Platoâs arete is well described in his Republic where the conversation about the nature of justice and the ideal balance of the state and soul, along with nearly every metaphor in the book, all center around finding a perfect balance, an arete of state and soul.
Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30â60% of Europe's total population. In total, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million down to 350â375 million in the 14th century.
The Black Death was the largest demographic disaster in European history. From its arrival in Italy in late 1347 through its clockwise movement across the continent to its petering out in the Russian hinterlands in 1353, the magna pestilencia (great pestilence) killed between seventeen and twentyâeight million people.