Homer’s Iliad, perhaps the oldest epic poem recorded in writing in Europe, tells of the last days of the Trojan War. Agamemnon, the general of the Achaeans, harshly rejects one of Apollo’s priests, whereupon Apollo punishes the Achaeans by unleashing a plague, and conflict breaks out between Agamemnon and the hero Achilles.
The rage of Achilles and his retreat from the battlefield bring the Achaeans to the brink of defeat. This just goes to show that epidemics have accompanied mankind for millennia. Time and time again, they have shaped the course of history, as well as being something of a societal stress test.