The Plague in Athens - Thucydides Peloponnesian War

The Plague in Athens - Thucydides' Peloponnesian War During wartime, Plague was the worst enemy.... The Plague - Thucydides Peloponnesian War Book II Chapter VII Second Year of the War - The Plague of Athens - Position and Policy of Pericles - Fall of Potidaea From Internet Classics Archive Such was the funeral that took place during this winter, with which the first year of the war came to an end. In the first days of summer the Lacedaemonians and their allies, with two-thirds of their forces as before, invaded Attica, under the command of Archidamus, son of Zeuxidamus, King of Lacedaemon, and sat down and laid waste the country. Not many days after their arrival in Attica the plague first began to show itself among the Athenians. It was said that it had broken out in many places previously in the neighbourhood of Lemnos and elsewhere; but a pestilence of such extent and mortality was nowhere remembered. Neither were the physicians at first of any service, ignorant as they were of the proper way to treat it, but they died themselves the most thickly, as they visited the sick most often; nor did any human art succeed any better. Supplications in the temples, divinations, and so forth were found equally futile, till the overwhelming nature of the disaster at last put a s top to them altogether. It first began, it is said, in the parts of Ethiopia above Egypt, and thence descended into Egypt and Libya and into most of the Kings country. Suddenly falling upon Athens, it first attacked the population in Piraeus- which was the occasion of their saying that the Peloponnesians had poisoned the reservoirs, there being as yet no wells there- and afterwards appeared in the upper city, when the deaths became much more frequent. All speculation as to its origin and its causes, if causes can be found adequate to produce so great a disturbance, I leave to other writers, whether lay or professional; for myself, I shall simply set down its nature, and explain the symptoms by which perhaps it may be recognized by the student, if it should ever break out again. This I can the better do, as I had the disease myself, and watched its operation in the case of others. That year then is admitted to have been otherwise unprecedentedly free from sickness; and such few cases as occurred all determined in this. As a rule, however, there was no ostensible cause; but people in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath. These symptoms were followed by sneezing and hoarseness, after which the pain soon reached the chest, and produced a hard cough. When it fixed in the stomach, it upset it; and discharges of bile of every kind named by physicians ensued, accompanied by very great distress. In most cases also an ineffectual retching followed, producing violent spasms, which in some cases ceased soon after, in others much later. Externally the body was not very hot to the touch, nor pale in its appearance, but reddish, livid, and breaking out into small pustules and ulcers. But inter nally it burned so that the patient could not bear to have on him clothing or linen even of the very lightest description; or indeed to be otherwise than stark naked. What they would have liked best would have been to throw themselves into cold water; as indeed was done by some of the neglected sick, who plunged into the rain-tanks in their agonies of unquenchable thirst; though it made no difference whether they drank little or much. Besides this, the miserable feeling of not being able to rest or sleep never ceased to torment them. The body meanwhile did not waste away so long as the distemper was at its height, but held out to a marvel against its ravages; so that when they succumbed, as in most cases, on the seventh or eighth day to the internal inflammation, they had still some strength in them. But if they passed this stage, and the disease descended further into the bowels, inducing a violent ulceration there accompanied by severe diarrhoea, this brought on a weakness which was generally fatal. For the disorder first settled in the head, ran its course from thence through the whole of the body, and, even where it did not prove mortal, it s till left its mark on the extremities; for it settled in the privy parts, the fingers and the toes, and many escaped with the loss of these, some too with that of their eyes. Others again were seized with an entire loss of memory on their first recovery, and did not know either themselves or their friends. But while the nature of the distemper was such as to baffle all description, and its attacks almost too grievous for human nature to endure, it was still in the following circumstance that its difference from all ordinary disorders was most clearly shown. All the birds and beasts that prey upon human bodies, either abstained from touching them (though there were many lying unburied), or died after tasting them. In proof of this, it was noticed that birds of this kind actually disappeared; they were not about the bodies, or indeed to be seen at all. But of course the effects which I have mentioned could best be studied in a domestic animal like the dog. Such then, if we pass over the varieties of particular cases which were many and peculiar, were the general features of the distemper. Meanwhile the town enjoyed an immunity from all the ordinary disorders; or if any case occurred, it ended in this. Some died in neglect, others in the midst of every attention. No remedy was found that could be used as a specific; for what did good in one case, did harm in another. Strong and weak constitutions proved equally incapable of resistance, all alike being swept away, although dieted with the utmost precaution. By far the most terrible feature in the malady was the dejection which ensued when any one felt himself sickening, for the despair into which they instantly fell took away their power of resistance, and left them a much easier prey to the disorder; besides which, there was the awful spectacle of men dying like sheep, through having caught the infection in nursing each other. This caused the greatest mortality. On the one hand, if they were afraid to visit each other, they perished from neglect; indeed many houses were emptied of their inmates for want of a nurse: on the other, if they ventured to do so, death was the consequence. This was especially the case with such as made any pretensions to goodness: honour made them unsparing of themselves in their attendance in their friends houses, where even the members of the family were at last worn out by the moans of the dying, and succumbed to the force of the disaster. Yet it was with those who had recovered from the disease that the sick and the dying found most compassion. These knew what it was from experience, and had now no fear for themselves; for the same man was never attacked twice- never at least fatally. And such persons not only received the congratulations of others, but themselves also, in the elation of the moment, half entertained the vain hope that they were for the future safe from any disease whatsoever. An aggravation of the existing calamity was the influx from the country into the city, and this was especially felt by the new arrivals. As there were no houses to receive them, they had to be lodged at the hot season of the year in stifling cabins, where the mortality raged without restraint. The bodies of dying men lay one upon another, and half-dead creatures reeled about the streets and gathered round all the fountains in their longing for water. The sacred places also in which they had quartered themselves were full of corpses of persons that had died there, just as they were; for as the disaster passed all bounds, men, not knowing what was to become of them, became utterly careless of everything, whether sacred or profane. All the burial rites before in use were entirely upset, and they buried the bodies as best they could. Many from want of the proper appliances, through so many of their friends having died already, had recourse to the most shameless sepultures: sometimes gett ing the start of those who had raised a pile, they threw their own dead body upon the strangers pyre and ignited it; sometimes they tossed the corpse which they were carrying on the top of another that was burning, and so went off. Nor was this the only form of lawless extravagance which owed its origin to the plague. Men now coolly ventured on what they had formerly done in a corner, and not just as they pleased, seeing the rapid transitions produced by persons in prosperity suddenly dying and those who before had nothing succeeding to their property. So they resolved to spend quickly and enjoy themselves, regarding their lives and riches as alike things of a day. Perseverance in what men called honour was popular with none, it was so uncertain whether they would be spared to attain the object; but it was settled that present enjoyment, and all that contributed to it, was both honourable and useful. Fear of gods or law of man there was none to restrain them. As for the first, they judged it to be just the same whether they worshipped them or not, as they saw all alike perishing; and for the last, no one expected to live to be brought to trial for his offences, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon them all and hung ever over their heads, and before this fell it was only reasonable to enjoy life a little. Such was the nature of the calamity, and heavily did it weigh on the Athenians; death raging within the city and devastation without. Among other things which they remembered in their distress was, very naturally, the following verse which the old men said had long ago been uttered: A Dorian war shall come and with it death. So a dispute arose as to whether dearth and not death had not been the word in the verse; but at the present juncture, it was of course decided in favour of the latter; for the people made their recollection fit in with their sufferings. I fancy, however, that if another Dorian war should ever afterwards come upon us, and a dearth should happen to accompany it, the verse will probably be read accordingly. The oracle also which had been given to the Lacedaemonians was now remembered by those who knew of it. When the god was asked whether they should go to war, he answered that if they put their might into it, victory would be theirs, and that he would himself be with them. With this oracle events were supposed to tally. For the plague broke out as soon as the Peloponnesians invaded Attica, and never entering Peloponnese (not at least to an extent worth noticing), committed its worst ravages at Athens, and next to Athens, at the most populous of the other towns. Such was the history of the plague. For more from Thucydides, see Pericles Funeral Oration. Also see resources on ancient medicine, including:Â   Types of Greek MedicineThe Four HumorsThe Hippocratic OathThe Hippocratic Writings

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Research - Essay Example Activities such as data collection, analysis, and communication of results that are associated with a potential to shift power or structural balance, are therefore prone to communication of a researcher’s political opinion or those of other parties. As a result, an action researcher ought to be tactical in order to achieve the research’s objectives. A good tactical approach ensures that all stakeholders in the research are managed for acceptance and implementation of the research findings. The researcher should therefore be an influential leader who facilitates an understanding between himself and stakeholders to the research as well as the relationships among the stakeholders. Some of the ways of achieving the two types of relationships are understanding the involved stakeholders, avoiding controversies with them, building relationships with them and knowing the type of information to discuss with them and what to reserve. A researcher’s ‘self-awarenessâ⠂¬â„¢ and how other stakeholders view the researcher is also important in managing the relationships (Brannick and Coghlan, 2009). The scope of action research and its potential impacts on stakeholders also elicits ethical considerations for observance of â€Å"democracies, justice, freedom, and participation† (Brannick and Coghlan, 2009, p. 132). Such ethics relies on pillars of â€Å"interdependency, cogeneration of knowledge and fairer power relations† (Brannick and Coghlan, 2009, p. 133) and varies with the level of research. In action research for example, the researcher is expected to incorporate participants right from the planning stage and ethical considerations extends to the entire community in which the research is conducted. Higher levels of research demands higher scopes of ethical considerations. Action research particularly involves ethical principles such as â€Å"confidentiality and anonymity,† informed consent, and beneficence that can only be

Week eleven forum Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week eleven forum - Term Paper Example Surrealist desires includes our primordial want for sex, fame, fortune and other instincts which when taken into excess are considered base. Thus, advertising such as the one employed by Carls Jr which is supposed to be a wholesome product has to associate with "sexism" when it used Terry Crews sexy innuendos to communicate subtly that the product is delectable and improve Carls Jr position in the market. The list goes on, employing the same surrealist principle of appealing to our subconscious desires. The approach is so effective that even products that could kill could have patronage. The classic example is the cigarette Marlboro which employs an absurd advertising (before it was banned) under the slogan "Marlboro Country which is really nothing except to depict an Alpha male stature that anyone who will not smoke Marlboro are considered as "others" and therefore inferior, less sexy and

Black People and Dorothy Allison Essay Example for Free

Black People and Dorothy Allison Essay Race, class and gender have been a topic for most books that have been written. A lot of books talk about these topics because it is something most people face. Whether youre at work and cant get a promotion because of your gender, excluded from a place because of your class or hated because of your race. Know matter what you will be faced with one if these topics in your life time. Dorothy Allisons Bastard out of Carolina deals with these issues in a very intriguing way. She uses them to keep the story flowing and keep the reader interested. In the novel BOC, Allison uses race, class and gender in a very stereotypical way. The story of Bone takes place in a time where race was a conservational topic. You can say America was split in two groups, the whites and blacks. If you were black life was not easy. Black people were discriminated against. Even though slavery was over the black nation was not accepted by the white people. Racism means Discrimination or prejudice based on race (2). This word was not really used in this book because the narrative was Bone, a white girl. When Bone would visit Aunt Almas apartment she would come to face black children. There and then is when the stereotypes of black people started. The grown ups in Bone had nothing good to say about the niggers that lived by Aunt Alma. Running off with a mans children, living in the dirty place with niggers all around. My little girls having to go up those stairs past those nigger boys. My wife walking the street past those peckerwoods! (Allison 89). The family really did not approve of Aunt Alma living around black people. They were thought to be dirty and uncivilized people. Black people were also thought to be stupid and worthless. Bone was young at the time and did not know what to think about them. But she did not feel the same as her elders. Instead she made friends with them and learned to like them. I think Allison is trying to show the innocence of a child. Most kids are caring and loving until they are taught to hate. Bone grew up in a poor family. They would be considered in todays society as trailer trash. The stereotype of poor white folks was present in Bastard out of Carolina. Anne and Glen did not really have money so it was hard to support the kids. They basically lived with very little. They couldnt settle down at one house so they moved from one run down house to another. A lot of the characters described in this book had a lot of resemblance to what we would consider a red neck. For instance Uncle Travis has a big Chevy. Bone says it was jacked up so high that it easily cradled little kids or pregnant woman (Allison 1). Almost all the boys in the family had trucks. Thats typical for a red neck. Bone describes the Boatwright men as rugged, kind of dirty strong boys. They loved to fight and drink beer. The Boatwright family was big which again stereotyped poor white families. Also poor people are known to have kids out of wedlock. That was the situation Bone was. She was born out of wedlock and she never knew who her father was. That is the significance of the title Bastard out of Carolina. Gender also played a big role in this novel by Dorothy Allison. The male and female gender played a very distinctive role. In the Boatwright family the men are thought to be the physically strong. They take care of the family. They get into fights and are feared by a lot of people in town. Women of that time were supposed to stay at home cook and clean. They were supposed to wait for their husbands and never talk back. But I think Allison reversed the stereotype about women by making the Boatwright women very different. Most of them had jobs and were supporting them selfs. Aunt Raylene and Aunt Alma were some of the girls that lived by themselves. The women were strong too and they stuck together. Another way gender played a role was the relationship between Anne and Glen. From all the Boatwright women Anne was the weakest one. In the relationship Glen basically controlled Anne. Every time he did something bad she would end up forgiving him. Even after she found out he has been beating Bone she forgave him. Glen had all the power and Anne couldnt do anything because she loved him. Bastard out of Carolina faces issues about race, class and gender. Allison builds a world where all these issues are faced. Through the main character Bone, we see how race, class and gender affect her and her family. Race played a role when Bone meets black people for the first time and instead of judging them she became friend with them. The Boatwrights social status is not the best but they are feared by the community. They are considered poor and red necks. The last big issue that is seen in BOC is gender. Allison changed things up by making the women in the family stronger and more independent than other women of that time. In the end I think Allison decided to stereotype race, class and gender to show us it makes things worse then they already are. Work Cited 2 entries found for racism. 2003. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 19 Feb. 2006 http://owl. english. purdue. edu/handouts/research/r_mla. html Allison Dorothy. Bastard out of Carolina. New York. Penguin Group. 1993.

Shadows On The Wall by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Essay example -- Shadow

Shadows On The Wall by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Dan Roberts: Dan is the main character in Shadows On The Wall . He is constantly seeing and feeling some very strange things on his vacation . Every morning he takes a jog very early around Micklegate Bar . He also makes a new friend on his journey to York , England . Dan is 15 years old . Joe Stanton: Joe is a cab driver . He and Dan become really good friends . Joe is an old but wise man in many ways . He also takes Dan to see all the sites in York and drives all the people around , but mostly the people staying at the Hotel . Ambrose Faw: He was the leader in the Faw family . He and Joe are also very good friends and they have known each other for almost the whole lives . Rose: Rose was married to Ambrose and had four kids . She is also a psychic like her mother . She is a very kind person . Nat: Nat was Ambrose’s son . He wants to leave the gypsy clan and have adventures when he grows up . He and Dan become good friends and Nat shows Dan around their camp . Nat also keeps bothering Dan because he wants to trade for Dan’s belt , but Dan said no because it is the only belt he brought with him . In the end they end up trading anyway . Jasper: He is Ambrose’s oldest son . He is also a mute , but he could talk when he was younger . One day he came running out of the woods scared and never talked again . Dan sometimes hears him singing in the woods . When he told Joe he said it was more like a chant . Dan has also seen Jasper turn into a type of monster with lime-green hair . Jasper is always staring at Dan . Orlenda: Orlenda is Nat’s older sister , she is often looking at Dan . Her grandmother thinks that she is going to run away with a gorgio . The grandmother considers Dan a gorgio . She barely talks to him but they are always near each other . Granny: the granny is Rose’s mother and she can tell the future . She believes that everyone of the gypsies have a special power . She also knew exactly when she was going to die and she was right . Rachel: Rachel is the youngest of Rose’s children and doesn’t do much in the book but help around with the little things . Mr. Roberts: He is Dan’s dad . All through the book he is acting very strangely on the entire trip Mrs. Roberts: She is Dan’s mom , she is also acting very strangely and her and her husband are kee... ... into the soldiers face he turned Joe .They were both dripping with sweat and they sat there and talked until sunrise . In the moring the other gypsy clan came and they finished the funeral and burned the granny’s things . After Dan and Joe ate they left because Joe knew that they wanted to be alone . On the way home Dan told Joe about how he saw Ambrose in the tower and that he was getting soil . Then Joe told Dan that the old woman wasn’t born in the gardens(Museum Gardens).Before Dan had left the camp he traded his belt with Nat for an old Romany coin . That was the last day Dan was in York . When he got back to the hotel he took a shower then went to sleep . When his Parents got back They all packed and left . That night Ambrose went to the hotel and asked for Dan but Mrs. Harrison told him that they left . After Ambrose left the hotel he went to the stream and threw Dan’s belt in the deepest part of the water . That is how the book ends . VII. This was a really good book . There were some boring parts , but most of it was good . There were some really good parts in this book , and there were alot of adventurous parts . I think the ending is very confusing .

Effects of College Stress Essay

Stress comes from variety of sources and does not seem to impact everyone in the same way. What is stressful to one person may not cause stress for another. In small doses, stress helps you to stay focused, energetic, and alert. But when stress becomes overwhelming, it can damage your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life. One of the effects of stress would be emotion; a person can suffer from loss of confidence while in unfamiliar territory, around new people, they encounter new challenges, it’s easy to lose confidence when you’re somewhere new. Fear of failure can be caused by the fact that most of the younger students will be years ahead of you with academic knowledge. They’ll make you wish you had paid attention in high school, English class. Feeling overwhelmed is another effect, students who haven’t learned how to learn are too embarrassed to ask for help. They assume wrongly, either that they’re the only ones holding on to this deficiency or that they ought to be smart enough to overcome it on their own. Lack of concentration is a direct effect of lack of energy in a person. Second, persons can also have the effect of behavioral issues which will consist of moodiness or mood swings, sometimes school work or getting to class gets to be too much and we can break down. Acting impulsively is another effect in a high drive to numb the pain of low self-esteem. A person will also experience sleeping too much or too little as a result, Sleep deprivation can also impair moral judgment and having too little sleep over a long period of time can take a huge toll on your health and also make a person more likely to be accident prone. Third, a Physical effect; a person is subject to suffer from headaches or migraines, as well as shortness of breath and hyperventilation which is the effect of panic and give the feeling of a heart attack, increased sweating, cold hands or feet are often an effect cause by mental and emotional stress, anxiety, or panic. In conclusion, long term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in the body. The more your body stress system is captivated the harder it is to shut off.

Indonesi A Model For Democracy - 1224 Words

From being ruled by an authoritative government, Indonesia now has become a model for democracy in Asia. Over the years, Indonesia has slowly made the transition to democracy. Its new presidential election is clear evidence of this transition because the Indonesians chose to elect a common man to be the president: an official who they thought would understand their struggles. Within 15 years, Indonesia has transitioned from a bureaucratic-authoritarian regime to a formal presidentialism. The newly elected president has already taken steps toward implementing his reforms which consists of pushing to cut down fuel subsidies, getting rid of corruption and encouraging new businesses to invest in Indonesia by giving them tax incentives. These are clear signs that consolidated liberal democracy in Indonesia has already taken place and that Indonesia will continue to be a democratic country in the future. Historians study history because they find it interesting and want to keep a thorough record of events. However, political scientists study history in order to theorize and predict what caused certain events and how history will have an impact on the future. One of the most important theories in political science is Lipset’s modernization theory. The first part of the theory states as societies become more modern, they inevitably become more democratic. The second part of this theory is that democracies lacking economic and cultural status tend not to last. Modernization only aidsShow MoreRelatedIndonesi A Successful Model Of A Muslim Nation Practicing Democracy1489 Words   |  6 PagesIndonesia is the world’s third largest democracy and the world’s largest Muslim country. The country is also the largest economy in Southeast Asia and a member of the G-20 major economies. (G-20, 2015) The bilateral relationship between the United Sates and Indonesia is significa nt if for no other reason than the first two facts mentioned. The cooperation between the United States and Indonesia (a successful model of a Muslim nation practicing democracy) can have far-reaching effects past Indonesia’sRead MoreRodamas Group: Designing Strategies in Erging Economies1648 Words   |  7 Pagescommunicate†©with†©international†©business†©owners†© and†©he†©understood†©international†©markets.†© Indonesia†©under†©Sukarno†© †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Following†©independence,†©the†©country’s†©new†©Indonesian†© leaders,†©in†©particular†©President†©Sukarno,†©set†©out†©on†©a†©path†©of†© socialism†©and†©Ã¢â‚¬Å"guided†Ã¢â‚¬ ©democracy.†©His†©policies,†©influenced†©by†© communism,†©were†©detrimental†©to†©the†©economy.†©During†© Sukarno’s†©rule,†©economic†©growth†©declined†©and†©inflation†© soared.†©Sukarno†©also†©implemented†©measures†©to†©restrict†©the†© economic†©activities†©of†©the†©ethnic†©Chinese†©minority