Epilepsy – a disease of geniuses?

Abstract

For a long time, people suffering from epilepsy have been feared, suspected, and misunderstood, socially stigmatized and viewed as outcasts. On the other hand, epilepsy was attributed to many remarkable personalities, among whom are Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Socrates, Aristotle, Joan of Arc, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Ivan the Terrible, Newton, Peter the Great, Napoleon, Walter Scott, Paganini, Byron, Van Gogh, Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and many others. The article is aimed to confirm on historical facts or debunk the myths about the essence of epilepsy in some of these individuals.

Keywords

• epilepsy
• seizures
• mental diseases
• geniuses