Relatively recently, we already wrote that hundreds and thousands of years ago, people had no idea about the existence of pathogenic bacteria and considered the occurrence of diseases to be the tricks of evil forces. The Assyrians, who lived in ancient Iraq, believed especially strongly in this, as evidenced by 2,700-year-old tablets with descriptions of diseases. On one of them, the historian Troels Punk Arbell discovered the first personification of the disease in the history of science in the form of a demon with horns and a tail. From now on, it is believed that in this form the ancient Assyrians imagined epilepsy, the symptoms of which were then described as loss of sanity and "making animal sounds."
The unusual find was reported in a press release from Copenhagen University Arbell. An ancient tablet with a drawing was found among the exhibits stored in the so-called Berlin Museum. In addition to the image of the "demon of epilepsy," the clay tablet bore an inscription in Akkadian, which was spoken by the inhabitants of ancient Iraq. The text said that the disease "bennu" (as it used to be called epilepsy), was born by a demon operating under the guidance of the moon god named Sina. This is further evidence that the inhabitants of ancient Iraq believed in the relationship of the moon, epilepsy and insanity.
The clay image is 2700 years old.
How were diseases treated in ancient times?
According to researchers, thousands of years ago, diseases were really considered by doctors as tricks of evil forces and the found tablet is an excellent proof of this. It is likely that the healers of those times were responsible for expelling evil spirits from the bodies of sick people through a variety of rituals using drugs and spells. This attitude towards the disease operated not only in the territory of ancient Iraq, but also in other states.
Echoes of the ancient belief that the moon is closely related to the madness of people can be found even in some modern cultures. For example, the English word "lunacy" most often has the meaning of mental insanity, insanity, and extremely strange behavior. And the disease itself epilepsy in many cultures of ancient times was considered almost sacred and in some cases patients with epileptic seizures were considered people sent by God. Although, for the most part, the convulsive seizures of people looked extremely scary, so there is nothing surprising in the fact that many healers believed that demons had possessed them.
This is how the inhabitants of ancient Iraq imagined the "demon of epilepsy"
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Fortunately, epilepsy is a fairly well-researched disease today. It has already gotten rid of the name bennu and is now considered a chronic neurological disorder, in which the human body is prone to seizures. According to the World Health Organization, the disease today affects about 50 million people worldwide, with 80% of them living in low-income countries.
An effective method of treating the disease does not yet exist, but there are methods to prevent seizures and reduce their intensity. For example, in 2018, we talked about brain stimulation technology that helps not only with epilepsy, but also reduces the risk of developing depression.
Ramis Ganiev
