PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE


The COVID-19 Saga: Myths, Allegories and the Aftermath for Contemporary and Future Practice



Andreas S. Papazoglou1, Christos Tsagkaris2, 3, Dimitrios V. Moysidis1, Athanasios Alexiou3, *, Georgios Vourvoulakis4
1 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Medicine, Thessaloniki, Greece
2 University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine, Heraklion, Greece
3 Novel Global Community Educational Foundation, Hebersham, 2770 NSW, Australia & AFNP Med, Vienna, Austria
4 G-MED Branch at NRDC-GR HQ, Thessaloniki, Greece


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Creative Commons License
© 2021 Papazoglou et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Novel Global Community Educational Foundation, Hebersham, 2770 NSW, Australia & AFNP Med, Vienna, Austria; Tel: +306987467249; E-mail: alextha@yahoo.gr


Abstract

The mythical fight of Heracles against the Hydra presents an allegory to the fight of humanity against the COVID-19 pandemic. The rational interpretation of the myth can help people understand the intricacies of the management of healthcare crises. Combined with this, the myth can also create respect for healthcare workers and inspire individuals to take positive action in the fight against COVID-19. Although myths have been regarded as a threat to public health, mythological elements and allegories can become potent tools of health promotion.

Keywords: Hydra, Hercules, COVID-19, Pandemic, Greek mythology, Humanity.