Transfiguration of Christ

This image illustrates both biblical stories of, "The Transfiguration of Christ" and "The Healing of a Boy with a Demon," the two stories occur in the Bible in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, only versus away from each other. In this biblical possession the exorcism of the epileptic boy is shown in the lower portion of the painting. The boy demoniac is represented in an unnatural posture as his torso is twisted away from the direction of his legs and better displayed for the viewer of the paintings and his arms are outstretched and twisted. His mouth is open as if in a scream, his eyes are rolling into the back of his head, he has pale skin and veins are visible under his skin, his muscles bulge underneath his skin, and he has a swollen throat to suggest the unnatural strain and movement of his body. The boy's father, who is mentioned in the story is behind him, holding the boy upright. In Matthew the fatherÍs request of JesusÍs help by claiming his son is a lunatic. Mark's use of "lunatic" refers to the Greek work for "moonstruck," seleniazetai, because it was believed that the Moon caused epilepsy, a literal translation of seleniazetai would mean lunatic. Greeks believed that the Gods caused epilepsy and it was considered a sacred disease. Epilepsy can also indicate demon origin because it was derived from the Greek word for seizure, to be taken by a daimon. In both stories the father says that the boy is thrown or falls into water and fire as if to commit suicide, a common symptom in possession narratives. In the scene, most of the crowd gathered around the boy observes him and points at him. The boy's father and mother, and female figure in front, look away.