From Anomia to Stasis: Psychic Retreat, Gangs, and Perversion Matthew H. Bowker State University of New York (SUNY), University at Buffalo Abstract This chapter begins with the puzzle of the relationship between plague and civil war, as epitomized in Thucydides’ accounts of the Athenian plague and the civil war at Corcyra. I employ the concept of anomia and stasis to show that plagues and civil conflicts are distinct phenomena, then introduce an understanding of nostos or ‘returning home’ to offer a possible theoretical bridge. Since my intention is not to dwell on Thucydides’ History, in the remainder of the chapter I argue that in the face of crisis, plague, or civil strife, a particularly attractive yet dangerous psychic posture presents itself: what John Steiner famously calls the “psychic retreat.” Psychic retreats are attempts both to withdraw from intolerable aspects of reality and to make good on anger and destructiveness via the creation of a Mafialike, gang-like psychic organization that protects the self from guilt or feelings of responsibility, among other negative consequences. As the concept remains somewhat misunderstood, I spend some time exploring and extending it, specifically with reference to the creation of psychic gangs and perversions of reality. By and large, and due in part to limitations of space, I trust the reader to make applications and associations of these concepts to present-day events.