A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens

BackgroundThe Athens Plague (430–427 BCE) was a devastating outbreak during the PeloponnesianWar, described in detail by Thucydides. Although there is ongoing discussion, the specificcause of the epidemic remains undetermined.ObjectivesThis review reexamines the Athenian plague through historical an...

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Autores: Domingo, Pere (Domingo Pedrol), Prieto, Patricia, Pons Pujol, Lluís, 1971-
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/227585
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227585
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Epidèmies
Tifus exantemàtic
Paleopatologia
Verola
Epidemics
Typhus fever
Paleopathology
Smallpox
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spelling A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of AthensDomingo, Pere (Domingo Pedrol)Prieto, PatriciaPons Pujol, Lluís, 1971-EpidèmiesTifus exantemàticPaleopatologiaVerolaEpidemicsTyphus feverPaleopathologySmallpoxBackgroundThe Athens Plague (430–427 BCE) was a devastating outbreak during the PeloponnesianWar, described in detail by Thucydides. Although there is ongoing discussion, the specificcause of the epidemic remains undetermined.ObjectivesThis review reexamines the Athenian plague through historical and microbiological lenses,reassessing diagnostic hypotheses and proposing the plausibility of an ancient pneumonicstrain of Yersinia pestis.SourcesWe analyzed Thucydides' original account alongside interdisciplinary literature from classicalstudies, paleopathology, epidemiology, and microbiology. We gathered sources fromPubMed, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and the Perseus Digital Library, covering works from 1634to 2024.ContentThe clinical progression described by Thucydides—fever, conjunctivitis, bloody cough,gastrointestinal symptoms, rash, and high mortality—is compared to the presentations oftyphoid fever, smallpox, epidemic typhus, measles, and plague. This review considersarchaeological and paleogenomic findings, including controversial evidence of Salmonellaenterica and the evolutionary history of Y. pestis. Special emphasis is placed on early strainsof Y. pestis that lacked flea-borne virulence factors but may have caused pneumonic formstransmitted between humans.ImplicationsThe epidemic's significant demographic, political, and social impacts highlight the broaderconsequences of infectious diseases in ancient history. This review emphasizes the necessityof employing a multidisciplinary approach in historical epidemiology and advocates forreassessing pneumonic plague as a likely contributor to the outbreak that occurred inAthens.European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases2025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/227585Articles publicats en revistes (Història i Arqueologia)reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UBinstname:Universidad de BarcelonaInglésVersió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2025.05.001Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2025, vol. 31, p. 1639-1646https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2025.05.001cc-by-nc-nd (c) Pons Pujol, Lluís, et al., 2025info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/2275852026-05-27T06:46:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens
title A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens
spellingShingle A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens
Domingo, Pere (Domingo Pedrol)
Epidèmies
Tifus exantemàtic
Paleopatologia
Verola
Epidemics
Typhus fever
Paleopathology
Smallpox
title_short A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens
title_full A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens
title_fullStr A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens
title_full_unstemmed A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens
title_sort A plague like no other. Beyond the buboes in Thucydides’ accountof the plague of Athens
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Domingo, Pere (Domingo Pedrol)
Prieto, Patricia
Pons Pujol, Lluís, 1971-
author Domingo, Pere (Domingo Pedrol)
author_facet Domingo, Pere (Domingo Pedrol)
Prieto, Patricia
Pons Pujol, Lluís, 1971-
author_role author
author2 Prieto, Patricia
Pons Pujol, Lluís, 1971-
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Epidèmies
Tifus exantemàtic
Paleopatologia
Verola
Epidemics
Typhus fever
Paleopathology
Smallpox
topic Epidèmies
Tifus exantemàtic
Paleopatologia
Verola
Epidemics
Typhus fever
Paleopathology
Smallpox
description BackgroundThe Athens Plague (430–427 BCE) was a devastating outbreak during the PeloponnesianWar, described in detail by Thucydides. Although there is ongoing discussion, the specificcause of the epidemic remains undetermined.ObjectivesThis review reexamines the Athenian plague through historical and microbiological lenses,reassessing diagnostic hypotheses and proposing the plausibility of an ancient pneumonicstrain of Yersinia pestis.SourcesWe analyzed Thucydides' original account alongside interdisciplinary literature from classicalstudies, paleopathology, epidemiology, and microbiology. We gathered sources fromPubMed, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and the Perseus Digital Library, covering works from 1634to 2024.ContentThe clinical progression described by Thucydides—fever, conjunctivitis, bloody cough,gastrointestinal symptoms, rash, and high mortality—is compared to the presentations oftyphoid fever, smallpox, epidemic typhus, measles, and plague. This review considersarchaeological and paleogenomic findings, including controversial evidence of Salmonellaenterica and the evolutionary history of Y. pestis. Special emphasis is placed on early strainsof Y. pestis that lacked flea-borne virulence factors but may have caused pneumonic formstransmitted between humans.ImplicationsThe epidemic's significant demographic, political, and social impacts highlight the broaderconsequences of infectious diseases in ancient history. This review emphasizes the necessityof employing a multidisciplinary approach in historical epidemiology and advocates forreassessing pneumonic plague as a likely contributor to the outbreak that occurred inAthens.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227585
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227585
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2025.05.001
Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2025, vol. 31, p. 1639-1646
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2025.05.001
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc-by-nc-nd (c) Pons Pujol, Lluís, et al., 2025
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv cc-by-nc-nd (c) Pons Pujol, Lluís, et al., 2025
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
publisher.none.fl_str_mv European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Història i Arqueologia)
reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
instname:Universidad de Barcelona
instname_str Universidad de Barcelona
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de la UB
collection Dipòsit Digital de la UB
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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