The Cultural Aspects of Eunuchism, part 3

[JesusA (imported)]

The Greeks were well aware of the eunuchism existent among their neighbors. Herodotus mentions the fact that eunuchs were particularly esteemed among the early Persians for their fidelity and placidity. The same writer mentions the islands of Delos and Chios where there were surgeons who made a practice of supplying eunuchs for the Oriental countries, ostensibly for service in royal households. The Greek creation myth also contains a castration motif. Ouranos, in attempting to destroy his offspring, the fearful Titans, is beset upon by his son, Chronos, who emasculates him with a sickle made from a diamond. Despite their contacts with peoples who had made of eunuchism a functional institution, the Greeks were reluctant to capitalize on this knowledge. The trait is only of sporadic occurrence among the Greeks, and appears almost not at all among the Romans. It may possibly be that the Graeco-Roman emphasis on physical culture prevented the growth of eunuchism as an institution, although there was punitive castration in both civilizations. The infibulation of athletes has been remarked for the Olympic contests, a practice seemingly designed to enforce rigorous rules of training. But both the Greeks and Romans speculated a good deal on the origin and practice of eunuchism. The Romans ascribed the origin of it to Semiramis, a mythical queen of Babylon, who castrated the males of other royal families so as to secure the throne for her own progeny (Ammianus Marcellinus, XIV, vi, 17). This tale was rejected by Cicero who claimed an earlier origin dependent on the Ouranos legend.<p>A single ancient Old World origin has thus been postulated for the growth of eunuchism as an institution. Accepting Asia Minor as the source, we may note a distribution in time as well as in space and a continuum of intensification of the trait at the place of origin. The history of eunuchism indicates that Asia Minor remains a focal center. Here, following the advent of Christianity and the growth of the Eastern Roman Empire, the practice was reintensified and redistributed. As we shall see, eunuchism in Islam is a direct outgrowth of eunuchism in Byzantium. But before turning to a consideration of the complex in the Byzantine period, it may be well to consider the various types of folk surgery involved in the process of the extirpation of the sexual organs, of which, unfortunately, all too little is known with regard to the Ancient World.<p>Three types of eunuch are described by the classical writers of the Roman period. Distinctions are made between the spadones, from whom only the testicles had been removed, the thlassiae, or thlibiae, whose testes had been destroyed by crushing, and lastly, the castrati, from whom the external genitalia had been completely severed. Despite the high mortality which was apparently connected with the latter form, castrati, the truly emasculated, were the most common eunuchs of the Ancient World, and it is this type which was preferred in the Moslem lands of the Near East and again by the Chinese. The eunuchs of early Mesopotamia, as well as some of the priests of Attis in Phrygia, are believed to have been castrati. Others of the latter were "imperfect" eunuchs as attested by their fame as sexual athletes.<p>Among the spadones and thlassiae there seems to have been considerable individual variation with respect to sexual capacity. It is said of the former that the libido was not extinguished until some months after the operation, sexual intercourse being possible as well as the emission of a quasi-semen, seemingly the prostate secretion. Both Juvenal and Seneca mention the habit in Rome of removing the testes of slave boys who were then much in demand by Roman matrons. Of the thlassiae it is said that they merely lost the procreative power. In the Classic World the operation of crushing was performed in infancy and a description of the process is given by Hippocrates. While the child lay in a bath, the testicles were seized and manipulated until disarticulated. Another method involved the tight binding of a cord around the sac until the testes atrophied.<p>The Biblical references to the operation are lacking in clarity as to exactly what processes were employed. The Vulgate translation: eunuchus attritis vel amputatis testiculis et abscisso veretro (Vulg. Deut. 23, 2.) implies the three types of operation mentioned above, yet the original Hebrew is much less specific.<p>We must remain uninformed on many aspects of eunuchism in the pre-Christian world. Nor is a concise record to be had for Byzantium, the area where eunuchism flourished beyond all measure of reason. Here, far more than in the later Islamic kingdoms, eunuchs came to have a social importance almost second to none among the officials of the state. The strong development of eunuchism in the Eastern Roman Empire has its roots in the practice which persisted from Akkadian days. This same influence is present in early Christianity. The statement recorded in Matthew 19,12: "there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake...." described a practice which was followed by the members of many of the early Christian sects in the Levant and Egypt. Although Origen took the statement literally and put it into practice, he is described in later life as condemning the custom. Nor is early Christian asceticism without a certain sympathy for eunuchism. The Valesians, a Gnostic sect of the third and fourth centuries, are described as carrying the practice to an extreme, and comporting themselves in a manner not dissimilar to the earlier priests of Phrygia. The Church Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D., forbade the priesthood to eunuchs in an endeavor to stamp out the idea. But this did not prevent eunuchism in either the Eastern or the Western Church. In Constantinople eunuchs often reached high ecclesiastical rank, some even becoming Patriarch.

[JesusA (imported)]

The Greeks were well aware of the eunuchism existent among their neighbors. Herodotus mentions the fact that eunuchs were particularly esteemed among the early Persians for their fidelity and placidity. The same writer mentions the islands of Delos and Chios where there were surgeons who made a practice of supplying eunuchs for the Oriental countries, ostensibly for service in royal households. The Greek creation myth also contains a castration motif. Ouranos, in attempting to destroy his offspring, the fearful Titans, is beset upon by his son, Chronos, who emasculates him with a sickle made from a diamond. Despite their contacts with peoples who had made of eunuchism a functional institution, the Greeks were reluctant to capitalize on this knowledge. The trait is only of sporadic occurrence among the Greeks, and appears almost not at all among the Romans. It may possibly be that the Graeco-Roman emphasis on physical culture prevented the growth of eunuchism as an institution, although there was punitive castration in both civilizations. The infibulation of athletes has been remarked for the Olympic contests, a practice seemingly designed to enforce rigorous rules of training. But both the Greeks and Romans speculated a good deal on the origin and practice of eunuchism. The Romans ascribed the origin of it to Semiramis, a mythical queen of Babylon, who castrated the males of other royal families so as to secure the throne for her own progeny (Ammianus Marcellinus, XIV, vi, 17). This tale was rejected by Cicero who claimed an earlier origin dependent on the Ouranos legend.<p>A single ancient Old World origin has thus been postulated for the growth of eunuchism as an institution. Accepting Asia Minor as the source, we may note a distribution in time as well as in space and a continuum of intensification of the trait at the place of origin. The history of eunuchism indicates that Asia Minor remains a focal center. Here, following the advent of Christianity and the growth of the Eastern Roman Empire, the practice was reintensified and redistributed. As we shall see, eunuchism in Islam is a direct outgrowth of eunuchism in Byzantium. But before turning to a consideration of the complex in the Byzantine period, it may be well to consider the various types of folk surgery involved in the process of the extirpation of the sexual organs, of which, unfortunately, all too little is known with regard to the Ancient World.<p>Three types of eunuch are described by the classical writers of the Roman period. Distinctions are made between the spadones, from whom only the testicles had been removed, the thlassiae, or thlibiae, whose testes had been destroyed by crushing, and lastly, the castrati, from whom the external genitalia had been completely severed. Despite the high mortality which was apparently connected with the latter form, castrati, the truly emasculated, were the most common eunuchs of the Ancient World, and it is this type which was preferred in the Moslem lands of the Near East and again by the Chinese. The eunuchs of early Mesopotamia, as well as some of the priests of Attis in Phrygia, are believed to have been castrati. Others of the latter were "imperfect" eunuchs as attested by their fame as sexual athletes.<p>Among the spadones and thlassiae there seems to have been considerable individual variation with respect to sexual capacity. It is said of the former that the libido was not extinguished until some months after the operation, sexual intercourse being possible as well as the emission of a quasi-semen, seemingly the prostate secretion. Both Juvenal and Seneca mention the habit in Rome of removing the testes of slave boys who were then much in demand by Roman matrons. Of the thlassiae it is said that they merely lost the procreative power. In the Classic World the operation of crushing was performed in infancy and a description of the process is given by Hippocrates. While the child lay in a bath, the testicles were seized and manipulated until disarticulated. Another method involved the tight binding of a cord around the sac until the testes atrophied.<p>The Biblical references to the operation are lacking in clarity as to exactly what processes were employed. The Vulgate translation: eunuchus attritis vel amputatis testiculis et abscisso veretro (Vulg. Deut. 23, 2.) implies the three types of operation mentioned above, yet the original Hebrew is much less specific.<p>We must remain uninformed on many aspects of eunuchism in the pre-Christian world. Nor is a concise record to be had for Byzantium, the area where eunuchism flourished beyond all measure of reason. Here, far more than in the later Islamic kingdoms, eunuchs came to have a social importance almost second to none among the officials of the state. The strong development of eunuchism in the Eastern Roman Empire has its roots in the practice which persisted from Akkadian days. This same influence is present in early Christianity. The statement recorded in Matthew 19,12: "there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake...." described a practice which was followed by the members of many of the early Christian sects in the Levant and Egypt. Although Origen took the statement literally and put it into practice, he is described in later life as condemning the custom. Nor is early Christian asceticism without a certain sympathy for eunuchism. The Valesians, a Gnostic sect of the third and fourth centuries, are described as carrying the practice to an extreme, and comporting themselves in a manner not dissimilar to the earlier priests of Phrygia. The Church Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D., forbade the priesthood to eunuchs in an endeavor to stamp out the idea. But this did not prevent eunuchism in either the Eastern or the Western Church. In Constantinople eunuchs often reached high ecclesiastical rank, some even becoming Patriarch.

[JesusA (imported)]

The Greeks were well aware of the eunuchism existent among their neighbors. Herodotus mentions the fact that eunuchs were particularly esteemed among the early Persians for their fidelity and placidity. The same writer mentions the islands of Delos and Chios where there were surgeons who made a practice of supplying eunuchs for the Oriental countries, ostensibly for service in royal households. The Greek creation myth also contains a castration motif. Ouranos, in attempting to destroy his offspring, the fearful Titans, is beset upon by his son, Chronos, who emasculates him with a sickle made from a diamond. Despite their contacts with peoples who had made of eunuchism a functional institution, the Greeks were reluctant to capitalize on this knowledge. The trait is only of sporadic occurrence among the Greeks, and appears almost not at all among the Romans. It may possibly be that the Graeco-Roman emphasis on physical culture prevented the growth of eunuchism as an institution, although there was punitive castration in both civilizations. The infibulation of athletes has been remarked for the Olympic contests, a practice seemingly designed to enforce rigorous rules of training. But both the Greeks and Romans speculated a good deal on the origin and practice of eunuchism. The Romans ascribed the origin of it to Semiramis, a mythical queen of Babylon, who castrated the males of other royal families so as to secure the throne for her own progeny (Ammianus Marcellinus, XIV, vi, 17). This tale was rejected by Cicero who claimed an earlier origin dependent on the Ouranos legend.<p>A single ancient Old World origin has thus been postulated for the growth of eunuchism as an institution. Accepting Asia Minor as the source, we may note a distribution in time as well as in space and a continuum of intensification of the trait at the place of origin. The history of eunuchism indicates that Asia Minor remains a focal center. Here, following the advent of Christianity and the growth of the Eastern Roman Empire, the practice was reintensified and redistributed. As we shall see, eunuchism in Islam is a direct outgrowth of eunuchism in Byzantium. But before turning to a consideration of the complex in the Byzantine period, it may be well to consider the various types of folk surgery involved in the process of the extirpation of the sexual organs, of which, unfortunately, all too little is known with regard to the Ancient World.<p>Three types of eunuch are described by the classical writers of the Roman period. Distinctions are made between the spadones, from whom only the testicles had been removed, the thlassiae, or thlibiae, whose testes had been destroyed by crushing, and lastly, the castrati, from whom the external genitalia had been completely severed. Despite the high mortality which was apparently connected with the latter form, castrati, the truly emasculated, were the most common eunuchs of the Ancient World, and it is this type which was preferred in the Moslem lands of the Near East and again by the Chinese. The eunuchs of early Mesopotamia, as well as some of the priests of Attis in Phrygia, are believed to have been castrati. Others of the latter were "imperfect" eunuchs as attested by their fame as sexual athletes.<p>Among the spadones and thlassiae there seems to have been considerable individual variation with respect to sexual capacity. It is said of the former that the libido was not extinguished until some months after the operation, sexual intercourse being possible as well as the emission of a quasi-semen, seemingly the prostate secretion. Both Juvenal and Seneca mention the habit in Rome of removing the testes of slave boys who were then much in demand by Roman matrons. Of the thlassiae it is said that they merely lost the procreative power. In the Classic World the operation of crushing was performed in infancy and a description of the process is given by Hippocrates. While the child lay in a bath, the testicles were seized and manipulated until disarticulated. Another method involved the tight binding of a cord around the sac until the testes atrophied.<p>The Biblical references to the operation are lacking in clarity as to exactly what processes were employed. The Vulgate translation: eunuchus attritis vel amputatis testiculis et abscisso veretro (Vulg. Deut. 23, 2.) implies the three types of operation mentioned above, yet the original Hebrew is much less specific.<p>We must remain uninformed on many aspects of eunuchism in the pre-Christian world. Nor is a concise record to be had for Byzantium, the area where eunuchism flourished beyond all measure of reason. Here, far more than in the later Islamic kingdoms, eunuchs came to have a social importance almost second to none among the officials of the state. The strong development of eunuchism in the Eastern Roman Empire has its roots in the practice which persisted from Akkadian days. This same influence is present in early Christianity. The statement recorded in Matthew 19,12: "there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake...." described a practice which was followed by the members of many of the early Christian sects in the Levant and Egypt. Although Origen took the statement literally and put it into practice, he is described in later life as condemning the custom. Nor is early Christian asceticism without a certain sympathy for eunuchism. The Valesians, a Gnostic sect of the third and fourth centuries, are described as carrying the practice to an extreme, and comporting themselves in a manner not dissimilar to the earlier priests of Phrygia. The Church Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D., forbade the priesthood to eunuchs in an endeavor to stamp out the idea. But this did not prevent eunuchism in either the Eastern or the Western Church. In Constantinople eunuchs often reached high ecclesiastical rank, some even becoming Patriarch.

[JesusA (imported)]

The Greeks were well aware of the eunuchism existent among their neighbors. Herodotus mentions the fact that eunuchs were particularly esteemed among the early Persians for their fidelity and placidity. The same writer mentions the islands of Delos and Chios where there were surgeons who made a practice of supplying eunuchs for the Oriental countries, ostensibly for service in royal households. The Greek creation myth also contains a castration motif. Ouranos, in attempting to destroy his offspring, the fearful Titans, is beset upon by his son, Chronos, who emasculates him with a sickle made from a diamond. Despite their contacts with peoples who had made of eunuchism a functional institution, the Greeks were reluctant to capitalize on this knowledge. The trait is only of sporadic occurrence among the Greeks, and appears almost not at all among the Romans. It may possibly be that the Graeco-Roman emphasis on physical culture prevented the growth of eunuchism as an institution, although there was punitive castration in both civilizations. The infibulation of athletes has been remarked for the Olympic contests, a practice seemingly designed to enforce rigorous rules of training. But both the Greeks and Romans speculated a good deal on the origin and practice of eunuchism. The Romans ascribed the origin of it to Semiramis, a mythical queen of Babylon, who castrated the males of other royal families so as to secure the throne for her own progeny (Ammianus Marcellinus, XIV, vi, 17). This tale was rejected by Cicero who claimed an earlier origin dependent on the Ouranos legend.<p>A single ancient Old World origin has thus been postulated for the growth of eunuchism as an institution. Accepting Asia Minor as the source, we may note a distribution in time as well as in space and a continuum of intensification of the trait at the place of origin. The history of eunuchism indicates that Asia Minor remains a focal center. Here, following the advent of Christianity and the growth of the Eastern Roman Empire, the practice was reintensified and redistributed. As we shall see, eunuchism in Islam is a direct outgrowth of eunuchism in Byzantium. But before turning to a consideration of the complex in the Byzantine period, it may be well to consider the various types of folk surgery involved in the process of the extirpation of the sexual organs, of which, unfortunately, all too little is known with regard to the Ancient World.<p>Three types of eunuch are described by the classical writers of the Roman period. Distinctions are made between the spadones, from whom only the testicles had been removed, the thlassiae, or thlibiae, whose testes had been destroyed by crushing, and lastly, the castrati, from whom the external genitalia had been completely severed. Despite the high mortality which was apparently connected with the latter form, castrati, the truly emasculated, were the most common eunuchs of the Ancient World, and it is this type which was preferred in the Moslem lands of the Near East and again by the Chinese. The eunuchs of early Mesopotamia, as well as some of the priests of Attis in Phrygia, are believed to have been castrati. Others of the latter were "imperfect" eunuchs as attested by their fame as sexual athletes.<p>Among the spadones and thlassiae there seems to have been considerable individual variation with respect to sexual capacity. It is said of the former that the libido was not extinguished until some months after the operation, sexual intercourse being possible as well as the emission of a quasi-semen, seemingly the prostate secretion. Both Juvenal and Seneca mention the habit in Rome of removing the testes of slave boys who were then much in demand by Roman matrons. Of the thlassiae it is said that they merely lost the procreative power. In the Classic World the operation of crushing was performed in infancy and a description of the process is given by Hippocrates. While the child lay in a bath, the testicles were seized and manipulated until disarticulated. Another method involved the tight binding of a cord around the sac until the testes atrophied.<p>The Biblical references to the operation are lacking in clarity as to exactly what processes were employed. The Vulgate translation: eunuchus attritis vel amputatis testiculis et abscisso veretro (Vulg. Deut. 23, 2.) implies the three types of operation mentioned above, yet the original Hebrew is much less specific.<p>We must remain uninformed on many aspects of eunuchism in the pre-Christian world. Nor is a concise record to be had for Byzantium, the area where eunuchism flourished beyond all measure of reason. Here, far more than in the later Islamic kingdoms, eunuchs came to have a social importance almost second to none among the officials of the state. The strong development of eunuchism in the Eastern Roman Empire has its roots in the practice which persisted from Akkadian days. This same influence is present in early Christianity. The statement recorded in Matthew 19,12: "there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake...." described a practice which was followed by the members of many of the early Christian sects in the Levant and Egypt. Although Origen took the statement literally and put it into practice, he is described in later life as condemning the custom. Nor is early Christian asceticism without a certain sympathy for eunuchism. The Valesians, a Gnostic sect of the third and fourth centuries, are described as carrying the practice to an extreme, and comporting themselves in a manner not dissimilar to the earlier priests of Phrygia. The Church Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D., forbade the priesthood to eunuchs in an endeavor to stamp out the idea. But this did not prevent eunuchism in either the Eastern or the Western Church. In Constantinople eunuchs often reached high ecclesiastical rank, some even becoming Patriarch.

[JesusA (imported)]

The Greeks were well aware of the eunuchism existent among their neighbors. Herodotus mentions the fact that eunuchs were particularly esteemed among the early Persians for their fidelity and placidity. The same writer mentions the islands of Delos and Chios where there were surgeons who made a practice of supplying eunuchs for the Oriental countries, ostensibly for service in royal households. The Greek creation myth also contains a castration motif. Ouranos, in attempting to destroy his offspring, the fearful Titans, is beset upon by his son, Chronos, who emasculates him with a sickle made from a diamond. Despite their contacts with peoples who had made of eunuchism a functional institution, the Greeks were reluctant to capitalize on this knowledge. The trait is only of sporadic occurrence among the Greeks, and appears almost not at all among the Romans. It may possibly be that the Graeco-Roman emphasis on physical culture prevented the growth of eunuchism as an institution, although there was punitive castration in both civilizations. The infibulation of athletes has been remarked for the Olympic contests, a practice seemingly designed to enforce rigorous rules of training. But both the Greeks and Romans speculated a good deal on the origin and practice of eunuchism. The Romans ascribed the origin of it to Semiramis, a mythical queen of Babylon, who castrated the males of other royal families so as to secure the throne for her own progeny (Ammianus Marcellinus, XIV, vi, 17). This tale was rejected by Cicero who claimed an earlier origin dependent on the Ouranos legend.<p>A single ancient Old World origin has thus been postulated for the growth of eunuchism as an institution. Accepting Asia Minor as the source, we may note a distribution in time as well as in space and a continuum of intensification of the trait at the place of origin. The history of eunuchism indicates that Asia Minor remains a focal center. Here, following the advent of Christianity and the growth of the Eastern Roman Empire, the practice was reintensified and redistributed. As we shall see, eunuchism in Islam is a direct outgrowth of eunuchism in Byzantium. But before turning to a consideration of the complex in the Byzantine period, it may be well to consider the various types of folk surgery involved in the process of the extirpation of the sexual organs, of which, unfortunately, all too little is known with regard to the Ancient World.<p>Three types of eunuch are described by the classical writers of the Roman period. Distinctions are made between the spadones, from whom only the testicles had been removed, the thlassiae, or thlibiae, whose testes had been destroyed by crushing, and lastly, the castrati, from whom the external genitalia had been completely severed. Despite the high mortality which was apparently connected with the latter form, castrati, the truly emasculated, were the most common eunuchs of the Ancient World, and it is this type which was preferred in the Moslem lands of the Near East and again by the Chinese. The eunuchs of early Mesopotamia, as well as some of the priests of Attis in Phrygia, are believed to have been castrati. Others of the latter were "imperfect" eunuchs as attested by their fame as sexual athletes.<p>Among the spadones and thlassiae there seems to have been considerable individual variation with respect to sexual capacity. It is said of the former that the libido was not extinguished until some months after the operation, sexual intercourse being possible as well as the emission of a quasi-semen, seemingly the prostate secretion. Both Juvenal and Seneca mention the habit in Rome of removing the testes of slave boys who were then much in demand by Roman matrons. Of the thlassiae it is said that they merely lost the procreative power. In the Classic World the operation of crushing was performed in infancy and a description of the process is given by Hippocrates. While the child lay in a bath, the testicles were seized and manipulated until disarticulated. Another method involved the tight binding of a cord around the sac until the testes atrophied.<p>The Biblical references to the operation are lacking in clarity as to exactly what processes were employed. The Vulgate translation: eunuchus attritis vel amputatis testiculis et abscisso veretro (Vulg. Deut. 23, 2.) implies the three types of operation mentioned above, yet the original Hebrew is much less specific.<p>We must remain uninformed on many aspects of eunuchism in the pre-Christian world. Nor is a concise record to be had for Byzantium, the area where eunuchism flourished beyond all measure of reason. Here, far more than in the later Islamic kingdoms, eunuchs came to have a social importance almost second to none among the officials of the state. The strong development of eunuchism in the Eastern Roman Empire has its roots in the practice which persisted from Akkadian days. This same influence is present in early Christianity. The statement recorded in Matthew 19,12: "there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake...." described a practice which was followed by the members of many of the early Christian sects in the Levant and Egypt. Although Origen took the statement literally and put it into practice, he is described in later life as condemning the custom. Nor is early Christian asceticism without a certain sympathy for eunuchism. The Valesians, a Gnostic sect of the third and fourth centuries, are described as carrying the practice to an extreme, and comporting themselves in a manner not dissimilar to the earlier priests of Phrygia. The Church Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D., forbade the priesthood to eunuchs in an endeavor to stamp out the idea. But this did not prevent eunuchism in either the Eastern or the Western Church. In Constantinople eunuchs often reached high ecclesiastical rank, some even becoming Patriarch.