Introducing the Ancient Greeks: From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind

by Edith Hall

People who were healthy were suddenly afflicted by powerful waves of heat in their heads, and their eyes became red and inflamed. The insides of their mouths, the throat and tongue, became instantly covered in blood, and their breath smelled unnatural and foul. These symptoms were followed by sneezing and hoarseness, and then the pain descended into the chest, with a hacking cough. When the disease settled in the gut, it caused a serious upset, with discharges of every type of bile to which doctors have given a name, and acute misery. Most victims retched unproductively, with violent spasms, some for a short period and some for much longer. The surface of the body was not particularly hot, nor pale, but very red and livid, with eruptions of small boils and ulcers. But internally the sense of burning meant that patients could not tolerate clothing or linen even of the very lightest description, but could only bear being stark naked. What they really wanted to do most was to hurl themselves into cold water, and some of those who were ill but not being looked after actually did so, throwing themselves into the rain tanks, beset by a thirst they could not quench, although however much or little they drank it made no difference. In addition, they were afflicted by the desperation caused by being unable to get either rest or sleep.