Welcome to What The Heck season 4! This podcast explores unexplained phenomena using stories gathered from various sources, then applies an academic research method to find theories and solutions for each one. So far, we've been unsuccessful in finding any concrete answers, but a few of the stories we've covered have been solved. Today, we're looking at the Athens Plague. In the 5th Century BCE, Athens was in the middle of a war. The people of the surrounding area, Attica, had taken refuge in the city, but they were suffering from a mysterious illness calles Athens Plague. We wouldn't know anything about it if we didn't have a man called Thucydides to write an extensive account as he lived through this early pandemic. What was the situation, and why was it so complicated? What symptoms did people show? What do modern medical professionals think it could have been? Listen in to find out!

Links for other ways to listen are found here: https://linktr.ee/whattheheckpod 

References for the episode:

“History of the Plague of Athens – Fondation Ipsen.” Fondation Ipsen, https://www.fondation-ipsen.org/podcast/history-of-the-plague-of-athens/. Accessed 13 May 2025. 

Horgan, John. “The Plague at Athens, 430-427 BCE - World History Encyclopedia.” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org#organization, 24 Aug. 2016, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/939/the-plague-at-athens-430-427-bce/.  

You can email Glen at [email protected] with any of your spooky stories, unexplained events, mysteries that you want him to look at, or anything you'd like him to correct or address. Thanks for listening, and if you enjoy the podcast and think you know others who will like it, share it with them!

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