Plague of Athens and COVID-19

   In our world today, we are facing a world-wide pandemic called the Coronavirus. We can compare this to the plague that swarmed through Athens during the Peloponnesian War, usually referred to as the "Plague of Athens". The Plague of Athens broke out in the year 430 BCE and died out in 426 BCE. On the other hand, the Coronavirus originated in China in December of 2019 and has not died out. In fact, the virus has gotten much worse since then. One similarity between these two diseases is their symptoms. Thucydides, an Ancient Greek historian, was in Athens when plague broke out. He described the symptoms by saying, "people in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath" COVID-19 (Coronavirus) also shows symptoms of cough, fever, and shortness of breath! However, a difference between these two illnesses is that the Plague of Athens was transmitted through fleas, while the Coronavirus is transmitted from human to human through droplets of coughs and sneezes. In addition, the Plague of Athens caused 75,000-10,000 deaths and killed 25% of Athen's population. The Coronavirus has caused 23, 956 deaths, so far. Also, the Plague of Athens spread into Egypt and Libya, as well as Persia and Greece. The Coronavirus has already affected 150 countries across the world (and all 50 states in the US have reported cases of it). Finally, the cause of the Plague of Athens is still unknown. However, we know that it originated in sub-Saharan Africa and came in Athens through the city's port, while Pericles' people were to stay within the city walls during their time of war. It is thought that this plague might have came from other diseases such as typhoid fever, bubonic plague, measles, etc. On the contrary, COVID-19 originated from China. It is thought that this disease came from a person eating a bat off a Chinese market. Although there is no documentation of this interaction, it is very likely that this could have caused the virus to emerge. In conclusion, the pandemic spreading in our world today can be compared to the Plague of Athens from thousands of years ago.