User:TrippyVaultBoy/Plague of Athens

Epidemiology
Thucydides claims that the plague spread from Ethiopia to Athens. The plague first emerged in the port of Piraeus from ships with plague infected passengers. From there it spread to Athens via the Long Walls where refugees would camp out. The small space and poor hygiene of the people living in the Long Walls lead to a significant spread of the plague.

The plague affected certain groups over others, however there is a lack of details of how the plague spread among inbreeds and certain working members. Physicians and health care workers were at a higher risk to catch the plague due to the exposure of other diseases. Higher ranking members of society were at a lower risk to catch the plague due to better living standards and better hygiene. Lack of food was not an issue for the Athens, for they had plenty of grain storage. Athens lacked vitamin C due to their mainly grain diet. The lack of vitamin C caused a lower immunity. The lower immunity left Athenians more susceptible to diseases. The Plague of Athens was most likely caused by a reservoir disease or respiratory disease, though neither have been confirmed. If the plague was caused by a reservoir disease, it would be very similar to arboviral diseases or typhus as later mentioned. If it was a respiratory disease, it would most likely be similar to smallpox.

Most Athenian doctors and physicians believed in Humorism. The belief is centered around the idea that a person contains four humors-yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood-that must be equally balanced in order to have a healthy body. Practices to balance the humors include blood-letting, purging, urine sampling, and using the opposite humor to treat the imbalanced humor.