"It’s a throwaway, a piece of garbage"

His first hit.

Becoming more authentic.

by Frank Bergman, Slay News: In an explosive new development, Republican lawmakers in Minnesota have introduced legislation to ban mRNA “vaccines” due to mounting evidence that the injections are “weapons of mass destruction.” The lawmakers argue that the “vaccines” are “mRNA bioweapons” and demand an immediate ban across the state. Eight Republicans introduced House File […]

  Typhon, or Typhoeus as he was also called, was a monstrous, serpentine creature with a hundred heads that could shoot fire from his eyes. He spoke with a myriad of sounds and voices, sometimes bellowing like a bull, barking like a dog, or roaring like a lion. He was the greatest and final challenger against Zeus for the throne of Olympus. His eventual defeat culminated in Zeus’ crowning and the dividing of powers among the Olympians.   Who Were the Parents of Typhon? Antefix of bearded Typhon grasping two snakes, Etruscan found at Capua, c. 500-450 BCE. Source: British Museum   The earliest mention of Typhon comes from Hesiod’s Theogony, written in the 8th century BCE. In it, the poet writes that Typhon is the child of Gaia and Tartarus. He is the youngest son of Gaia, born after Zeus’ defeat and imprisonment of the Titans, or the Giants, according to 1st century CE author Apollodorus. While it is a common misconception that Gaia was angry with Zeus over his treatment of the previous generation of gods and, therefore, gave birth to Typhon specifically so he could seek vengeance, there is no textual evidence to support this.   Her birth of Typhon likely follows the pattern laid out by the succession myth, which foretells Ouranos being overthrown by his son Cronos, and Cronos by his son Zeus. Zeus is also told that he will have a child by Metis who will overthrow him and become the lord of heaven. To prevent this, he swallows Metis, and then their child, the goddess Athena, is born from Zeus’s head. Metis then lives inside Zeus, unable to give birth to a male child, breaking the cycle. But it means that Zeus’ triumph over Typhon can be definitive and cements his rule as one that will be eternal, unlike his predecessors.   Another version of Typhon’s origin comes from the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo. In the poem, it isn’t Gaia who births the monster but Hera. She gives birth to Typhon through parthenogenesis, virgin birth, because she is angry at Zeus for giving birth to Athena on his own. She struck the ground with the flat of her hand and prayed to Gaia, Ouranos, and all the Titans sealed away in Tartarus that she might bear a son stronger than Zeus. Gaia heard her prayer and fulfilled it, and for a year, Hera did not share Zeus’ bed. When the year was done, Hera gave birth to Typhon. She then brought Typhon to Delphi, where he was raised by the she-dragon Echidna.   In both versions, Typhon is born with the express purpose of challenging Zeus, and he proves to be Zeus’ greatest challenger.   How Typhon Caused the Flight of the Gods Limestone Stela of Aapehty (right) worshiping Seth (left), found at Deir el-Medina in Egypt, c. 13th-12th century BCE. Source: British Museum   When Typhon attacked Olympus, the force of his assault filled the gods with a terror they had never known before. Luckily, they received a warning from Pan. They all fled to Egypt and the banks of the Nile River, where they hid disguised as animals. This is an aetiological myth that serves to explain why the Egyptians practiced animal worship. Apollo became a hawk, like the god Horus; Hermes became an Ibis, like the god Thoth; Artemis became a cat, like Bastet; Hephaestus became an ox, like Ptah; and Dionysus became a goat, like Osiris.   To the Egyptians, Typhon was equated with their god Set, the god of destruction. The 5th-century historian Herodotus reported that the Egyptians had a myth where Typhon was once the supreme king of the cosmos but was deposed by Apollo, Egyptian Horus, who became the last divine king of Egypt. While this is not part of Greek tradition, it is noteworthy that the Greeks found no conflict between their own cosmogony and that of their neighbors and were easily able to incorporate aspects or even entire stories into their own tradition.   How Typhon Challenged Zeus Red-Figure Oinochoe showing Zeus battling Typhon, attributed to The Wind Group, c. 320-310 BCE. Source: British Museum   The main purpose of Typhon’s existence was to be a challenger to Zeus for supremacy of the cosmos. This plays into the larger theme of the succession myth and also parallels the succession myths of the Near Eastern Hurro-Hittite culture, where the Greek version was thought to have originated. Hesiod’s version is brief, emphasizing the cosmic implications of Typhon’s potential victory, while later authors provide more detail.   In Apollodorus’ Library of Greek Mythology, Typhon stormed Olympus, throwing red hot rocks at the heavens. They were warned of the danger by Pan, and when the gods saw Typhon approaching, they all fled to Egypt and hid by transforming into animals. Only Zeus, and sometimes Athena, remained to fend off the monster, hurling down lightning bolts at him. As Typhon drew nearer, Zeus attempted to attack him with an adamantine sickle similar to the one used to castrate Ouranos, but Typhon fled to Mount Casium.   Moira fighting two giants on the Pergamon Altar, c. 2nd century BCE. Source: State Museums of Berlin, Munich   Zeus followed, hoping to finish the job, but Typhon captured him in his serpentine coils. The monster took the sickle and cut out the sinews from Zeus’ hands and feet, immobilizing him. He then took Zeus to Cilicia and left him in the Corycian cave, hiding the sinews and leaving a dragon to guard him. But Hermes stole back the sinews and implanted them back into Zeus. Regaining his strength, the king of the gods pursued Typhon, hurling lightning at him as he fled to Mount Nysa. There, Typhon was said to have been deceived by the Fates into eating the fruits of Dionysus (i.e. wine grapes). They told him that they would give him strength, but what they actually did was unclear.   Typhon fought Zeus desperately, throwing entire mountains at him, but the god blasted them apart with his thunderbolt. As Typhon fled to Sicily, Zeus cornered him and dropped Mount Etna on top of him, imprisoning him beneath.   Imprisonment of Typhon Black-Figure Hydria showing Typhon, found near Vulci, Italy, c. 7th-5th centuries BCE. Source: British Museum   Tradition holds that Typhon was imprisoned beneath Mount Etna in Sicily, guarded by Hephaestus. From his prison below, Typhon was said to send up flames out of the mountain, which Hephaestus uses when smithing his many divine armaments.   Another account further connects Typhon with Egypt, stating that he was buried beneath the Serbonian Marshes, an area east of the Nile Delta between Mt. Casius, the Isthmus of Suez, and the Mediterranean Sea. This account also links Typhon with Set.   Typhon as Father of Monsters Limestone Footstool showing Chimera, Cypriot, c. 5th century BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Typhon was said to have fathered many of the strange and dangerous creatures that inhabited Greek mythology. His monstrous brood terrorized the mortal world, most of which were eventually dispatched by the race of heroes. Some, like the three-headed hound Cerberus, who guards the gates of the underworld, were incorporated into Zeus’ cosmic order.   In Hesiod, the author names Typhoeus and Typhaon (both names for Typhon) as two distinct entities, though later authors often conflate the two. Typhoeus was the last son of Gaia, who tried to overthrow Zeus and was imprisoned under Mount Etna. Typhaon was the consort of Echidna, a half-maiden, half-serpent nymph, and fathered by her a race of monsters. These monsters posed a similar threat to the ordering of the world as Typhon himself since they represent the same aspects of chaos. Once the last of Typhon’s brood, at least those not given a proper place in the cosmos by Zeus, were killed, the world took on its modern shape.   Typhon sired Orthos, the Lernean Hydra, the Nemean Lion, the eagle that flew to the Caucasus mountains and ate Prometheus’ liver every day, and the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. All were killed by Heracles during his 12 labors. Typhon was also the father of the Chimera, which was killed by Bellerophon, and the dragon which guarded the golden fleece in Colchis, which was killed by Jason.   The Ordering of Sound Black-Figure Hydria showing Typhon, Archaic period, c. 540 BCE. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Hesiod’s Theogony serves to explain the ordering of the world and how things came to be as they are, culminating in Zeus’ kingship. With each new succession of gods, the world takes a more familiar, delineated shape as gods are born and given names and powers. The episode with Typhon explains the ordering of sound and methods of communication in the cosmos, with emphasis on mortal and divine voices. Hesiod makes the threat of Typhon less of a physical threat than a sonic one. The poet spends many lines describing the chaotic and terrible sounds made by Typhon.   “Astounding voices came from those weird heads, all kinds of voices: sometimes speech which gods would understand, and sometimes bellowings, as of a bull let loose, enraged, and proud, sometimes that of a ruthless lion; then, sometimes the yelp of puppies, marvelous to hear; and then sometimes he hissed, and the tall mountains echoed underneath.” (830-835)   With Typhon’s chaotic and boundless voices, his challenge to Zeus represents an ordering of the cosmos where sounds are not delineated, and therefore, there can be no communication between the gods and mortals. When Zeus battles the monster, the action again focuses on sounds as Zeus overwhelms Typhon with his lightning.   “[…]he thundered mightily and fiercely, and the earth rang terribly, broad heaven above, the sea, and Ocean’s streams and Tartarus resounded.” (839-841)   Calliope, the Muse of Epic Poetry, Roman copy of Greek original, c. 3rd-2nd centuries BCE. Source: State Hermitage Museum, St-Petersburg   The death of Typhon is described as a necessary precursor for the birth of the Muses, who imparted ordered song and knowledge to Hesiod so that he may then transmit it to others. In the poem, several words are used to describe the voices of Typhon, all of which are found elsewhere in epic poetry, used to describe the utterances of gods or the sounds of battle. The glaring omission is the word αυδε, a word only used in epic poetry when describing communication between gods and mortals. In the Theogony, this is the word used to relate the utterances of the Muses to Hesiod. Only when they have converted their divine voice into one that can be understood by mortals is Hesiod able to understand them.   Αυδε is the singular voice not possessed by Typhon, but it seems that his many voices interfere with αυδε and, therefore, block the creation of the Muses and communication between the divine and mortal. He, therefore, poses a threat to the hierarchy Zeus sought to establish. Zeus’ victory over Typhon enabled the birth of the Muses and clear communication between gods and mortals.   References   Clay, J. S. (1993) The Generation of Monsters in Hesiod, Classical Philology, 88(2), 105–116   Goslin, O. (2010) “Hesiod’s Typhonomachy and the Ordering of Sound,” Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-), 140(2), 351–373   Griffiths, J. G. (1960) “The Flight of the Gods Before Typhon: An Unrecognized Myth,” Hermes, 88(3), 374–376   Hesiod, (8th century BCE) Theogony and Works and Days (D. Wender, trans), Penguin Group, 1973

  The term Utopia is derived from Sir Thomas More’s 1516 literary work titled Utopia. The book described an ideal fictional island nation that used a communal social system. He got the term from the Greek word ou-topos which meant nowhere. The satirical book was More’s attempt to suggest ways to improve the European sociopolitical system by using Utopia as an example. Today, Utopian societies refer to a group of people who are intent on building a unique social system founded upon the desire to create a perfect civilization that is free from conflict and suffering.    What Were Some of the Main Characteristics of Early Utopian Communities? The Fifth Sacred Thing by dreamnectar, 2012. Source: DeviantArt   Many early Utopian societies typically isolated themselves from the larger population in order to manifest their desire. Usually, such groups consisted of religious or secular members willing to live a shared existence within the primary rules of a group. Many of them were based on the desire to recreate utopian concepts such as the Garden of Eden as depicted in the Bible.    Plato’s Republic offers the earliest recorded outline of a Utopian society. In his book The Republic, written around 375 BC, Plato talked about a near-perfect Greek nation-state that had a shared existence. While the book attempted to critique existing sociopolitical systems, it conjured a city called the Kallipolis that was led by philosopher-kings. The leaders were selected based on their wisdom and would be educated for five decades before being allowed to take the reins of leadership. The crux of the system was that their understanding of justice and fairness and how to achieve them would ultimately lead society to a peaceful and prosperous coexistence.    Statue of Plato in the Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI. Source: Wikimedia Commons   That said, many early, prominent European Utopian movements can be traced to the 16th century Protestant Reformation, as they were particularly prevalent among Protestant religious groups. A significant number of them were modelled on the structure of early Christian societies and cropped up mostly within monastic groups. In the Middle Ages this communal setup evolved beyond monastic settings and began being practised by different religious and secular groups.   Why Did Early Utopian Communities in Europe Move to America? Photo taken in the 1910s of residences built by the Rappites before Owens’ purchase of the town. Credit: St. Joseph County Public Library (South Bend, IN)   Many of the early idealistic utopian groups had different rules and beliefs, and from the early 1800s, many of them moved to the United States. This was because US statutes were more accommodating due to laws that supported personal freedoms. While in America, many idealistic societies formed their own self-reliant, communal groups that followed their own unique rules.    The Harmony Society, also referred to as the Rappites, was the earliest recorded European utopian group to move to the United States. Started by Johann Georg Rapp and his adopted son, Frederick Reichert, in the 1780s, the group faced fierce resistance from the Lutheran church due to its radical Anabaptist doctrines. Subsequently, its members moved from Württemburg in Germany to the United States in 1803 where it would gain religious freedom.    Portrait of Johann Georg Rapp. Source: Wikimedia   On reaching America, the group bought thousands of acres of land in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where it established a settlement named Harmony. While there, the community strove to uphold the principles outlined in the Bible, which it believed was mankind’s ultimate guide.   What Were Some of the Models Used by Utopian Communities? Shakers during worship. Source: Wikipedia   Many early utopian groups had their own unique group rules and structures. Some communities were, for example, commercially beneficial to members. The Shakers utopian group started in 1747, for instance, operated based on its own religious beliefs. It also had its own communal farming system. The Amana Colonies, another utopian group created in 1714, also used a nearly similar faith-based system that included a profit-sharing model.    The Brook Farm idealistic group, started in 1841, was another unique utopian society that mainly drew intellectuals. The group provided food, shelter, clothes and proceeds to its members. Another well-known group was the Oneida Community. The group which was founded in 1848 practiced the concept of “complex marriage,” where members saw themselves as married to the whole group rather than to one person. The group engaged in commercial activities such as broom making and wood milling. The society was finally shut down in January 1881 after it was converted into a joint stock company.

  Demeter was one of the twelve Olympian gods believed by the ancient Greeks to rule over the cosmos. She was the sister of Zeus and patron goddess of agriculture. She was commonly depicted wearing a veil and carrying a torch or sheaves of wheat. One of her major centers of worship was at Eleusis, where the Eleusinian Mysteries were conducted in connection with her daughter Persephone. Only the initiates of the cult knew the secret Elusinian rites, but they were related to the cycle of life and rebirth, the origins of which came from the stories of Demeter’s search for her daughter.   1. Birth and Gigantomachy  Terracotta Pelike showing Rhea handing a newborn child to Kronos, attributed to the Nausicaä Painter, c. 450-460 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Demeter, known as Ceres among the Romans, was born to the Titan gods Cronus and Rhea. Along with four of her siblings, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, and Hestia, Cronus swallowed Demeter as soon as she was born for fear of a prophecy that foretold one of his children would overthrow him as he had done to his own father. Only Zeus was spared being eaten, and he eventually returned to free his siblings.   Demeter and the others then followed Zeus in a war against the Titans, and later the Giants, for supremacy of the cosmos. The wars lasted for over a decade, and by the end, the Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus and the Giants were defeated. Demeter was portrayed fighting the Giants in vase paintings, where she was depicted wielding a spear and torch or a sword. This was undoubtedly the golden sword described in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which gave her the epithet “Lady of the Golden Sword.”   2. Abduction of Persephone Terracotta Bell-Krater showing the return of Persephone from the Underworld, attributed to the Persephone Painter, c. 440 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   The abduction of Demeter’s daughter Persephone by Hades is the inciting incident for most of Demeter’s other myths, best recounted in the Homeric Hymn 2 To Demeter. Demeter heard her daughter’s cries from the heavens and rushed to her rescue, but she couldn’t find her anywhere. Distraught at the disappearance of her daughter, Demeter asked the gods if anyone had seen what happened to her. Only Helios saw what happened. When the goddess came to him to ask who had stolen her daughter, he revealed that it was none other than the lord of the underworld, Hades, who had received permission from Zeus to take Persephone as a wife.   Helios tried to comfort Demeter, telling her that Hades is not so bad a choice of husband considering that he is her own brother and ruler of a third of the cosmos. But Demeter’s grief was too much to bear. Angered with Zeus, Demeter shunned the gods and Olympus, sending herself into exile on earth in the disguise of an old woman.   Ceres, by Augustin Pajou, c. 1768-1770 CE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   As a result of her grief, the world became dark and the soil no longer produced food. A great famine threatened the survival of humanity, so Zeus intervened. He sent many gods to persuade her to return to Olympus and allow plants to grow again, but Demeter refused them all, vowing only to return when she had seen her daughter with her own eyes.   Zeus then sent Hermes down to the Underworld to convince Hades to release Persephone. He agreed, but not before covertly making her eat some pomegranate seeds. When Persephone was brought back to her mother, Demeter sensed that something was wrong. She asked her daughter if she had eaten anything while in the Underworld, because if she had, she would be bound to that place for a third of the year. Persephone admitted that she had, and mother and daughter shared a moment of grief over her fate.   3. Rape by Poseidon Marble head of a horse, Attic Greek, 6th century BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   While Demeter wandered in search of Persephone, she was followed by a lustful Poseidon, who desired to sleep with her. In order to escape his attention, Demeter transformed herself into a horse and hid among other grazing horses in Arcadia. Her ploy worked for a time, but Poseidon discovered her, transformed himself into a stallion, and then forced himself on her.   Demeter gave birth to Arion, a winged horse, and to a daughter known only by her epithet, Despoina, “the Mistress.” Angered at her treatment, Demeter hid herself away in a cave on Mt. Elaios. None of the gods could find her, and her absence caused widespread famine. She was eventually found by Pan, who informed Zeus of her whereabouts. Zeus sent the Fates to coax her out of hiding and to return to the fold of the gods. She calmed down, but did not return to Olympus.   4. The Sirens Terracotta Kylix showing a Siren, by Nearchos, c. 560-550 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   The Sirens were formerly the nymph handmaids of Demeter’s daughter Persephone. Demeter transformed them into their monstrous forms, though the exact reason is disputed. Some sources claim their transformation was a punishment, while others say that the sirens themselves asked to be transformed.   Roman mythographer Hyginus, in Fabulae 141, recounted that the Sirens were transformed as a punishment after Hades abducted Persephone. Demeter, furious at them for not helping her daughter, turned them into the half-woman, half-bird creatures that were encountered by Jason and the Argonauts and by Odysseus.   The 1st-century Roman poet Ovid says that their transformation was a gift, not a punishment. When Persephone was abducted, her handmaids searched throughout the land for her, but they were unsuccessful, so they prayed for wings so that they could also search across the seas. Demeter granted their wish.   5. Ascalabus Protome of Demeter or Kore, found at Chersonesus on the southwest Crimean Peninsula, 3rd century BCE. Source: State Hermitage Museum   Demeter’s search brought her to Attica, where she stopped at the house of a woman named Misme. The goddess asked the woman for a drink, and Misme brought her a sweet barley-flavored drink. The thirsty goddess drank it all down in a single gulp.   Ascalabus, the son of Misme, saw this and laughed at Demeter, calling her greedy and saying that they should have brought her a deep basin or jar. Demeter was furious at the boy and threw the remnants of her drink at him. His skin became spotted and his arms became legs. A tail grew from his backside and his body shrank down until he was smaller than the tiniest lizard. In his new form as a spotted gecko, Ascalabus was said to be hated by both gods and men, and any who killed him would be cherished by Demeter.   6. Demophon Marble Fragment from the Great Eleusinian Relief showing Demeter (left), Triptolemus (center), and Persephone (right), Roman, c. 27 BCE-14 CE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Demeter then came to Eleusis, to the house of Celeus. The house was thick with grief as their infant son, Demophon, lay sick and dying, with no hope that he would survive the night. Demeter put her lips upon the baby, and immediately, color returned to his face and strength to his limbs. Celeus and his wife Metaneira were overjoyed and threw a feast for the disguised goddess.   Wishing to make the child immortal, Demeter took Demophon and spoke three spells as she stroked his back, then buried him in the embers of a fire to purge him of his mortality. Before she could finish the rite, Metaneira interrupted her in a panic and pulled the baby from the fire.   Demeter was angered that the ritual was interrupted, but understood the mother’s impulse to protect her child despite the fact that she had now doomed him to being mortal. In a version told by Apollodorus it was the child’s nurse Praxithea who interrupted the rite, and as a result the fire consumed the child, killing him.   7. Triptolemus Terracotta Hydria showing Triptolemus between Demeter and Persephone, attributed to the Niobid Painter, c. 460-450 BC. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Before the birth of Persephone, Demeter had discovered how to sow and cultivate fields. But upon learning what Hades had done with Zeus’ blessing, she burned all the fields to spite them. When Persephone had been found, Demeter later returned to Eleusis and taught Triptolemus how to cultivate grain. According to Hesiod, he was the brother of Demophon, though Ovid seems to have combined the two stories and made him the same child who Demeter had tried to make immortal. Demeter told Triptolemus to teach humanity how to sow seeds and cultivate the earth, and she gave him a chariot pulled by dragons so that he might travel the lands to spread her teachings.   Riding his chariot, Triptolemus flew across Europe and Asia and eventually came to Scythia. He was well-received by king Lyncus, but once Triptolemus was asleep, the king tried to stab him in the heart to steal credit for Demeter’s gift. Demeter saved Triptolemus by transforming the Scythian king into a lynx.   8. Iasion Terracotta Amphora showing Theseus slaying the Minotaur, attributed to the Taleides Painter, c. 530-540 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Iasion was a Cretan prince and the son of Electra and Zeus. During the wedding of Cadmus and Harmonia, daughter of Ares, Demeter took a liking to Iasion and gifted him corn. They consummated their relationship in a thrice-plowed field, a number significant to Demeter’s rites, and had two children, Ploutos and Corybas.   There are various versions of the myth, some of which claim that Iasion tried to rape Demeter, so Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt. However, older versions from Hesiod and Homer relate that Demeter loved Iasion and that Zeus killed him out of jealousy. Hyginus gave another account of his death, writing that Iasion was killed not by the thunderbolt itself. The bolt struck nearby while he was riding his chariot and frightened his horses, who threw him from his perch and trampled or dragged him to his death.   9. Erysichthon Erysichthon Selling His Daughter, by Antonio Tempesta, 1606 CE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Recounted in Callimachus’ Hymn to Demeter, Erysichthon was a Thessalian prince who violated one of Demeter’s sacred spaces. In Thessaly, there was a grove sacred to the goddess, and Erysichthon, along with some attendants, chopped down the sacred trees for a banquet. Demeter was angered and appeared to the man in the form of her own priestess, Nikippe. She asked Erysichthon why he cut down Demeter’s sacred trees and the king replied by threatening to kill her with his ax. Demeter then revealed herself as a goddess, fury evident on her face, and cursed Erysichthon with an insatiable hunger.   Erysichthon hides away in his home, making all manner of excuses so that none would know that he gorged himself on anything he could find. Yet no matter how much he ate, he only became more hungry, and his body wasted away until he was only sinew and bones. Erysichthon’s gluttony caused him to eat himself out of house and home, and he wound up on the streets begging for scraps.   Ovid takes the story even further. When Erysichthon had become destitute, the only thing left to him was his daughter, Mestra. She had the ability to shapeshift, and so he sold her, only for her to escape her master by transforming and returning to her father. He sold her repeatedly, but the earnings were not enough to sate his appetite. Overcome by Demeter’s curse, Erysichthon ate himself until there was nothing left.

  Epidemic typhus is one of the oldest diseases known to affect humankind, and despite advances in modern medicine, it continues to be a contemporary concern. Often infiltrating human existence hand in hand with disasters such as war and weather phenomena, typhus has demonstrated a potential to change the course of history and dictate decision-making. It has wreaked havoc, been used as a weapon, and traumatized generations on a global scale. Check out the surprising impacts that typhus has had on the history of the world over the centuries.   Background & Context: Spotted Fever A body louse, Janice Haney Carr Photo. Source: You Me Mind Body   Typhus, not to be confused with typhoid or typhoid fever, is a bacterial disease that is generally spread by body lice. The bacteria are introduced to the human body when a louse bites, or when infected lice feces are scratched into the skin. Inhaling dust that contains contaminated lice or their body products can cause the spread of infection as well.   A 1919 poster claims “The louse and death are friends. Destroy lice carrying infection,” by Oscar Petrovich Grune. Source: ArtHive   Symptoms of typhus include a high fever, confusion leading to delirium, cough, severe muscle and joint pain, low blood pressure, sensitivity to light, and severe headache. A hallmark symptom is a rash that begins on the chest and has the potential to spread all over the body, with the exception of the soles of the feet and palms of the hands. This rash has led to an inability to differentiate between smallpox and typhus among many historical accounts of disease epidemics.   Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a related Rickettsia disease. Source: Fox8   Numerous strains of related bacteria cause various typhus diseases, but the type spread by lice, sometimes known as epidemic typhus or spotted fever, is caused by Rickettsia prowazekii. Scrub typhus (orienta tsutsugamushi), common in Southeast Asia, is spread by chigger bites, while Murine or flea-borne typhus (Rickettsia typhi) is spread by the bites of fleas. Other Rickettsia diseases include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, African Tick Bite Fever, and Rickettsialpox. Today, typhus is generally curable if the patient is properly diagnosed, and rendered harmless with antibiotic treatment. Death is possible, but rare in contemporary infections.   1. The Plague of Athens Was Perhaps the 1st Recorded Typhus Epidemic Plague in an Ancient City by Michael Sweerts, 1652. Some historians believe this painting was intended to depict the Plague of Athens. Source: National Geographic   Although due to “plague” terminology, many assume that the Plague of Athens was caused by the Bubonic Plague, modern science does not know with certainty which pathogen wreaked havoc on the Greek city-state from 430-426 BCE. However, contemporary historians and medical experts have debated the topic extensively, and many have concluded that the descriptions of the epidemic align with that of a typhus outbreak.   The Peloponnesian War pitted Sparta and its allies against Athens, AKG images. Source: National Geographic   The plague struck when Athens was at a vulnerable point in its history; it was under siege by Sparta as part of the Peloponnesian War. The epidemic of disease would last over the next several years, infecting most of the city’s population at some point. An estimated quarter of the Athenian citizenry would perish, including famed statesman Pericles.   Thucydides, Visconti, 1817. Source: Research Gate   The epidemic was detailed in writing by Thucydides, a historian and military man, who wrote about the despair and destruction he observed around him. Based on his writings, it is clear that the disease was likely vector-borne and attacked people of all ages and both sexes—putting typhus on the list of definite possibilities.   2. It May Have Allowed the British to Take New York in the Revolutionary War Nathanael Greene by Jacques Reich. Source: National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC   In August 1776, General Nathanael Greene, a key player in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was incapacitated by a brutal illness that had been ravaging his ranks. Sanitation in the camp had been noted to be especially poor in the General’s reports. The illness led Nathanael Greene and his forces to be absent from the Battle of Long Island (also known as the Battle of Brooklyn). This would turn out to be the biggest battle of the Revolutionary War and a crushing defeat for the Patriot cause.   The Battle of Brooklyn. Source: American Battlefield Trust   Israel Putnam was named as Greene’s replacement and is considered by history to be a less capable soldier than the competent Greene was. Putnam is blamed for leaving a critical path unguarded during the battle, allowing British access and perhaps changing the course of the battle’s outcome.   3. Typhus Took Out Much of Napoleon’s Army Napoleon retreats from Russia. Source: BBC   In June 1812, prominent French General Napoleon Bonaparte marched at the head of what was christened his Grande Armée, made up of what is estimated to be approximately half a million men. Their destination was Moscow, to engage with and subdue the Russian army. Within six months, Napoleon would find himself limping back to France, with more than 300,000 men lost—though not as a result of fighting with the Russians. The majority of the Grande Armée’s losses would come as the result of a typhus epidemic, one that they would carry back with them across Europe on their return home.   The French army at the Berezina in Belarus on retreat from Russia, Bridgeman Images. Source: Wall Street Journal   As the men marched their way back to France, epidemic typhus came with them, spreading and causing several outbreaks in Germany especially. The failure of this campaign resulted in Napoleon’s public shaming and his first exile.   4. Typhus Devastated the Eastern Front in WWI The Washington Times headline on the Austrian invasion of Serbia in 1914. Source: Kafkadesk   During World War I, typhus wreaked devastation on the Eastern front in Europe. Despite remarkable medical progress that had been achieved since the American Civil War when it came to understanding and diagnosing disease, medicine was no match for epidemic typhus in wartime. Over 200,000 people in Serbia, soldiers, prisoners, and citizens alike, perished from typhus during a 6-month span at the start of the conflict, with a climbing mortality rate as the war progressed. Doctors and hospitals were overburdened and helpless.   Trench life was the perfect environment for typhus to thrive. Source: British Library   Typhus would continue to be a scourge in the East but never spread to the Western front. Incredible measures were implemented to prevent it, with some historians stating that soldiers on both sides were more afraid of typhus as they were of being shot or shelled—and with good reason. Delousing and sanitation programs were implemented across Europe to protect soldiers, particularly those moving in and out of the trenches, where lice were endemic.   5. Typhus Was Used to Sabotage the Nazis in WWII Rudolf Weigl in his lab. Source: Polish History   Between the two world wars, Polish microbiologist Rudolf Weigl was hard at work in his lab, which had become a world center of typhus research. His work was incredibly innovative, functioning on the tiniest of scales, using lice as experimental subjects. He became the first scientist to culture Rickettsia bacteria, by separating it from a louse. Weigl used the lice in his work to create the first reliable typhus vaccine, which he was testing and distributing in the 1930s.   A 1941 anti-semitic propaganda poster insinuating that Jews were behind the power of the Allied forces. The text reads “And behind it all: the Jew.” Source: Holocaust Center Seattle   Nazi propaganda associated lice with Jews, and as World War II progressed, German soldiers began moving into areas that had suffered from typhus outbreaks before or where troops feared typhus was lurking. As Germany took control of Poland, and in turn Weigl’s lab, in 1941, the scientist was ordered to develop and produce a typhus vaccine for the German army.   Weigl was honored with a Google Doodle in 2021. Source: CNet   This assignment allowed Weigl’s lab to become a safe haven for some of the locals. His work required volunteers to blood-feed the lice with which he would create vaccines. Weigl would strap small boxes of lice to the volunteers, many of them Jewish, which allowed them to earn a small income for their work and gave them added protection from the Nazis and circulating looters, who wanted nothing to do with “lice-ridden” people or their homes.   Existing in a world of constant tension with the Nazi occupiers, Weigl managed to ferret away a small amount of vaccine for use among his neighbors and citizens in the local ghettos and also created some batches of suboptimal vaccine to pass on to the German army.   Ludwik Fleck. Source: Lviv Center   Weigl’s former assistant, Ludwik Fleck, was charged with creating a similar lab in the Lwów ghetto. He was arrested in 1943 and sent to work in labs at Auschwitz and then Buchenwald. In his work there, he and his team claimed to be culturing bacteria in experimental animals, such as rabbits, to use in the manufacture of vaccines.   While the resulting substance was useless, the Nazis didn’t know that. Fleck was able to survive working for the enemy with subtle sabotage. At the same time, he was able to make small batches of effective vaccines to distribute among camp inmates, who were suffering under horrible sanitary conditions, potentially saving lives.   6. Typhus Still Exists Today in the 21st Century An LA homeless encampment in June 2023, Julie A Hotz Photo. Source: CalMatters   Believe it or not, typhus remains at large in the world today, despite progress in medical care. Today, it is most prevalent in areas with large homeless or impoverished populations, refugee camps, or areas experiencing natural disasters or war. Outbreaks are more common during colder months when more people are indoors and clothes may not be laundered as frequently. However, the overall number of global cases has dropped significantly over the centuries as hygiene and sanitation have improved.   Deputy City Attorney Elizabeth Greenwood contracted typhus at city hall in LA, Luis Sinco photo. Source: LA Times   In the United States, the Los Angeles area has made the news in recent years for typhus outbreaks. These cases have been attributed to the conditions in which the homeless population lives. In a city where over 75,000 are estimated to be without a place to sleep on any given night, typhus only adds to the list of concerns for the unhoused population. However, typhus has affected those across the spectrum of wealth and privilege in LA, even making its way into city hall and infecting a city attorney and other employees. Some health officials argue that the homelessness issue and the typhus problem are separate concerns, attributing the outbreaks to wildlife interactions.   The typhus vaccine on display at the Smithsonian. Source: Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC   Though Weigl’s work in the World War II era produced an effective typhus vaccine, that preventative measure is no longer in production today. Due to the general worldwide decrease in epidemic typhus, the vaccine is no longer manufactured. Instead, preventative measures are encouraged, such as maintaining adequate personal hygiene when possible, avoiding travel to regions that are high risk or where outbreaks have recently occurred, and prophylactic antibiotics at a doctor’s discretion.

April 24, 2025 — Today's Conservative Cartoon

Al Gore, a prominent World Economic Forum ally, has likened the Trump administration to Hitler’s Third Reich, calling it an “emergent evil” during a San Francisco Climate Week event on Monday. Despite acknowledging that equating [...] The post WEF Stooge Al Gore Says Trump Admin Is WORSE Than Hitler’s Third Reich appeared first on The People's Voice.