The Disabled Demigod: Lessons from Hercules

By Rick Rader, MD, FAAIDD, FAADM, Editor-in-chief, Helen Journal 

November is perhaps the single month that has the most disease-specific awareness days.

National awareness holidays and national health observances are special days, weeks, or months dedicated to raising awareness about important health topics. According to Nathaniel Branden, “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”

Among the multitude of syndrome and disease-specific topics for November are diabetes, lung cancer, pneumonia, addiction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, healthy skin, premature births, eye disease, bladder disease, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer and hospice.

And while looking at November as doom and gloom month, one should also recognize the other awareness topics throughout the year which include “International Talk Like a Pirate Day,’ (September 19), “Fruit Cake Toss Day,” (first Saturday in January), “Lost Sock Memorial Day,” (May 9), “Middle Child Day,” (August 12); thus, something for everyone and everything.

“Alzheimer’s disease is currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States is growing, with an estimated 6.9 million Americans age 65 and older living with the disease in 2024.”

The two disorders that are part of the November awareness lineup and are of particular interest to the HELEN Journal community are devoted to Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy.

In the United States there are 3 million adults and 500,000 children with active epilepsy. One in 26 people will develop epilepsy in their lifetime. Over one million Americans have uncontrolled epilepsy. Worldwide there are over 50 million people with epilepsy.

Alzheimer’s disease is currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States is growing, with an estimated 6.9 million Americans age 65 and older living with the disease in 2024.

As both conditions are often co-occurring in the same individual, we felt that HELEN Journal was on the right track in selecting these life-changing conditions for our November issue.

The incidence of intellectual disability among those with epilepsy is between 20 and 29 percent, as compared to 1 to 2 percent of the general population. Epilepsy may also affect speech and language, attention, memory, and executive functioning which contributes to additional disabling conditions. Between 30 and 50 percent of children with epilepsy will develop a behavioral or mental health problem. The types of behavioral problems associated with epilepsy include attention deficit, hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, aggression, and autism spectrum disorders.

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease are more prone to have seizures. In patients older than 65 years, neurodegenerative conditions accounted for almost 10% of all late-onset epilepsy cases. Epilepsy and seizures can occur in the early and late stages of Alzheimer’ s disease. Seizures promote amyloid and tau deposits, leading to neurodegenerative processes.  Epilepsy is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and, in turn, Alzheimer’s disease in an independent risk factor for developing epilepsy in old age.

Alzheimer’s disease and seizures have long been described in ancient medical manuscripts. Hippocrates, The Father of Medicine (as a physician, I can earn points whenever I have the chance to throw around his name) described both disorders in his Hippocratic Corpus, his seminal series of documents explaining the nature of diseases.

Classic Greco-Roman mythology is a collection of ancient stories, legends, and beliefs that were created to explain the phenomenon of the world as it then existed. Origins of the natural and supernatural world were often attributed to gods and demigods.

Apropos to realizing that both conditions are often linked, HELEN Journal has identified a well-known figure who we believe serves as the “poster boy” for both conditions.

Hercules is among the most well-known gods from ancient mythology. He was known for his strength, courage, allegiance and daring.  Readers of HELEN Journal might be surprised to learn that he is often associated with BOTH epilepsy and dementia. In fact, epilepsy is sometimes called the “Herculean disease,” as well as the “sacred disease,” due to its association with the divine.

Hercules was cursed with both conditions by Hera, the wife of Zeus who thought she could teach him a lesson by ensuring that he experienced frequent seizures and episodes of dementia. Epilepsy played a role in Greek mythology, and it was believed that the Moon Goddess Selene and Olympian Artemis could and would afflict these conditions on anyone who wronged them. These gods played rough with each other and “one upmanship” was frequently responsible for how the world came to be.

The Twelve Labors of Hercules, a well-known story in Greek mythology, has our hero perform a dozen of the most arduous, complex and nearly impossible feats in order to repent for his past dementia-induced atrocities.  

The fifth of these challenges was the cleaning of the Augean Stables. These stables were housed by more than 3,000 cattle, and they had not been cleared out of the dung that had been deposited in them for over 30 years. Hercules was given just one day to clean up. Quite the task, but our hero rose to the occasion and completed the task, thus was deserving of his reputation of dealing with whatever was thrown at him. The same can be said about individuals challenged by living with multiple disabilities.

Compared to living with complex disabilities like Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy, cleaning the Augean Stables is a walk in the park. Despite his challenges, Hercules has emerged as an inspirational figure that has fascinated generations.  And since he was a fable and was unable to be quoted, we don’t have the actual words of Herculean wisdom to guide us.

For that we have The Disney Studios, who in 1997 created a memorable animated film depicting the exploits of Hercules.

Hercules appears to be speaking directly to the disability community when he offers these two memorable and inspiring messages:

“I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong." And, “How am I supposed to prove myself a hero if nobody will give me a chance?”