An ancient drawing of a demon blamed for epileptic seizures has been discovered on a 2,700-year-old Assyrian clay tablet.
The tablet came from the library of a family of exorcists who lived in about 650 B.C. in the city of Assur, now in northern Iraq. But it’s likely it was copied from a much older text.
The tablet is written in cuneiform and depicts a humanoid figure with what seem to be wavy horns above a reptilian face with a forked-tongue. It has either a tail or a large penis between its legs. The drawing, because of the extreme age of the clay tablet, is not complete and difficult to spot unless you’re looking for it.
It is believed that this is a depiction of the demon responsible for epilepsy, as the text of the tablet describes cures for convulsions, twitches and other involuntary muscle movements.
