Plague: Did you mean...?

"Plague in an Ancient City" by Michiel Sweerts (1618-1664 CE) is believed to depict the Plague of Athens (430-427 BCE). Oil on canvas. Painted c. 1652-1654 CE. 118.7 cm (46.7 in) x 170.8 cm (67.2 in). (Courtesy of Los Angeles County Museum...

The angel of death striking a door during the plague of Rome; engraving by Levasseur after Jules-Elie Delaunay (1828-1891 CE).

A map illustrating the rapid spread of the 14th-century plague pandemic commonly known as the "Black Death", across Europe and the Middle East. The second such pandemic (after the 541 - 549 outbreak during the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian...

The Plague at Athens' by Nicolas Poussin depicting the infamous plague which struck ancient Athens in 430-427 BCE. (Gallery of Sir Frederick Cook, Richmond, UK)

Woodcutting of a plague-stricken man lying in bed, attended by three physicians. From the Pestbuch, a 16th Century CE medical treatise by Hieronymous Brunschwig (c. 1450-1512 CE). (Courtesy of the Historical Medical Library of The College...

A depiction of "Doctor Schnabel" ("Schnabel" is literally German for "Beak"), a plague doctor in Rome. The illustration appeared in a 17th -century German satirical manuscript. The engraving was first published by Paul Fürst (1608–1666...

Archaeologists in Thebes have discovered a burial for victims of the 3rd-century CE Cyprian Plague.

What is plague? How many people died from the Black Death and the other plague pandemics? Learn about the bacterium behind the plague disease, how factors like trade and urbanization caused it to spread to every continent except Antarctica...

Explore the history of the European plague doctor, and find out where their iconic outfit of a beaked mask and robe came from. The year is 1656. Your body is wracked by violent chills. Your head pounds and you're too weak to sit up. In...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-past-present-and-future-of-the-bubonic-plague-sharon-n-dewitte The bubonic plague, which killed around 1/5 of the world’s population in the 14th century, is still around today — but it now...