Hi!

There is an interesting article about Byzantine eunuchs:

http://www.byzantinecongress.org.uk/pap ... ngrose.pdf

E.

Kathryn Ringrose’s 2003 book The Perfect Servant (http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=3886) is one of the most fascinating I have ever read on any subject. While I sometimes got dizzy trying to keep all of the Basils and Michaels straight, she managed what every anthropologist aspires to. She drops her reader into a different culture and makes the “exotic” all seem perfectly comprehensible. Her reader can fully understand why loving parents might have a son castrated. Her reader can understand why a eunuch would be grateful to his parents for having him castrated as a small boy. The reader can still be horrified at the thought. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in years. HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED!

This article (originally presented at the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies in London in 2006), attempts to explore the physiology of the Byzantine eunuchs. It is much less successful than her history. Here she is out of her area of expertise and some of her “experts” are merely guessing. When asked about her statement that prepubertal eunuchs were more subject to osteoporosis than those castrated after puberty, she referred to a conversation with a UC San Diego professor where he guessed that such a thing was true – not to any research finding. See also the Archive thread Byzantine Castration (http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=8237).

It’s still a fascinating article. Just don’t take all of it as authoritative. It’s just the best work to date on the subject.

Perceiving Byzantine Eunuchs Through Modern Medicine

Kathryn Ringrose

University of California, San Diego

Byzantine eunuchs were perceived by their contemporaries as culturally, psychologically, and physically distinctive. While eunuchs clearly were not women, their infertility and distinctive physical appearance distanced them from the gender construct Byzantine society assigned to adult males. Byzantine observers routinely described eunuchs using pejorative terminology, comparing them, unfavorably, to testiculated men. In my earlier book, The Perfect Servant: Eunuchs and the Social construction of Gender in Byzantium, I assumed that most of the pejorative comments about the physiology and personality of eunuchs were part of a generalized set of negative attitudes about both eunuchs and women.

More recently I have been prompted to question this assumption and I have begun to explore current medical literature that deals with the results of castration or with conditions that are analogous to castration. This literature focuses on androgens and the effects of androgen therapy and androgen deprivation on the human body and mind, on dental research that discusses the changes in the anatomy and appearance of the face in the absence of certain androgens, and on psychological and neuroscientific research that explores the changes in the human brain that take place at puberty.

It is risky to reach historical conclusions based on contemporary evidence, but in dealing with the topic of Byzantine eunuchs we have two problems: (1) Our primary sources are few, scattered, and often very biased. (2) Our contemporary sources are limited by the fact that, unless we believe whispers behind closed doors that will probably never be opened, children are no longer routinely castrated in our modern world. This rules out the possibility of direct comparison between Byzantine and modern castrates.

Even so, modern medicine and experimental science may offer some insights into the topic. In today's world individuals are born with ambiguous genitalia which is often "corrected", but these children cannot necessarily serve as a model for the Byzantine eunuch. Men with severe prostate cancer are often castrated or treated with testosterone destroying drugs. They can provide a partial model for us, though a model that only deals with the later years of the adult male life. Finally, there are a few rare genetic defects that produce males that can be considered a kind of modern eunuch. Here, however, the literature about these individuals, who are generally treated with testosterone, is focused on "correcting" their defect rather than on exploring the results of non-treatment. Despite these caveats, we can gain some intriguing insights from today's medical and biological sciences.

Most studies of Byzantine eunuchs assert that the act of castration, that is the removal of the testicles, penis, or both, deprives the body of testosterone and thus changes the physical nature of the individual. While this is an obvious truism, modern medical research indicates that this approach is much too simplistic. A brief summary of the findings of this research will facilitate further discussion of a number of points.

The differentiation of the male and female begins in the womb with the development of what is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

The hypothalamus and pituitary, both located at the base of the brain, are formed by the 4formed by the 4th or 5th week of fetal life and soon are producing gonadotropic hormones: luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). By the 8th week of gestation the Leydig cells (the cells that make testosterone) in the fetal testes have differentiated. By the 12th week these cells' production of testosterone is at its peak, effecting the further development of the male sexual organs. It is believed that testosterone also is involved in brain development during this period, flooding the brain with hormones and "priming" it in a male direction. Sex differentiation in the embryo is regulated by at least 70 different genes that govern the mechanisms that differentiate the primordial gonadal tissue, which is bipotential, that is, it can become either male or female. At this point in fetal life irregularities of the genetic makeup, or external factors, like chemical pollution, can produce individuals with ambiguous genital development.

By the end of the fetal period the hypothalmic-pituitary-gonadal axis is well developed, with a regulating system called the hypothalamic GnRH pulse generator that discharges intermittent bursts of GnRh into the system. In infancy this system operates at a frequency that is typical of the adult male, and it stimulates the leydig cells of the child to secrete testosterone. At about two years of age the above system becomes quiescent until puberty. Given that castration rarely took place this early, this phase of testosterone-related development in male children is something experienced by virtually all potential eunuchs. The mechanisms for turning this system on and off are not yet completely understood.

There is considerable variation in the timing of male puberty. It begins when the hypothalamic GnRh pulse generator again begins to release GnRh, resulting in an increase in production of LH (luteinizing hormone) by the pituitary. In male humans an elevation of LH and testosterone signals puberty, the testis increase in size, producing increasing amounts of testosterone, reaching adult values at 14 or 15 years of age. Spermatogenesis can be established at some time between the 12begins when the hypothalamic GnRh pulse generator again begins to release GnRh, resulting in an increase in production of LH (luteinizing hormone) by the pituitary. In male humans an elevation of LH and testosterone signals puberty, the testis increase in size, producing increasing amounts of testosterone, reaching adult values at 14 or 15 years of age. Spermatogenesis can be established at some time between the 12th and 16th year of life.1 This is the phase of testosterone related development that is missed by eunuchs castrated prior to puberty.

Recent studies in the areas of developmental neuroscience and neuropsychology indicate that puberty has a significant impact on the human brain, and especially the male brain. Just as testosterone in the infant acts to differentiate neural circuits in the brain, it continues to act on the brain during puberty. There is evidence that the male brain, influenced by steroid hormones, and, in the male, testosterone in particular, is significantly remodeled during puberty in ways that impact higher-order brain functions, including cognitive functions and emotion regulation.2 The brain is a very "plastic" organ and it develops new circuitry and prunes unneeded circuitry throughout puberty and young adulthood.

What significance does this have for the study of eunuchs? Many of the eunuchs in our sources are “artificial creations” in that they were normal males who were deliberately castrated for a variety of very specific purposes. Others, however, were individuals whose development was congenitally faulty, leaving them with incomplete male sexual organs. These are sometimes referred to as "natural" eunuchs in our sources. Another group includes men who were castrated in an attempt to cure one of several medical conditions afflicting the male genitalia. Finally, there are eunuchs whose castration is the result of an accidental injury. For all of these groups age of castration is critical for future physical and neural development.

In the Byzantine world men must have known that the age at which castration was performed effected the kind of eunuch that was formed. Castration between infancy and puberty, for example, will profoundly effect the appearance of the individual, but he will still be oriented in a masculine direction, though just how is difficult to determine. He will not experience normal puberty. His voice will remain high-pitched, he will have little or no facial hair and the hair on his head will be thick and luxuriant throughout his life. His face and body will have a very distinctive appearance and his life will probably be short, since he will be afflicted with osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart and vascular problems. He will have little or no interest in sexual behavior. His personality will be different from that of a normal man, though it is difficult, at this historical distance, to determine exactly how it will be different.

On the other hand, if he is castrated at, say, 17, he will experience much less change in appearance and, though infertile, may retain limited sexual function. If castrated as an adult, a eunuch will retain most of the qualities of an adult male, with the exception of those features that are regulated directly by testosterone: fertility, sexual potency, maintenance of muscular strength, and the growth patterns of body and facial hair. regulated directly by testosterone: fertility, sexual potency, maintenance of muscular strength, and the growth patterns of body and facial hair.

When visitors from Western Europe began to visit Constantinople in the early middle ages, one of the first things they noticed was the presence of eunuchs. Castration was rare in the west, and the very fact that castrations took place in Byzantium made this culture appear to be eastern, suspect and "other." The reasons that the Byzantines castrated healthy, normal boys and created a place for them in elite society are complex. In my own work I have suggested that the Byzantines were attempting to create a "perfect servant", attractive, obedient, educated, unfailingly loyal, an individual without external family ties, and an individual who was undefiled by sexuality (unless he was desired by his master). A parallel construct existed within the world of the church and was validated by the assumed ascetic qualities attached to the religious eunuch.3

While for centuries Byzantine society created important niches for eunuchs, the authors of our sources were usually uncomfortable with the act of castration. We know a great deal about the lives of many eunuchs, but almost nothing is said about their castration. Even the great eunuch patriarch Methodios claimed to have been castrated by God.4 The historian Prokopios goes to great lengths to explain that the eunuch Solomon had not been castrated but rather that his genitalia had been damaged in a nursery accident.5 Rhetorically, at least, the Byzantines claimed that they never did castrations – the castrators were always “others” – usually people like the Arabs or the Persians. Likewise the Arabs claimed that they never castrated and that their eunuchs were prepared and purchased in Byzantium. It is interesting to compare attitudes toward castration in Byzantium to those in China. In China castration was practiced both as a punishment and as a route to a career. It had to be publicly proven through the display of the severed organs. In Byzantium castration was almost never used as a punishment and the severed organs were not preserved. It was a hidden act, a necessary evil, and was never mentioned publicly.

Despite the rhetorical façade, however, we know that castrations were performed in the Late Antique and Byzantine worlds. The seventh century surgeon, Paul of Aegina, has left us a detailed description of a testicular ablation, prefaced by the comment that he hated to have to perform this surgery and only did so under pressure. Since castrations were technically illegal, they were often billed as surgery to correct a serious medical condition, hernia. It is quite possible that in fact this practice was not exceptional.

Among the treatments that could result in castration was the repair of both inguinal hernia, scrotal hernia, and umbilical hernia. Doctors began with a less invasive attempt to cure hernias using compression and bandages, but if this failed, physicians did resort to surgery. Paul of Aegina describes a surgical technique that included cauterization. It was probably reasonably effective and spared the testicles. Skilled surgeons in the Hellenistic world had long understood these techniques, which can be found in the writings of Celsus, a surgeon of the first century AD.understood these techniques, which can be found in the writings of Celsus, a surgeon of the first century AD.6

Though testicle-sparing surgery for hernias continued to be practiced in the Byzantine empire, practitioners were increasingly of the opinion that castration was the best hope of curing hernia. This was certainly true in Western Europe until the Renaissance, and was probably true in the less urbanized parts of the Byzantine empire.7 This is the inference we can draw from the many examples in Byzantine sources of boys and men with hernias and ailments of the genitalia whose miraculous cures saved them from the castrator. In the life of saints David, Symeon and George of Mitilini on the island of Lesvos8 we find the story of Leo, a friend of the holy man, who brought his youngest son to him for healing. The boy was suffering from a hernia and was about to be turned over to the castrator when he was saved by the saint, who healed him. The life of St. Artemios offers a number of healing miracles involving male genitalia.9 In the twenty-fourth miracle10 a man named George is urged to see a doctor and have his testicles removed to heal a testicular disorder. The saint heals him. In the twenty-eighth miracle,11 a child injures his testicles and is cured by the saint. When his mother realizes that he has been cured, she runs her hands along his thighs and assumes the cure involved removing his testicles. The forty-third miracle-third miracle12 is similar. In the forty-fourth miracle13 a man with diseased testicles is considering having them removed but is healed by the saint. The saint appears to him in the guise of a physician who did hernia surgeries. The saint bound up the man's testicles with a cord, an action that mimicked one technique for castration.

Thus there was in Byzantine culture an acceptable medical façade that legitimized castration. Hernia certainly offered an excuse that could be trotted out for rhetorical purposes. It is even feasible that hernia problems were sufficiently prevalent to account for a significant number of medically legitimate castrations. Just last year a group of Iranian researchers published a study of 3205 elementary-school boys, aged 6 to 12 years.14 The subjects live in the province of Lorestan, which is situated north and west of Tehran on the eastern slope of the Zagros mountains. The boys were examined for abnormalities of the groin or genitalia and abnormalities were found in 6.64% of the children. The problems included hernia, retractile testes, undescended testes, hydrocele, and hypospadia. This is a significant percent of this study group. In the Byzantine world, with the exception of the child with hypospadia (a condition in which the urethra does not exit the penis in a normal way) any of these children who received medical treatment would probably have been made eunuchs.

A certain number of Byzantine eunuchs are identified as "natural eunuchs" who presumably were not actually castrated. While these individuals are rare in any culture, they do exist. They usually suffer from genetic deformities that suppress the formation of external genitalia or the utilization of testosterone. Ever since the publication of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel Middlesex15 we have become more familiar with one of these rare genetic conditions called 5alpha-Reductase Deficiency. In the male it is the cause of male hereditary pseudohermaphroditism. During fetal development, at the cellular level testosterone is converted to 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone and binds to a high-affinity receptor protein in the cell nuclei. From embryogenesis through puberty 5alphadihydrotestosterone is responsible for: (1) the development of the male external genitalia, urethra, and prostate (2) at puberty, the growth of facial and body hair and the maturation of the external genitalia (3) the loss of scalp hair later in life. At birth individuals with this defect appear to be girls or hermaphrodites with minimal male genitalia since they have had little or no chance for the development of male genitalia during the prenatal period. At puberty, however, the male external genitalia begin to develop and these children are increasingly virilized. As children, if their condition is not recognized, they are reared as females. After puberty, when they develop noticeable male genitalia, some elect to live as infertile males, following their chromosome makeup, others as females in accordance with their rearing.

In the Byzantine world individuals of this sort would be classified as "natural eunuchs."16 In today's world, where infant and childhood castration are no longer practiced, these individuals are the subjects of much research, since their experience directly addresses questions about the importance of nature versus nurture. Though most of these individuals are reared as females, more than half of them elect to live as males after puberty.17 For historians they serve as a research "stand-in" for eunuchs.

Another group of potential "natural eunuchs" includes individuals with the more severe forms of Klinefelter Syndrome. These men have the usual 47 chromosomes, but have an added X chromosome (47XXY). Today we know that about 1 in 1000 males are born with this genetic anomaly, and it is a disorder that accounts for 3% of male infertility. Men who are affected typically suffer from, in decreasing order of frequency: infertility, small testes, decreased facial hair, gynecomastia, (the development of small breasts) decreased pubic hair, and a small penis. They have unusually long legs and may have a feminized body. In adulthood, without diagnosis and androgen replacement therapy, they can suffer from loss of libido, decreased muscle bulk and tone, decreased bone mineral density, and a tendency to suffer from thromboembolism, diabetes and cardiovascular complications. Most of these symptoms match traits associated with eunuchs in our sources. In one regard, however, they do not resemble eunuchs, who are often presented as intellectually adept – men with Klinefelter Syndrome often suffer from cognitive deficits, especially in language comprehension, speech, and gross and fine motor coordination however, they do not resemble eunuchs, who are often presented as intellectually adept – men with Klinefelter Syndrome often suffer from cognitive deficits, especially in language comprehension, speech, and gross and fine motor coordination18

I

JesusA (imported) wrote: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:16 pm n the Late Antique and Byzantine worlds

natural eunuchs were rarely identified as such. An exception to this, however, was the famous second century eunuch Favorinus. Favorinus appears to have been born with at lease one of the many androgen insensitivity syndromes described above. He is described as a eunuch having a penis but no testicles. Rather than hiding his affliction, Favorinus capitalized on his unusual appearance and high voice, setting a new style for orators of the period. He is the eunuch who is the subject of Lucian's The Eunuch.19

Unless some hagiographer or biographer wanted to clean up the origins of a famous eunuch by citing accident or medical necessity, our sources rarely say much about how a man became a eunuch. Thus there is no way of knowing how many eunuchs there were in Byzantium at any given time, nor can we know what percentage of them were "natural" eunuchs as opposed to eunuchs who were the result of deliberate castration.

However ambivalent our sources are about eunuchs, it is clear that a significant number were deliberately castrated before puberty, when the surgery is much easier and safer than later in life. Eunuchs castrated before puberty or during early puberty developed a distinctive appearance that, I would argue, was aesthetically favored at court. Here, too, modern medical research supports some of the ambiguous evidence for physiological distinctiveness. Individuals who suffer from extreme testosterone deprivation develop a

JesusA (imported) wrote: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:16 pm distinctive physical appearance.

During the neonatal period androgens react with growth hormones to produce the male growth pattern that will emerge at puberty. At puberty, after a quiescent childhood, growth and development begins again. What triggers puberty is still a matter of conjecture. that, I would argue, was aesthetically favored at court. Here, too, modern medical research supports some of the ambiguous evidence for physiological distinctiveness. Individuals who suffer from extreme testosterone deprivation develop a

JesusA (imported) wrote: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:16 pm distinctive physical appearance.

During the neonatal period androgens react with growth hormones to produce the male growth pattern that will emerge at puberty. At puberty, after a quiescent childhood, growth and development begins again. What triggers puberty is still a matter of conjecture.20

"In an uncastrated male puberty is characterized by a striking increase in circulating testosterone, which is converted to dihydrotestosterone, increases in circulating androgens associated with an increase in muscle mass, enlargement of the testicles and phallus, development of acne, and a male pattern of hair development including facial hair, axillary hair, and pubic hair, as well as an overall increase in the size and darkening color of most other body hairs."21

At puberty various sex steroids mediate both the development and maintenance of long-bone tissues and the development of the bones in the face. Both estrogen and testosterone are important for this process, and the lack of testosterone in eunuchs at puberty results in the development of bone material that is porous. Since testosterone regulates the circumference of the long-bones, in its absence they will tend to be unusually thin and fragile, a condition I will come back to when I discuss the aging of eunuchs. At the end of puberty testosterone regulates the closing of the epiphyseal (growth) plates in the long bones. Lacking testosterone, these growth plates do not close promptly after puberty. This is especially apparent in the long bones of the arms and legs which, in a eunuch, appear to be unusually long compared to the rest of the body.

Lacking testosterone, these growth plates do not close promptly after puberty. This is especially apparent in the long bones of the arms and legs which, in a eunuch, appear to be unusually long compared to the rest of the body.22 At the same time, in a eunuch, the bones of the jaw and the part of the face that extends from the lower jaw to the ear tend not to develop during puberty, creating an individual whose face appears to be abnormally wide. In fact, its width is correct, since the measurement between the eyes does not change from infancy. The eunuchoid face appears to be wide because the lower face has not lengthened at puberty. In our world of modern medicine, if a boy with a condition that severely reduces the levels of his testosterone is diagnosed early enough testosterone treatments will "normalize" facial growth in the vertical dimension and will increase the anterior facial height.23

I am convinced that the Byzantines aesthetically appreciated the appearance of boys at the cusp of puberty. Such boys were stereotypically graceful, feminine without being female, and sexually pure. Their skin was still clear, they had no beards, their voices were high-pitched, their faces, which had not yet taken on a masculine appearance, were short and broad. Given the normal inevitability of puberty, these qualities were recognized to be ephemeral – present in a boy today and gone from the young man tomorrow.

These are also the physical attributes of individuals who transcended the pollution of the mundane physical world. Through castration this aesthetic could be captured and preserved, at least for a time. It is important that we not impose our cultural biases on the Byzantine world. The eunuchoid face may not be desirable today, but it seems to have had positive connotations in the past. Current investigations of facial shape and its relationship to testosterone show that, at least subconsciously, people notice facial shape as an indication of "manliness." Women today, despite what we might assume, find pictures of the faces of men who have very high testosterone levels to be unattractive.24 The pubescent face of the Byzantine eunuch is readily seen in the images of angels and youthful warrior saints in Byzantine art. It is unmistakable in our one good portrait of a Byzantine eunuch, Leo the Sakellarios.25 It is worth noting in this connection that Byzantine art clearly contrasts that society’s two categories of non-reproductive individuals. One, the ascetic holy man, is depicted with a long, narrow, bearded face that would be typical of an individual with high levels of testosterone. This reinforces the trope that says that holiness lies in overcoming the pleasures of the world, including sexual pleasures. The alternative image of holiness is the beardless, almost triangular eunuchoid face we find in images of angels –beings by definition free of human sexuality.

The use of castration to prolong youthful innocence is complimented in Byzantine sources by the fact that they rarely talk about the aging or death of eunuchs. For the Late Antique period, where our sources are dominated by tales of evil eunuchs like Eutropius, we occasionally learn how they died. Valentinian burned his chief eunuch in the Hippodrome.26 Ammianus Marcellinus mentions Eutherius, whom he considers an exception to the rule that all eunuchs are evil, who died in comfortable retirement in Rome.27 Similarlty, not much is said about eunuchs' health. An exception to this is found in Ammianus Marcellinus, who describes "the throng of eunuchs beginning with the old men and ending with the boys, sallow and disfigured by the distorted form of their members."28 Ammianus is clearly making observations about the health of eunuchs. There is also an intriguing tradition that compares a eunuch to a rose – he is beautiful in youth, flowers, then withers and dries up. His skin is compared to a crumpled, drying flower. He becomes wrinkled and dried up with age. Themes like this appear in John Chrysostom's Vanity of Vanities sermon on the eunuch Eutropius.29 This raises two interesting questions. First, what can modern medical science tell us that might shed light on the aging process among eunuchs, and second why do our later Byzantine sources say so little about the end of life among eunuchs?

Recent advances in the treatment of prostate cancer have led to a flood of relevant articles. Androgen destroying medications are now used to shrink the prostate and retard the growth of the tumor, a technique that allows fragile elderly patients to avoid surgery. This has led to other medical problems that appear to parallel those suffered by eunuchs as they age. Osteoporosis is the most prominent. The bulk of adult bone mass is laid down during puberty. If a child is castrated before puberty, his chance of retaining sufficient bone mass to last into old age is slim. Modern studies of prepubertal boys sufferingfrom hypogonadism indicate that with testosterone supplements bone mass can be rapidly laid down during young adulthood.

that allows fragile elderly patients to avoid surgery. This has led to other medical problems that appear to parallel those suffered by eunuchs as they age. Osteoporosis is the most prominent. The bulk of adult bone mass is laid down during puberty. If a child is castrated before puberty, his chance of retaining sufficient bone mass to last into old age is slim. Modern studies of prepubertal boys suffering from hypogonadism indicate that with testosterone supplements bone mass can be rapidly laid down during young adulthood.30 Conversely for elderly men treated with androgen destroying drugs, bone mass is lost rapidly, even if it was adequately laid down at puberty. The degree to which osteoporosis might disable the Byzantine eunuch clearly depends on the age at which castration took place. Chinese eunuchs, for example, seem not to suffer from osteoporosis because they were usually castrated after puberty. Since Byzantine eunuchs were castrated at a variety of ages, only some of them would suffer from osteoporosis. Court eunuchs, were probably castrated before puberty, both to preserve their youthful appearance and to preserve their voices, which were valued in the imperial choirs. Osteoporosis would be a serious problem for them. Peter Phocas, however, a great eunuch soldier whose exploits on the field of battle are described in several sources, was almost certainly castrated as an adult.31 For him osteoporosis would be a lesser issue, at least until extreme old age.

Elderly men treated with androgen destroying drugs often suffer from weight gain, the result of a decrease in lean muscle mass and an increase in fat. This is a phenomenon characteristic of castrated men and animals. They also frequently suffer from anemia, perhaps explaining why Ammianus Marcellinus describes eunuchs as sallow. With anti-androgen therapy the body's metabolism changes, especially its sugar metabolism. There is a rise in insulin indicating a decrease in insulin sensitivity, leaving low androgen individuals at risk for diabetes. Recently scientists are learning that there may be associations between low androgen and heart and circulatory problems. Lack of androgens seems to lead to a stiffening of the arteries as indicated by elevated blood pressure. In studies based on castrated rats, lack of androgens leads to serious heart problems.from weight gain, the result of a decrease in lean muscle mass and an increase in fat. This is a phenomenon characteristic of castrated men and animals. They also frequently suffer from anemia, perhaps explaining why Ammianus Marcellinus describes eunuchs as sallow. With anti-androgen therapy the body's metabolism changes, especially its sugar metabolism. There is a rise in insulin indicating a decrease in insulin sensitivity, leaving low androgen individuals at risk for diabetes. Recently scientists are learning that there may be associations between low androgen and heart and circulatory problems. Lack of androgens seems to lead to a stiffening of the arteries as indicated by elevated blood pressure. In studies based on castrated rats, lack of androgens leads to serious heart problems.32

As interesting as the physiological results of castration may be, the most intriguing questions that modern medical science may help us with involve the cognitive skills and personality of eunuchs. Today there is a great deal of interest in the effect of gonadotrophic hormones on puberty. This has been driven by the observation that some neurological diseases, like schizophrenia, appear at puberty, and by the elevated death rate of teen-agers in much of the world. Scientists have begun to ask whether the use of steroids by young athletes or the delayed puberty found among gymnasts and ballet dancers can effect the development of personality and adult behavior.33 Studies of animals indicate that, in many species, the neurotransmitter systems of the brain, and especially the pre-frontal cortex, are

JesusA (imported) wrote: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:16 pm significantly remodeled during puberty.

In humans this rearrangement is thought to be connected to adolescent changes in decision-making, risk taking, planning, drug sensitivity and reward incentive. Clearly, a male who fails to go through puberty will not have a typically masculine personality – an aspect of the Byzantine eunuch that is noted in many sources.

Scientists are still not clear about exactly what triggers puberty in humans. It seems to be related to GnRH, a decapeptide produced by specialized neurons in the hypothalamus. These act on the pituitary, causing it to release LH and FSH which make the testes and ovaries develop. These then release hormones that act on the brain. Obviously this has serious implications for those eunuchs who are castrated before puberty. Since they lack testes this circular hormone-driven system cannot develop. To what extent might castration reshape these eunuchs' mental processes and personalities? Perhaps the pejorative writings that say that eunuchs have personalities that differ from those of testiculated men should be given some credence.34

The most obvious neural developments that are of interest regarding eunuchs are those that shape sexual behavior. The neural circuitry that differentiates males from females is laid down

JesusA (imported) wrote: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:16 pm during the prenatal period. At puberty, however, the

gonadal steroids both activate and further organize this neural circuitry. If this does not take place, no amount of hormone replacement or sexual experience can reverse this deficit. This is clear in modern studies of animal models. Those castrated before puberty never become sexually active, nor do they develop behaviors that are associated with mating behavior, even if they are treated with hormones. Those castrated after puberty, if treated with hormones, develop some measure of sexual behavior. The ancients realized this,regarding eunuchs are those that shape sexual behavior. The neural circuitry that differentiates males from females is laid down

JesusA (imported) wrote: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:16 pm during the prenatal period. At puberty, however, the

gonadal steroids both activate and further organize this neural circuitry. If this does not take place, no amount of hormone replacement or sexual experience can reverse this deficit. This is clear in modern studies of animal models. Those castrated before puberty never become sexually active, nor do they develop behaviors that are associated with mating behavior, even if they are treated with hormones. Those castrated after puberty, if treated with hormones, develop some measure of sexual behavior. The ancients realized this,35 even though they rarely make a linguistic distinction between eunuchs castrated before puberty and those castrated after puberty – at least they do not make a distinction that we can detect.

Leaving aside sexual behavior, which is fairly obvious, does lack of normal puberty in the pre-pubertial castrate lead to any other differences in cognitive ability or personality? Studies using tests that target the orbital prefrontal cortex, an area that is extensively remodeled at puberty, show that men with low levels of testosterone approach problems in a careful, conservative way and resist the temptation to take chances.36 They also perform better when faced with spatial tasks, and may have superior mathematical ability.37 In rats lack of testosterone leads to an increased fear response.38 These reflect characteristics attributed to the Byzantine eunuch. He is credited with having certain specific intellectual gifts and assumed to be "cowardly" in his behavior. As to the eunuch's personality, modern neurosciences do not as yet offer enough information for us to make any inferences. There is speculation, however, that during adolescence a network develops in the brain that regulates the processing of social information. If this regulatory process does not develop and work properly, an individual can develop mood and anxiety disorders.39

It is easy to assume that the pejorative language that our sources use about eunuchs reflects a social world that is dominated by masculine values and thus devalues anything or any one who exhibits traits that might appear to be feminine. It is also easy to assume that this pejorative language has its roots in envy. Yet medical science offers insights that urge us to reevaluate some of the rhetoric that our sources use about eunuchs. To some Byzantine observers they appear to be unhealthy and deformed. To others they exhibit youthful grace and beauty. Both are medically possible, reflecting stages in a eunuch's life. It is clear that many Byzantine observers find eunuchs' personalities disagreeable. Given what medical science can tell us so far, it is quite possible that many eunuchs had immature, unstable personalities.

In any case, it is clear that the Byzantine eunuch is different from a normal man. His is a constructed gender category, and he, himself, is the result of a deliberate act of creation, an act of man rather than of God. This leaves us with a wealth of questions that can still be asked about the Byzantine eunuch. To what extent did Byzantine society consider castration to be a creative act? To what extent did the Byzantines understand the importance of the age at which castrations took place? Did they create eunuchs specifically for particular social roles – perfect servant, skilled warrior, bureaucrat, attractive court decoration, etc.? Why are the Byzantines so reluctant to talk about castrations, eunuchs' medical problems, their deaths? Is it because eunuchs are perceived to be created beings who are ephemeral, who live outside the normal human life cycle of birth, reproduction, and death, with the result that these facets of their lives cannot be mentioned? What does all of this suggest about the Byzantines' attitudes about what is natural and unnatural, whether it is morally right to manipulate a mans' body and use it to create something new? Finally, what does it tell us about the Byzantines' attitude toward sexuality? If we are to judge by the presence of eunuchs in Byzantine society, sexuality is a privilege, not a right. It is something that can legitimately be dispensed with in order to achieve higher spiritual and aesthetic goals.

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Kathryn Ringrose’s

JesusA (imported) wrote: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:16 pm Another group of potential "natural eunuchs" includes individuals with the more severe forms of Klinefelter Syndrome. These men have the usual 47 chromosomes, but have an added X chromosome (47XXY). Today we know that about 1 in 1000 males are born with this genetic anomaly, and it is a disorder that accounts for 3% of male infertility. Men who are affected typically suffer from, in decreasing order of frequency: infertility, small testes, decreased facial hair, gynecomastia, (the development of small breasts) decreased pubic hair, and a small penis. They have unusually long legs and may have a feminized body. In adulthood, without diagnosis and androgen replacement therapy, they can suffer from loss of libido, decreased muscle bulk and tone, decreased bone mineral density, and a tendency to suffer from thromboembolism, diabetes and cardiovascular complications. Most of these symptoms match traits associated with eunuchs in our sources. In one regard, however, they do not resemble eunuchs, who are often presented as intellectually adept – men with Klinefelter Syndrome often suffer from cognitive deficits, especially in language comprehension, speech, and gross and fine motor coordination however, they do not resemble eunuchs, who are often presented as intellectually adept – men with Klinefelter Syndrome often suffer from cognitive deficits, especially in language comprehension, speech, and gross and fine motor coordination18

The problem with the quote above is that although it is mostly true, most individuals with Klinefelter's syndrome do NOT have most of the above symptoms but only one or a few per individual. Also many folks with XXY chromosomes may not have any of the above symptoms. Most such individuals are in fact not taller than their brothers nor do many have such cognitive deficits etc.