# Thucydides on the Plague of Athens: Text & Commentary — WHE Article Discussion

**URL:** <https://community.worldhistory.org/t/thucydides-on-the-plague-of-athens-text-commentary-whe-article-discussion/16065>\
**Category:** WHE Articles\
**Created:** [April 1, 2020, 8:57am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/thucydides-on-the-plague-of-athens-text-commentary-whe-article-discussion/16065 "2020-04-01T08:57:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
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**Author:** ![JPryst](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/jpryst/32/168_2.png) [@JPryst](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/JPryst)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 8:57am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/thucydides-on-the-plague-of-athens-text-commentary-whe-article-discussion/16065/1 "2020-04-01T08:57:24Z")

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The Plague of Athens (429-426 BCE) struck the city, most likely, in 430 BCE before it was recognized as an epidemic and, before it was done, had claimed between 75,000-100,000 lives. Modern-day scholars believe it was most likely an outbreak of smallpox or typhus, but bubonic plague is still considered a possibility.

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_This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at [https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1535/thucydides-on-the-plague-of-athens-text--commentar/](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1535/thucydides-on-the-plague-of-athens-text--commentar/)._

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**Author:** ![JPryst](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/jpryst/32/168_2.png) [@JPryst](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/JPryst)\
**Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/thucydides-on-the-plague-of-athens-text-commentary-whe-article-discussion/16065/2 "2026-07-30T14:47:22Z")

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