Epidemics of the Ancient World and Religions of Salvation

Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyze the history of epidemics in the ancient world and comprehend their consequences relating to the emergence of salvation religions. The relevance of the study is due to the need to comprehend the historical experience of managing social processes in complex epidemiological situations and developing the response of Russian society to the new great challenges associated with the spread of epidemics of dangerous diseases. The novelty of the study lies in the originality of the hypothesis, according to which several social institutions and related forms of social consciousness appear in the conditions of challenge to society from epidemics and symbolize a form of social response to these challenges. The study was conducted using written historical sources, primarily the works of ancient pagan and Christian historians, as well as the latest scientific research on the history of epidemics in the ancient world, carried out by modern historians. During the study, the following methods of historical knowledge were used: problem-chronological, historical-genetic, historical-typological, historical-comparative, historical-systematic. The theoretical basis of the study is the methodology of global history. The conclusions of the study are as follows. Epidemics have always been a challenge for any society, forcing it to seek an appropriate form of response. A distinctive feature of the epidemics of the ancient world was that they not only inflicted enormous damage on existing social systems and political institutions, but also gave birth to new forms of religiosity. The epidemic of the “Athenian plague” of the fifth century BC contributed to the decline of the Athenian maritime empire, bringing to life a new religious cult - the cult of Asclepius, the god of healing, which had become the salvation religion of the Greeks before the arrival of Christianity. The “Antonine Plague” and the “Cyprian Plague” (2nd–3rd centuries) caused a crisis in the Roman Empire, contributing to the spread of Christianity in the Mediterranean. The “Justinian plague” (6th–8th centuries) contributed to the undermining of the power of the Byzantine Empire and the collapse of the Persian Empire, the disappearance of Christianity and the spread of Islam in the Middle East.

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