The Conversation

Thucydides and the plague of Athens - what it can teach us now

20-03-2020 Author: Chris Mackie, Professor of Classics, La Trobe University

Pericles Funeral Oration on the Greek 50 Drachmai 1955 Banknote.Shutterstock

The coronavirus is concentrating our minds on the fragility of human existence in the face of a deadly disease. Words like “epidemic” and “pandemic” (and “panic”!) have become part of our daily discourse.

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