The fear of God. Religious interpretations of diseases and epidemics. A cultural-historical search for clues. – When COVID-19 terrified the world, conspiracy theories surrounding the epidemic gained ground, with some even suggesting that the disease was a punishment from God. This idea of a supposed divine or demonic influence on disease and epidemics has its roots in the ancient Orient. This belief influenced the imagination in archaic Greece and the later emergence of monotheistic religion in ancient Israel, spreading a sense of guilt and fear. However, with the development of philosophy and rational ancient medicine, this idea was criticized. Diseases and epidemics were demythologized. The resulting findings were incorporated into the holy scriptures of Christianity and Islam, so that by the end of Late Antiquity (5th/6th century) and the beginning of the Arab expansion (7th century), the idea of disease and epidemics as divine punishment had been overcome.