Latest / Ancient Greece: Philosophy, Democracy, and Endless War — Fexingo History / The Plague of Athens: A City Under Siege from Within
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Athens during the Peloponnesian War—the walls, the fleet, the democracy. But there's one event that changed everything, and it came not from Sparta, but from inside the city itself. I'm talking about the great plague that hit Athens in 430 BCE, right at the start of the war. Luna: I've heard of it—Thucydides wrote about it, right? He survived it himself. Lucas: Exactly. Thucydides is our primary source, and his account is harrowing. He says it began in the summer of 430, just as the Spartans invaded Attica for the second time. Pericles had ordered everyone from the countryside to move inside the Long Walls. So the city was packed with refugees—people sleeping in sheds, temples, even in the open. And then the plague hit. Luna: What were the symptoms? Thucydides describes them in detail, doesn't he? Lucas: He does. It started with a sudden high fever, redness and inflammation of the eyes, then the throat and tongue became blood-red and foul-smelling. Next came sneezing, hoarseness, and a terrible cough. Then the victim would get what he calls 'a violent ulceration of the bowels'—diarrhea, vomiting. And finally, a skin rash with small pustules and sores. People who survived often lost their fingers, toes, or even their eyesight. And the worst part—the internal heat was so intense that people couldn't bear even the thinnest clothing. They would throw themselves into cisterns of water to cool down, but that didn't help. Luna: That sounds horrific. And it spread like wildfire in those crowded conditions? Lucas: Exactly. The crowding inside the city—especially in the Piraeus, where the refugees were thickest—was a perfect breeding ground. Doctors were among the first to die because they were in close contact. And since no one knew what caused it, people turned to religion: they flocked to the temples, prayed, consulted oracles. But when that didn't work either, they started to lose faith. Thucydides says people stopped believing in the gods or in the laws of men. The social order began to collapse. Luna: That's the part that really gets me—the breakdown of society. What did that look like? Lucas: Thucydides describes a complete moral decay. People no longer bothered to bury their dead properly. Bodies were piled up, thrown onto funeral pyres that were already burning. Some people even stole wood for pyres before the bodies were fully burnt. And since everyone knew they might die tomorrow, they said, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.' They spent all their money on immediate pleasures—fine food, drink, prostitutes. The fear of the law vanished because they thought it didn't matter anymore. Luna: That sounds like a society in freefall. And this is happening while the Peloponnesian War is raging outside the walls? Lucas: Yes, and that's the cruel irony. Pericles had convinced Athens to abandon the countryside and rely on its navy and walls. But the plague made the city a death trap. And then, in 429, Pericles himself fell victim to the plague. He died after a long illness—not the sudden fever, but a slow, lingering version. Thucydides records that his death was a huge blow. He was the steady hand guiding Athens, and after him, more reckless leaders like Cleon took over. Luna: So the plague didn't just kill people—it killed the strategy too. Lucas: Absolutely. The plague raged for about four years, with a second outbreak in 426. Some historians estimate it killed a third of the population, maybe more. It devastated the Athenian army and navy. Ship crews died, hoplites died. And it sapped the city's morale. Thucydides says that the Athenians became 'utterly reckless' and 'despaired of any cure.' It's no exaggeration to say the plague changed the course of the war. Luna: It makes you think about how fragile civilization is. One disease can undo everything. Lucas: Speaking of which—if you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, you know we keep this show ad-free and independent, thanks to listeners who support it. If these stories resonate with you, consider buying us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps us keep diving into these deep histories without any commercial interruption. Luna: Yeah, and it's a small way to show appreciation for the research and care that goes into each episode. Lucas: So back to the plague—one of the most fascinating and disturbing ironies is that the plague may have helped the Athenians win a major victory later. Because the Spartans, who besieged Plataea in 429, also suffered from an outbreak. And there's evidence that the plague weakened both sides in different ways. But for Athens, the long-term effect was a loss of faith in their leaders and even in their gods. Luna: Did the Athenians ever try to make sense of it medically? I mean, Hippocrates was around then. Lucas: Good question. Hippocrates was active in the late 5th century, but there's no surviving text that directly deals with this plague. That said, the Hippocratic approach—based on observation and natural causes—would have been at odds with the religious interpretations. Some scholars think the plague was actually typhus, smallpox, or even Ebola-like hemorrhagic fever. But we'll never know for sure. What we do know is that it shattered Athens' confidence. And when the war finally ended in 404 with Sparta's victory, the city was a shadow of its former self. Luna: Thucydides ends his account of the plague with a kind of clinical horror, doesn't he? He's detached, but you feel the tragedy. Lucas: Exactly. He writes as a historian and a doctor would—or as close as an ancient Greek could. He wants to document it so that if it ever happens again, people will recognize it. It's one of the earliest examples of epidemiology. And his description of the breakdown of law and religion is a timeless warning. In a way, the plague of Athens is a story about how even the most brilliant and advanced city can be humbled by something it can't control. Luna: It makes you appreciate the resilience of the Athenians too, though. They didn't just collapse entirely. Lucas: No, they didn't. They rebuilt, they fought on for another 25 years. But the plague left scars—demographic, psychological, political. It contributed to the rise of a more radical democracy under Cleon, but also to a cynicism that later thinkers like Plato would critique. So it's not just a medical story; it's a story about how a society reacts to a catastrophe. And we can see echoes of that in our own world, especially after the recent pandemic. Luna: Yeah, there's a chill when you read Thucydides and realize how little human behavior changes. Lucas: Exactly. And that's why this episode sticks with you. It's not just a history lesson—it's a mirror. So next time you walk past a hospital or read about an epidemic, remember the Athenians, packed inside their walls, fighting an invisible enemy while the Spartans camped outside. Luna: Thanks for that, Lucas. I think we all needed that perspective.