The Plague of Athens was a devastating epidemic which hit the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War (430 BC), when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. It is believed to have entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and sole source of food and supplies. The city-state of Sparta, and much of the eastern Mediterranean, was also struck by the disease. The plague returned twice more, in 429 BC and in the winter of 427/6 BC.
Read more about Plague Of Athens: Background, Social Implications, Plague Description, Cause of The Plague
Famous quotes containing the words plague of, plague and/or athens:
“The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mongrel beef-witted lord!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A plague upon it when thieves cannot be true one to another!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“If one doubts whether Grecian valor and patriotism are not a fiction of the poets, he may go to Athens and see still upon the walls of the temple of Minerva the circular marks made by the shields taken from the enemy in the Persian war, which were suspended there. We have not far to seek for living and unquestionable evidence. The very dust takes shape and confirms some story which we had read.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)