logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2020
35m 34s

Plague of Athens

History Hit
About this episode
Plague in the ancient world was nothing unusual. Bouts of illness were common occurrences, but we do have accounts of some exceptional outbreaks: epidemics that brought powerful empires and city-states to their knees. One of the most infamous occurred in 430 BC: the Plague of Athens. Recently I was fortunate enough to interview Alastair Blanshard, a Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Queensland, about this devastating episode in Athenian history.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
The First Hawaiians
Tristan Hughes goes on an exploration of Hawaii's earliest settlers, guided by the insights of Dr. Patrick Kirch, a leading expert on Hawaiian archeology. From the arrival of Polynesians around AD 1000, using sophisticated double-hull canoes, to their unique agricultural practice ... Show More
51m 57s
Oct 5
Gladiators: A Day in the Life
The Colosseum packed with roaring crowds, the sand stained with sweat and blood. But today, you’re not watching - you’re fighting. Welcome to a day in the life of a Roman gladiator.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by historian and author Dr Harry Sidebott ... Show More
59m 56s
Oct 2
Origins of Mythology
From Cinderella to Beauty and the Beast, the roots of fairy tales stretch back thousands of years — to the dawn of Indo-European languages and beyond.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by author and journalist Laura Spinney to explore the origins of mytholo ... Show More
47m 45s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2024
The Plague of Athens
In 430 BC, in the midst of the Peloponnesian War, the powerful city-state of Athens was struck down by a disastrous plague. Athenians fell sick with a dizzying array of symptoms, from fevers and vomiting to painful pustules that broke out all over people's bodies. In total it kil ... Show More
25m 48s
Nov 2022
Plagues
From a plague in Athens during the Peloponnesian War in 430 BCE, to another in 540 that wiped out half the population of the Roman empire, down through the Black Death in the Middle Ages and on through the 1918 flu epidemic (which killed between 50 and 100 million people) and thi ... Show More
22m 33s
Sep 2020
Pericles
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Pericles (495-429BC), the statesman who dominated the politics of Athens for thirty years, the so-called Age of Pericles, when the city’s cultural life flowered, its democracy strengthened as its empire grew, and the Acropolis was adorned with the ... Show More
48m 55s
Jan 2021
The Plague of Justinian
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the plague that broke out in Constantinople 541AD, in the reign of Emperor Justinian. According to the historian Procopius, writing in Byzantium at the time, this was a plague by which the whole human race came near to being destroyed, embracing th ... Show More
48m 31s
Jan 2021
The Plague of Justinian
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the plague that broke out in Constantinople 541AD, in the reign of Emperor Justinian. According to the historian Procopius, writing in Byzantium at the time, this was a plague by which the whole human race came near to being destroyed, embracing th ... Show More
48m 31s
Nov 2017
Thebes
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the myths and history of the ancient Greek city of Thebes and its depiction in Athenian drama. In myths it was said to be home to Heracles, Dionysus, Oedipus and Cadmus among others and, in history, was infamous for supporting Xerxes in the Persian ... Show More
46m 49s
Nov 2017
Thebes
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the myths and history of the ancient Greek city of Thebes and its depiction in Athenian drama. In myths it was said to be home to Heracles, Dionysus, Oedipus and Cadmus among others and, in history, was infamous for supporting Xerxes in the Persian ... Show More
46m 49s
Jun 2023
The Golden Age of Athens
While the Roman Republic was still in its infancy, the Greek city-state of Athens rose from the ruins of war with the Persians to become the most beautiful and powerful in the region. During this Golden Age, many Athenian citizens enjoyed unprecedented freedoms in the world’s fir ... Show More
57m 15s
Mar 2021
The Bacchae
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Euripides' great tragedy, which was first performed in Athens in 405 BC when the Athenians were on the point of defeat and humiliation in a long war with Sparta. The action seen or described on stage was brutal: Pentheus, king of Thebes, is torn in ... Show More
52m 11s