Preventing Epidemics at the Borders: The Public Health Policy of the Greek State (1821–1909)

The paper traces the evolution of the public health measures taken by the Greek state for its protection from the spread of epidemic diseases, particularly plague and cholera, from abroad, and the development of the network of health authorities during the nineteenth century. In the article, use is made for the first time of the whole of the public health legislation of the Greek state during the period 1821-1909 (more than 1,700 laws, decrees, and circulars) on its protection from the spread of epidemic diseases. In contrast with the meagre accounts in the international bibliography, which represents the public health policy of the Greek state as having been fixed, unchanging, and centred simply on the use of quarantine as a protective measure, this study draws attention to the active, constantly changing, and dynamic policy which was followed during the nineteenth century.