Four Deadly Plagues

The plague mentioned in the Iliad was brought about by the gods in response to Agamemnon's angry treatment of Chryses, and affected many Greek soldiers. The plague in Oedipus Rex would not end until the murderer of Laius was driven out from among the people. The great plague of Athens as described in Thucydides' Histories seemed to have no explanation, leaving people to abandon their morals and values and simply try to avoid it. All three of these plagues had very different supposed symptoms and causes, however, all three share similarities with the current pandemic raging throughout the world as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

In Homer's Iliad, the cause of the plague is very clearly the work of the gods: 

    Agamemnon had dishonored

    Chryses, Apollo's priest, so the god

    Struck the Greek camp with plague,

    And the soldiers were dying of it...(1.13-16)

Similarly, the cause of today's coronavirus is well-known to those who care to study about it. In the time of the Greeks, the people affected by the plague sought ways to end it; they thought of offering sacrifices to Apollo, of righting the wrong committed by Agamemnon, and of returning Chryses her honor. Even though they did not try any medical solutions, they still went to the source of the plague as they knew it in order to cure it. This action was likely possible because they had interacted with the gods before and had done things in the past to incur their wrath upon the people. The Greeks knew from experience what they needed to do.

Likewise today, medical experts understand that this new virus, named SARS-CoV-2, is another version of the coronavirus, which has affected people and animals in the past. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States has traced this specific outbreak of the virus back to where it started in Wuhan, China, and identified the source as most likely an animal-to-person spread from a live market. Just like in the Iliad, people are looking at the past outbreaks of a similar virus and using those experiences to understand the current situation.

Although the cause of this plague may not be as simple as the wrath of the gods upon one man, it has been narrowed down enough to be studied, and a vaccine is in progress. In fact, just recently, an article in the Washington Post came out saying that, "Eight participants who received low and medium doses of Moderna's vaccine had blood levels of virus-fighting antibodies that were similar or greater than those in recovered covid-19 patients," suggesting a hopeful end to this struggle with its constant increase in deaths.

While the plague in the Iliad affected only a specific group of people in Agamemnon's camp, the plague of Thebes as described in Oedipus Rex came upon just about everyone. As Oedipus notices, "I see well / that everyone is sick" (64-65). The chorus further describes the sickness saying, 

    Alas! For I bear countless woes;

    Disease falls upon my entire crew,

    and no mind's weapon can protect me,

    for the fruit of our famous land does not grow,

    nor do our women emerge from their 

    mournful labors with offspring...(173-178)

It seems that the plague affect everyone in the city; the crops did not grow, the women did not bear children, and there were so many dead that no one was left to mourn them.

Similarly, the coronavirus raging through the world today is spreading just as intensely as the plague of Thebes. Harvard Medical School published an article detailing the symptoms of the disease as well as urging caution in preventing exposure. They say, "If you've been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or begin to experience symptoms of the disease, you may be asked to self-quarantine or self-isolate" in order to protect other people against it. Though this modern-day plague may not affect our crops, it could certainly hit the people who harvest and sell them to us. It is essential that we exercise caution and do all we can to protect ourselves and others.

Lastly, Thucydides' description of the plague in Athens is perhaps the most explicit and the most graphic in his detailing of its symptoms. He begins by saying that, "As a rule...there was no visible cause," stating that instead the victims were suddenly 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." These symptoms were followed by sneezing, wheezing, hard coughs, retching, and violent spasms. Thucydides describes the skin of the victims as reddish and covered in pustules, and so sensitive that any sort of clothing touching it was unbearable.

These symptoms were only the beginning, however, as this first stage was followed by severe diarrhea, exhaustion, and the loss of fingers, toes, and even eyes. Some people even lost their memories to the disease. The worst part about this plague, it would seem, was the effect it seemed to have on the morals of the people. Those caregivers and nurses who visited the afflicted almost always seemed to contract the disease as well; though "if they were afraid to visit each other, they perished from neglect." 

These last bits of information are very similar to what is happening today to all the essential workers still needing to go to work to attend to the sick. On the one hand, if they do not report to work, all those who have already gotten the virus will die. But on the other hand, if they are forced to go into work, they run the risk of contracting it themselves, being exposed to it almost constantly all day. There are so many sick people that there are not enough doctors and nurses to care for them all, and not enough protective gear to go around for those few. According to NBC News, "As COVID-19 has infected more than 1 million Americans, nurses working on the front lines with little protective support have made the gut-wrenching decision to step away from their jobs, saying that they were ill-equipped and unable to fight the disease and that they feared for not only their own safety but also that of their families." It seems the same problem dealt with by the Athenians is facing our essential workers today: whether to protect themselves or the people around them.

It seems that of all the plagues described, the current coronavirus is the only one that has actually brought people together. In Agamemnon's camp, in Thebes, and especially in Athens, the people were so scared of contracting the disease that they eventually gave up and cared only for themselves. Because of our wonderfully advanced technological tools today, we are able to talk to people across the world without even leaving our bedrooms. We can be deathly ill, but still able to communicate with loved ones through video chat, texting, and phone calls. The deadly coronavirus has changed the world in terrible ways, putting many lives at risk. But it has also brought people closer together in ways that were never possible during the other plagues throughout history.