The idea that plundering a temple or sacred object or site would be punished by plague was a very old one. The capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines followed by outbreaks of plague is one of the earliest examples. Another example was mentioned in chapter 3, when the Carthaginian army was struck by plague in 396 BC at Syracuse. That plague began after the Carthaginian soldiers pillaged the Greek temple of Demeter and Kore.
