Abstract
Narrating the famous Plague of Athens (430-426 BC) in its destructive manifestation, Thucydides was the first Western author to offer in his History of the Peloponnesian War (2.51) a compelling description of immunity acquired against a highly lethal infectious agent:
« […] more often the sick and the dying were tended by the pitying care of those who had recovered, because they knew the course of the disease and were themselves free from apprehension. For no one was ever attacked a second time, or not with a fatal result [δὶς γὰρ τὸν αὐτόν, ὥστε καὶ κτείνειν, οὐκ ἐπελάμβανεν.] » (1)
« […] more often the sick and the dying were tended by the pitying care of those who had recovered, because they knew the course of the disease and were themselves free from apprehension. For no one was ever attacked a second time, or not with a fatal result [δὶς γὰρ τὸν αὐτόν, ὥστε καὶ κτείνειν, οὐκ ἐπελάμβανεν.] » (1)
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 13 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Paleopathology Newsletter |
| Volume | 190 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2020 |
Keywords
- Coronavirus
- COVID-19
- pandemic
- paleopathology
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- zoonoses
- Conspiracy theories
