Pliny the elder: “naturalism” is proto-biology so he would probably be an eccentric biologist who’s not anti-vax but does make weird poultices & herbal “cures” based on compounds that exist at a marginal level in plants.
Galen: relied heavily on Hippocrates and endeavored to read his work in the original Greek. probably would be a doctor who obviously believes in the medical tradition / real medicine & vaccinates his kids.
Cornelia Africanus: lost like 10 of her 12 children, absolutely not anti-vax, would be furious that there are people who are and would probably volunteer her living kids for trial vaccines
The Brothers Gracchi: clearly pro-vaccine (bc of Cornelia’s influence), a core part of the universal health care system they propose
Cato the elder AND Cato the younger: don’t vaccinate their kids because their ancestors didn’t and having measles / whooping cough as a kid makes you stronger or some shit.
Appius Claudius Pulcher (cos. 54 BC): anti-vax for weird cult reasons. Would have vaccine conspiracy theories
Juvenal: anti-vax for racist reasons. also thinks vaccines “”cause autism””
Marcus Aurelius: lost his (adopted) brother to smallpox, absolutely not anti-vax.
Augustus: was a sickly child, lost his grandchildren young, would absolutely be pro-vaccines and would make vaccines mandatory for Roman schools actually
Livia: not anti-vax but also very into making her own herbal remedies and healing teas (she thinks they work but Augustus is not so sure).
Octavia: extremely pro vaccines; she was the paragon of a good mother in her time which, in 2018, requires not being against vaccines. Also she raised like 6 kids and none of them died in childhood so she must have done something right vis a vis medical care.
Agrippina the younger: anti-vax in an “I’m a rich woman who thinks I know what’s right for my son even if it flies in the face of all medical science” sort of way.
Seneca: anti-Vax because in his stoic mind you shouldn’t try to change your fate and bear whatever the gods give you with fortitude and indifference, including smallpox.
Lucan: extremely pro-vaccines and that’s why he falls out of favor with Nero who inherited his anti-vax opinions from his mom.
Lucretius: anyone who can get behind atoms in the first century bc is good enough at science to not be against vaccines in the 21st century AD.
Vergil: because he’s such a big fan of Epicureanism and Lucretius, he probably would be pro-vaccine as well.
Tibullus: did get vaccinated and believes in vaccines but Longs for the simpler agrarian life during the Golden Age when you didn’t them because pathogens hadn’t evolved yet or something
medusa-avenging-squad 