The Peloponnesian War of 431-404 BC, was fought and led by Athens and Sparta. It was between the Delian League led by Athens and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Athens was the strongest city-state in Greece prior to this war. Despite this, the Peloponnesian war had led them to be severely defeated by the Spartans. The Spartans, on the other hand, became the most powerful amongst the city-states of Greece. However, during the year 430 BC, when Athens had been gaining an advantage in the war, a plague had entered the city. This epidemic killed approximately 75,000 to 100,000 people. The plague later returned in 429 BC and during the winter of 427-426 BC. It is possible that it entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and primary source of food and other essential supplies (Littman 2009). In 431 BC, the Athenians and their allies retreated within the city’s walls. This led to migration into Athens, a city that already held a population of over 250,000 people. Athens soon became overpopulated as a result. (Thucydides and Rhodes 2009). The state of Athens at this time would be the main cause of the plague.
This plague is noteworthy for the limitation of the spread of the plague for the Spartans, which influenced their position in the war. Since the plague itself took place during wartime, this would imply that there were already pre-existing social, political, and economic factors which would have affected the regions that participated in the Peloponnesian War. This mean that all of the city-states of both leagues would have spent their wealth and time towards resources for this war when the plague broke out. When this occurred, the structure of the city-state began to fall apart. However, the plague in Athens was also to be a force that would change preexisting social and moral conventions as well. The victims of the plague remained unburied and were subsequently abandoned, though such actions would be directly against Athenian funeral rites (Rubel and Vickers 2019). This is an excellent example of how cultural traditions and social norms can be forgotten during times of crisis.
It was also believed that the plague originated in Ethiopia, meaning it was a disease with foreign origins. Many had also began to believe that the Spartans had poisoned the city’s wells, causing the people of the city to be afflicted with the plague (Hoekstra, Kinch, et al 2020). This is important as it indicates that the Athenians were eventually to blame the Spartans for the plague, since it resulted in an advantage for the Spartans and their allies during the Peloponnesian War. Unsurprisingly, in terms of the law, there were reforms to citizenship and new rules that dictated who was allowed within Athens itself. This means that travel was restricted and the movement of non-citizens was highly monitored. Many remaining Athenians were also revealed to be metics who had hid their original status. They were made slaves upon being caught (Martinez 2017). The plague the largest recorded loss of life in ancient Greece and resulted in the collapse of Athenian society as well. The power dynamics between citizens of Athens had changed due to the many deaths of the rich and their wealth subsequently being inherited by their remaining relatives, many of whom happened to be of the lower classes.
In comparing the plague of Athens to the modern pandemic COVID-19, there are several similarities which should be noted. The COVID-19 pandemic, which initially began in 2020 within Wuhan, China, rapidly spread across the world. This is especially true for places in which travel is more common as well as places that are often overcrowded and lack the necessary resources to counter such a crisis. Many countries have banned or limited travel as a result, which had also occurred in Athens when the plague broke out. The ways in which Thucydides described the psychological and social effects of the plague on Athenians still resonate with people today as societies cope with COVID-19. For instance, there have been recorded incidents of panic and hostility towards others, as people fear for their own safety from disease. Similar to the accusations by the Athenians that the Spartans had poisoned the wells of their city, there has been a surge of xenophobia that has targeted China and Chinese immigrants in 2020. There is a need to blame a particular country and its people responsible for the horrors that emerged following the outbreak of a devastating sickness, whether it is a plague or a virus (Hoekstra, Kinch, et al 2020). This phenomenon is also connected to immigration laws and the lives of undocumented immigrants. Following COVID-19, many of them lived in fear of losing their jobs or being unable to get proper health care for themselves (Page and Flores-Miller 2020). The possibility of their undocumented status being exposed also prevents them from seeking aid. In both Athens and in the present, undocumented immigrants are a victim of their respective societies, especially in times of crisis.
When examining the Plague of Athens and COVID-19, the numerous similarities they share seem jarring to behold. It is an excellent illustration of how the spread of disease can have a devastating impact upon society. By comparing the plague of Athens to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is increasingly apparent that such phenomenons have the capability to expose the underlying realities of societies once the societies themselves are threatened. By looking back into the past, one can also see the present as well. History has proved to be a cautionary tale for all, yet history ultimately repeats itself, with people undergoing the same hardships as their actions provide the same results of those in the past.
Works Cited
Hoekstra, Kinch, et al. “'Civilization Is a Very Thin Veneer': What the Plague of Athens Can Teach Us about Dealing with COVID-19 | CBC Radio.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 20 Nov. 2020, www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/civilization-is-a-very-thin-veneer-what-the-plague-of-athens-can-teach-us-about-dealing-with-covid-19-1.5624000.
Littman, Robert J. “The Plague of Athens: Epidemiology and Paleopathology.” Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine: A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine, vol. 76, no. 5, 28 Sept. 2009. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1002/msj.20137.
Martinez, Javier. “Political Consequences of the Plague of Athens.” Graeco-Latina Brunensia, vol. 22, no. 1, 2017, pp. 135–146. Digital Library of the Faculty of the Arts - Masaryk University, doi:10.5817/glb2017-1-12.
Page, Kathleen R., and Alejandra Flores-Miller. “Lessons We’Ve Learned — Covid-19 and the Undocumented Latinx Community.” New England Journal of Medicine, 7 Oct. 2020. New England Journal of Medicine, doi:10.1056/nejmp2024897.
Rubel, Alexander, and Micheal Vickers. Fear and Loathing in Ancient Athens. Routledge, 2019.
Thucydides, and P.J Rhodes. The Peloponnesian War. Oxford University Press, 2009.
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