112
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Emmanouil Magiorkinis, Marianna Karamanou, Aristidis Diamantis, George Androutsos
Department of History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Athens University, Greece
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to present the status and functions of
eunuchs in Byzantium. Ancient Byzantine texts, as well as, con-
temporary reviews and articles were thoroughly studied. We were
able to address various subjects regarding the eunuchs in the
Byzantine Empire such as their role and their symbolic meaning as
well as the various types of eunuchs. Extended references were
found regarding the castration techniques, as well as medical ob-
servations regarding the modifications in males after castration,
and the attitude of the Christian church toward the barbaric prac-
tice. Overall, eunuchs played crucial roles during the course of
Byzantine History, although the Church did not approve the prac-
tice of castration, due to their close contact with the Royal Court.
Keywords
Byzantium, eunuchs, castration.
IntroDuctIon
Eunuchs were men which were intentionally castrated at an early
age. The main purpose of the castration was to make the man
suitable to perform a specific social function. For that purpose, eu-
nuchs were usually employed in the Middle East and China as
guards or servants in harems or other women's quarters and as
chamberlains to kings. The eunuchs' confidential position fre-
quently enabled them to exercise an important influence over their
royal masters. The long history of Byzantium teems with events
and happenings involving eunuchs who - acting either openly or
clandestinely behind the scenes - had an important impact on the
destiny of the Byzantine Empire.
the status and roles of eunuchs
in the Byzantine state
In Byzantium, eunuchs not only fulfilled all the functions of the
state, but a large number of important positions could legally be
held by eunuchs alone.1 The highest ranking aristocrats, sometimes
even the sons of emperors, became eunuchs to avoid important
functions being entrusted to foreigners.2 In Byzantium, when
someone wanted to ensure a successful career for their son, they
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had him castrated so that he could easily become a governor, am-
bassador, prime minister, stratge (general), admiral, patriarch, or
occupy some other honourable function. Only the position of
Basileus (King), a title that was used widely by Byzantine emperors,
was closed to eunuchs, since Jesus Christ was not an angel, and the
eunuchs were thought to represent the angels on this earth.
Byzantium eunuchs were top-ranking members of society, a rep-
utation which differed greatly in Rome where eunuchs, despite
their influence and wealth, were always considered inferior to the
poorest of free-born beggars. According to the rules of etiquette
of the time, all honourable ladies had to be chaperoned by eu-
nuchs when going to the hippodrome or for excursions into the
city. Even their confessors had to be eunuchs. The Orthodox
Church, contrary to the Roman church, accepted that eunuchs
take their vows and become priests. In general, Byzantine eunuchs
were cruel, fond of intrigue, ambitious, and debauched. Many eu-
nuchs drifted toward criminal tendencies that made them into
monsters, but some held unusually virtuous traits. The Byzantine
taste for eunuchs was a source of mockery from their enemies, and
accounts by contemporaries always described them as tormented
and disloyal. On reading such accounts, some historians see a form
of jealousy combined with their disdain.3
the role and symbolic meaning
of the eunuch in Byzantium
In Byzantium, the eunuchs represented the holy powers, from the
Christian point of view, and as therefore held a social standing well
above that of eunuchs in eastern countries. Eunuchs represented
angels on earth, important characters at a symbolic Gods court.
Their role was to lead, present, transform and transmit. They would
lead any visitors requesting an audience to the throne, present the
sacred ensigns of the crown to the Emperor, transform the pro-
fane warrior destined to reign as basileus into the image of Christ,
and finally transmit the orders and messages from the top of the
social ladder downward. It was the eunuchs responsibility to ac-
company the basileus to the Blachernes bath, where he bathed in
order to be reborn every eight days and to sing the basileus' praises
with the clear castrate voices in the churches of the city. These ac-
tions contained magical symbolism whose aim was to influence
the rhythm of the body and transform it into a divine image.4
113
Pretexts taken to justify castration
Originally, castration was performed on prisoners of war in order to
reduce their muscular strength and prevent them from having chil-
dren. Eventually the practice extended to common law prisoners
for the same reasons. Total castration was common place among
the Turks and the Chinese during that time.5 Originally, Byzantium
strongly opposed castration and even punished whoever per-
formed castration with the death penalty under the rule of Em-
peror Constantine the Great (270-337).
Contrary to popular myth, eunuchs were not guardians of the
harem; this role was much later assigned to them in the Muslim
world. Even Cleopatra liked to surround herself with eunuchs,
whose name comes from the Greek word. Later on, eunuchs un-
dertook other roles, such as the role of servants for the imperial
palaces since they were easier to domesticate and were more docile
in executing unpleasant tasks.
The vow of absolute chastity, required by certain religions,
brought about various instances of castration, as well as the pres-
ence, in some churches, of male singers with high soprano or con-
tralto voices at a time when women were not allowed to sing. The
medical profession was even responsible in some cases for the cas-
tration of both testicles, whereas there was a strong belief that the
practice was useful in treating leprosy.
the attitude of the church toward castration
The Christian church condemned castration from the beginning
and excommunicated anyone who took the decision to mutilate
themselves in order to preserve their chastity. The Eastern Church
did not exclude the rare cases of those who had been castrated by
force or who were eunuchs at birth. These rules were more or
less respected until the 12th century when the issue of choir-
singing arose. The church wanted soft, angelic, feminine sounding
voices, but women were not allowed to sing. To overcome the lack
of sopranos, castrates were accepted as religious singers by the
Byzantine Church, and later by the Roman Church. Shortly before
the fall of Constantinople by the Francs, the Byzantine Empire first
publicly used eunuch singers in church, as reported by Theodore
Balsamon in his comments on Nomocanon, in the 12th century.
The castrates came from poor families excited by the promising fu-
ture described to them. Eunuchs appeared in the choir of the Sis-
tine Chapel and became commonplace during the 17th century
despite being banned by Pope Clement XIV.
Some famous eunuchs
Narss (478-568 A.D.), a native of Persia, enjoyed great fame dur-
ing the reign of Justinian 1st (527-565 A.D.), thanks to the
favours of Empress Theodora, Justinians wife. He was a great
warrior, excelling during the war against the Ostrogoths (552
A.D.) and driving the Franks and the Alamans from Italy. Serving
as a patrice for the Italian government, Narss reorganized its ad-
ministration but fell out of favour under Justin II (565-578 A.D.)
and died destitute.6
Staurakios, served as a prime minister for the empress Irene,
wife of Leon IV (775-790 A.D.). Bestowed with great honours after
his victories over the Slavs, he was constantly the object of plots
organised by one of his fellow eunuchs, Aetios.
Samonas gained favour from Emperor Leon VI (886-912 A.D.)
after exposing an assassination plot against him in which he had
pretended to take part. He escaped the country taking his riches
with him and lived as an exile for 15 years (896-911 A.D.). After
being arrested he was subjected to no more than a few months
disgrace (904 A.D) and subsequently became even more power-
ful than ever. He nevertheless ended up in a monastery accused of
publishing a defamatory text against the emperor and was re-
placed at court by another eunuch.7
Joseph Bringas was a eunuch with a brilliant career under the
reign of Constantine VII (905-959 A.D.). Originally a slave, he be-
longed to the same family as one of the emperors enemies and
after noticing his worth, the emperor had him castrated, a mark
of honour at the time. Bringas was then able to gain access to the
highest ranking positions of the state including prime minister,
chancellor, and head of the Senate.8
Jean, a eunuch and monk, served the Byzantine emperor Ro-
manos III Argyros (1028-1034 A.D.). On Jeans request, the em-
peror also engaged Jeans brother, Michel, a man of outstanding
beauty. Empress Zoe fell in love with Michel, and Jean helped
him assassinate the emperor. The Machiavellian eunuch then en-
couraged Zoe (regent for her son) to marry Michel. After the
marriage, Jean held the true power in the empire. He was the
soul of the government and a source of terror for one and all,
particularly when he was drunk. Under his reign, torture,
death sentences, and exiles were daily fare. The empress finally
revolted against him.9
Different types of eunuchs
Contrary to popular belief, history has known several different types
of eunuch. Some may be surprised to hear adjectives such as
brave, daring, and tireless used to describe eunuchs. In-
variably these accounts, written by normal men, are followed
by the condescending phrase although a eunuch. One might
wonder whether such brave and tireless eunuchs were truly cas-
trated as we understand the term today in modern surgery, mem-
bri ablatione.10 Many historians have suggested that they were
more likely to be ridgels (ridglings), or half-castrates, still in posses-
sion of a sex drive. When one considers the key role played by the
caste of eunuchs in all walks of life, one might suspect that these
men had been subjected to an operation similar to those con-
ducted by Eugene Steinach, a famous Viennese physiologist who
suggested vasectomy as a method for castration during the World
War II, rather than a full castration. Although we cannot prove
this hypothesis, it could explain many things such as why such a
large number of non-degenerated eunuchs, with their genital qual-
ities preserved right through to old age, was reported throughout
the history of the Eastern empire. The most radical method, total
emasculation, consisted of the removal of both testicles and the
penis. A less radical method, suppression of testicular function,
could be obtained either by the removal or the barbaric crushing
of both testicles. The crushing procedure was described by Hip-
pocrates in Genitura. in which men were subjected the unfortunate
thlibiae (from the Greek: I crush, I smash). Another category
of eunuchs were the spadones (from the Greek: to fracture)
who had suffered an almost total testicular atrophy after a trau-

matic shock or an infection of the testicles, torsion of the spermatic
cord, or sectioning of the spermatic vessels. The spadones pre-
served their penis, and sexual contact could provide mutual satis-
faction, although sterile. Female members of aristocracy in Rome
were rather fond of spadones for their pleasure, as they carried no
risk of undesired consequences. In such cases, there was a form of
ejaculation, but not of semen but rather a prostatic liquid mixed
with secretions from the other glands. Female inhabitants of Byzan-
tium similarly used the spadones, a habit which explains the fre-
quency of alliances and cooperation between eunuchs and
empresses in plotting against the emperors, and the success of eu-
nuchs in high society. The last category of eunuchs were the
thlasiae (from the Greek: contusion) who suffered from atro- concluSIonS
phy of the testicles.11
castration-induced modifications to the body
Regardless of the age at which castration took place, the procedure
brought about major modifications to the body. Those who were
castrated before puberty were noted for their height because of
the elongation of their limbs. Such eunuchs also featured varied
secondary sexual characteristics such as a small penis, pale and
smooth scrotum, and little or no body hair.12 When castration took
place after puberty, eunuchs hair would become fine and thin,
their skin smooth and feminine, and their body hair would disap-
pear.13 Eunuchs were said to be physically weak and suffered a lack
of physical and intellectual activity. They had the reputation of
being mild, good with children and animals, loyal to their master
but not very brave. Some remained slim while others had a ten-
dency to get fat. They aged prematurely but never suffered from
gout and never became bald.14 As noted above, an ablation of the
testes caused the body to grow considerably, mainly seen in the
elongation of the lower and upper limbs. The average height of a
castrate was much taller than other individuals from the same eth-
nic group. But, castration stopped the development of the skull in
the three main dimensions, and eunuchs castrated before puberty
all had skull diameters smaller than normal individuals from the
same ethnic group, leading to an underlying reduction in the size
of the brain. Castration before puberty considerably increased the
width of the face and its total height above the average. Some re-
gions of the face did not seem to obey the general rules of growth
as shown by anthropometry with eunuchs showing in some cases
an increase, and in others a reduction in size.15 In addition to these
growth disorders, other physical alterations took place: absence of
voice-break, exceptionally smooth skin, early wrinkles, total ab-
sence of male body hair, chubby appearance, marked frontal si-
114
nuses, highly developed sella turcica of the sphenoid bone, under-
developed hyoid bone, wide pelvis, and early adiposity. At an ad-
vanced age, many eunuchs developed a large belly, stocky legs,
and occasional oedematous feet. In eunuchs castrated later in life,
the procedure did not modify their stature. It caused abnormal de-
velopment of the breasts and projection of the buttocks.16 Just like
their fellows who were castrated earlier, these eunuchs tended to
age very quickly. They suffered premature wrinkles and very quickly
started to look like old women. Their appearance, however, did
not prevent them from being admitted to the army and the ad-
ministrative services in Byzantium.
Eunuchs during the Byzantium had a high social status, since most
of them occupied crucial positions close to the Emperor and the
imperial court. Although castration was not approved officially by
the Orthodox Church males were castrated under various pre-
texts. A wide variety of methods used for castration were em-
ployed, whereas the symptoms and the physiologic changes were
well described.
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