The earliest image of the ancient demon believed to cause epilepsy has been discovered in the archives of a museum in Berlin. The 2,670-year-old tablet, which was originally part of the library of a family of exorcists, shows the demon with curvy horns, a long tail, a serpent’s tongue, and what might be a reptilian eye. Not that different, in other words, than some Christian depictions of the Devil.This text is early, but Professor Moss broadens the discussion to include the history of the religious and medical understanding of epilepsy from antiquity (with mention of ancient Judaism and Jesus) to the present.
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