Timeline for Classical Period

1. Classical Period
(600 BCE- 600 CE)

2. 500 BCE
Hippocrates:
Was able to identify the symptoms of Malaria and
eventually leading to the discovery of where
Malaria was coming from saving the lives of many
Romans who otherwise would have died.

3. 350 BCE
Greece:
Alexander the Great was thought to
have brought with him the first signs of
leprosy to Europe after Alexander’s
army came back from India.
Skull found in Northwestern India, showing signs
of leprosy.

4. 330 BCE
Zoroastrians found personal hygiene and public
health helped to prevent infectious diseases.

5. 202 BCE
TCM or Traditional Chinese
Medicine took into account
geography, climate and
phenology to diagnose diseases.
The use of fire in TCM allowed
people to switch from eating raw
foods to eating cooked food and
by keeping warm which reduced
possibilities of disease.

6. 100 BCE- 40 BCE
Julius Caesar was said to have been epileptic or
having “the falling down sickness”. There has been
controversy to whether this is true or not, some
debate that Caesar had malaria.

7. 19 BCE
Ancient Rome:
Romans have been known for their public baths and use of irrigation, but the
reality is that public baths were very unsanitary to today’s standards.They were
cesspools for bacteria because of the contamination of sick people bathing with
the healthy.They often spread diseases such as typhoid fever and tuberculosis.
Roman’s were advised to evacuate the city from July- October because this was
the peak of diseases and morality rate increased.

8. 80 CE
Rome:
As a result of many indoor
activities such as burning wood,
animal and vegetable oils, indoor
pollution became a problem to
Roman’s health. Being in such
environments lead to lung
complications and lung diseases.

9. 541-760 CE
The Plague of Justinian ravished the Byzantine Empire
starting at 541 CE and lasting 16 cycles until 760 CE. As
a result the population suffered great losses. It was
believed to have killed 5,000 people per day at its peak.