Boccaccio vs. ThucydidesIllness may be primarily an agent of deterioration of health, but it will also bring about social change. In the Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio delves into the social changes and extraordinary behaviors of the people in the city of Florence during the 14th century AD. Similarly, Thucydides recounts his personal experience with the plague in Athens in the 5th century BC in "The Plague"; History of the Peloponnesian War. It focuses on the effects it has had on people's behaviors and religious beliefs. By comparing the work of Boccaccio and that of Thucydides, it is possible to understand the perspective that each has on the links between the spread of disease and social change, while Boccaccio focuses on people whose behavior led them to abandon others at death and this exemplifies a lack of morality, Thucydides is more interested in the change in religious beliefs caused by the plague. Through the eyes of Boccaccio, the plague in the city of Florence formed three basic forms of social groups. First of all there were people who believed that "a sober and teetotal lifestyle significantly reduced the risk of infection" and therefore lived isolated from the rest of the population (Boccaccio 7).