History
The word epilepsy is derived from the Ancient Greek ἐπιληψία epilēpsía, which was from ἐπιλαμβάνειν ēpilambánein "to take hold of, to seize", which in turn was combined from ἐπί ēpí "upon" and λαμβάνειν lambánein "to take".
In the past, epilepsy was associated with religious experiences and even demonic possession. In ancient times, epilepsy was known as the "Sacred Disease" (as described in a 5th century BC treatise by Hippocrates ) because people thought that epileptic seizures were a form of attack by demons, or that the visions experienced by persons with epilepsy were sent by the gods. Among animist Hmong families, for example, epilepsy was understood as an attack by an evil spirit, but the affected person could become revered as a shaman through these otherworldly experiences.
A chapter from a Babylonian textbook of medicine, dating from about 2000BC and consisting of 40 tablets, records many of the different seizure types we recognize today, and it emphasizes the supernatural nature of epilepsy, while the Ayurvedic text of Charaka Samhita (about 400BC), describes epilepsy as "apasmara", i.e., "loss of consciousness".
In most cultures, persons with epilepsy have been stigmatized, shunned, or even imprisoned; in the Salpêtrière, the birthplace of modern neurology, Jean-Martin Charcot found people with epilepsy side-by-side with the mentally handicapped, those with chronic syphilis, and the criminally insane. In Tanzania to this day, as with other parts of Africa, epilepsy is associated with possession by evil spirits, witchcraft, or poisoning and is believed by many to be contagious. In ancient Rome, epilepsy was known as the Morbus Comitialis ('disease of the assembly hall') and was seen as a curse from the gods.
Stigma continues to this day, in both the public and private spheres, but polls suggest it is generally decreasing with time, at least in the developed world; Hippocrates remarked that epilepsy would cease to be considered divine the day it was understood.
Read more about this topic: Epilepsy
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