Mystery solved - 2436 years later!

Pericles died from typhoid fever. Historians have argued about the nature of the plague that struck Athens in 430BC, killing at least one third of the population, plus it's leader, the afore mentioned Pericles. Descriptions of the plague generated many theories, but the discovery of a mass grave filled with ancient bodies has yielded DNA which, when compared with DNA from a variety of diseases, matched that of typhoid fever. It is good to get that one cleared up, and I am sure Pericles himself would be pleased that the cause of his death is now established.

Scientists solve puzzle of death of Pericles