within the city walls also known as the long walls—a military strategy by Pericles which consisted of building walls that connected the city to its port . The surplus of Athenians led to a shortage of food, water, an absence of sewage systems, and other important factors were said to have brought about the plague. It first appeared in the south of Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and later on in the Persian Empire, and Rome before arriving in Athens . The disease attacked the population of Piraeus and then travelled to
…show more content…
It left the population time to live in crime as they awaited death. The once valued Athenian morals also ceased to existed in that period. The population did not bother to accomplish any of the morally accepted laws. Meaning that since no one would ever be there to acknowledge it or they could ever gain benefits for it, it was normal for some not to complete any. For them, it was considered a waste of time to be morally just because they all would perish. The epidemic left the Athenians incapable of caring for their families who were infected. In Thucydides’ eyes, the most immoral act of all was the fact that they were left to die by loved ones. The plague was highly contagious; the infected showed signs of “ineffectual retching followed, producing violent spasms, […]externally the body was not very hot to the touch, nor pale in its appearance, but reddish, livid, and [breaking] out into small pustules and ulcers. But internally it burned so that the patient could not bear to have on him clothing […]”. Due to their symptoms, family members forgot all about their traditionnal obligations and abandoned their families and friends. They basically abandoned all of there loved ones since they were potential threats to their lives. Hence, they could only survive if they had no contact with their loved ones or friends. The dead and infected were therefore voluntarily neglected by their families. Consequently, the bodies
The Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, was a fatal disease that affected millions of people. Originated from China, the Bubonic Plague spread throughout Europe and made its way to Italy in 1347. (document 1) The Black Death, which covered the body with dark and livid spots, was difficult to treat. No one knew how to treat the disease nor how it began to spread.
The plague affected people not only on a physical level but a mental one as well. The mental health of the citizens of Oran was amongst the plague's many victims, it suffered of exhaustion as well as being forced to handle mental confrontations. When the citizens dealt with these issues, some people lost their capacity to love as intently, but overall the general capacity of people to uphold their devotion remained resilient to the challenges the plague provided.
It resulted in corruption, dishonor of law and as a whole extends the frightening of the community, lessening of the control of the society over the private life of the individual. This is the reason why the principles and the institutions of the Athens democracy turned to be lifeless.
Pericles’ Funeral Oration by Thucydides, and Sophocles’ play, Antigone, both illustrate cultural values that are crucial in understanding the dynamic of Ancient Athens. In these two pieces of literature, the cultural values are explained and understood through death. Pericles delivered the Funeral Oration as part of a public funeral for some of the Athenian fatalities in the first year of the Peloponnesian War. In Antigone, Sophocles is able to encompass values and conflicts through the death of Antigone’s brother. Pericles connects the death of soldiers to the importance of community, trust, personal freedoms, and social order that was essential in the success of Ancient Athenian Culture. Sophocles addresses the values of family, religion, and loyalty in his play, Antigone. The values highlighted in each of these works are very similar as they institute the importance of the patrioi nomoi (Athenian constitution) to the success of the Athenian state.
The book When Plague Strikes, is about 3 deadly diseases. It 's about the Black Death, Smallpox, and AIDS. Each of these diseases can cause a serious outrage of death. The book also tells about how doctors try to come up with treatments, medicines, and antibiotics to try and cure these diseases. All these diseases got the best out of everyone. Some people reacted differently than others with these diseases. All the diseases came in play in A. D. 1347, when the Black Death broke out for the first time in what’s today is know. As southern Ukraine.
Diseases have always been a threat to humans, all throughout history. One of the most destructive disease outbreaks in history was the plague outbreak which peaked in 1346 to 1353, in Europe, commonly known as the Black Death. This plague outbreak was extremely deadly and killed 30-60% of the European population at the time of the outbreak. The outbreak is commonly believed to have been caused by the bubonic plague, but modern evidence suggests that the Black Death was caused by pneumonic plague, a much more contagious and deadly infection.
Thesis: The period between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars can be considered the Golden Age of Athens. It was the golden age because Athens thrived in multiple characteristics of an empire. Context:
The Black Plague arrived in Europe by sea in October 1347, when 12 Genoese trading ships came to the port. The people in the town Sicilian of the Messina had been scared of the ships coming into the town, because they heard that the black plague was on the ships. So the town had thought they were equipped enough to contain the disease. Most of the men that were on the 12 trading ships were infected or dead from the Black Death. The black death started to spread around 1300, and lasted through the 1500s, it was spread by flees, on rats, also people would kill each other because they thought they might have the Black Plague.
A sickness which started in the head then developed to affect every part of the body, is an under-rated, mild description of the Plague of Athens. Thucydides explains that the plague not only harshly affected men’s physical bodies, but also their actions. People began to become fearful of becoming infected, which caused them to avoid visiting friends and family members who were afflicted with the disease. Furthermore, the plague also negatively affected the character of the Athenian people. The intense fear of having the disease even motivated men to “become indifferent to every rule of religion or of law”: individuals began to act self-indulgently because they believed that they would not be alive long enough to be brought to trial or punished.
Scientist at cdc believe “plague has been around since roman times”which means it can’t be traced at a certain time period or when it began. Plague is a harmful disease that has been around a very long time period. The disease has been known to be transfered by animals. Outbreaks have been known to have happened. Throught time the plague has “killed over 25 million people”. Plague is a very dangerous disease, what antibiotics help prevent the disease, and survivor stories.
The Athenians experienced a major setback when a plague broke out in 430 BC Between one-third and two-thirds of the Athenian population died, including the prominent general Pericles.
The Plague of Athens, taking place in 429 B.C.E., is the first mass killing plague known to historians today. However, this doesn’t mean that it wasn’t as dangerous as plagues later on in history. In total 100,000 people died which is equivalent to more than one-third of the Greece population. In the book “The Plague”, the city of Oran is overrun by a deadly disease. In both the Plague of Athens and the novel “The Plague” by Albert Camus, similarities occurred such as the diffusion of the disease, the symptoms and causes, and the social change.
The Great Plague of Europe made its way all throughout the continent and its population. The plague started on the western side of Europe; off the coast of Italy. It arrived by sea between the fall of 1347 and through early spring 1348. Italy was affected so hard that only one out of seven victims would recover in those parts. The
Dying for one’s city in ancient Greece was revered and respected, a group of soldiers sacrificing themselves in a battle were exalted as heroes of the city. Pericles funeral oration highlights the role of death in ancient greek society. Death is honorable, and sacrifice even more so. In fact, it was expected that you would die defending your country, instead of surrendering.
“While we may term other works paintings, those of Raphael are living things; the flesh