The plague of Thebes, a historical epidemic in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex.
Published
Journal Article
Sophocles, one of the most noted playwrights of the ancient world, wrote the tragedy Oedipus Rex in the first half of the decade 430-420 bc. A lethal plague is described in this drama. We adopted a critical approach to Oedipus Rex in analyzing the literary description of the disease, unraveling its clinical features, and defining a possible underlying cause. Our goals were to clarify whether the plague described in Oedipus Rex reflects an actual historical event; to compare it with the plague of Athens, which was described by Thucydides as occurring around the same time Sophocles wrote; and to propose a likely causative pathogen. A critical reading of Oedipus Rex and a comparison with Thucydides' history, as well as a systematic review of historical data, strongly suggests that this epidemic was an actual event, possibly caused by Brucella abortus.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Kousoulis, AA; Economopoulos, KP; Poulakou-Rebelakou, E; Androutsos, G; Tsiodras, S
Published Date
- January 2012
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 18 / 1
Start / End Page
- 153 - 157
PubMed ID
- 22261081
Pubmed Central ID
- 22261081
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1080-6059
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1080-6040
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.3201/eid1801.ad1801
Language
- eng