Eunuch

A eunuch is a human male whose testicles have either been removed or are non-functional. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 21st century B.C. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures such as military commanders, singers, religious specialists, government officials, and even guardians of women.

Related Topics:
Testicle - Castration - Sumerian - Lagash

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The castration most frequently involved only the testes, but might also include removal of the penis. The methods used varied across time and space. There have been some exaggerated reports of high mortality from the surgery, but the best documented rates are no higher than for other surgery at the time, e.g., about 3 to 5% for removal of both testes and penis in Qing Dynasty China. The highest well-documented mortality rate was when 329 of 1,565 boys from the Miao tribe in southern China died when they were castrated after defeat in battle during the early Ming Dynasty ? a death rate of 20%.

Related Topics:
Penis - Qing Dynasty - Miao - Ming Dynasty

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The English word eunuch is from the Greek eune ("bed") and ekhein ("to keep"), effectively "bed keeper." Servants or slaves were usually castrated in order to make them a safer servant of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence?seemingly simple functions such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, or even relaying messages could impart great power on the servant. Eunuchs generally did not have loyalties to the military, the aristocracy, or to a family of their own, and were thus seen as more trustworthy and less interested in establishing a competing dynasty. Because their condition lowered their social status, they could also be easily replaced or killed without repercussion. In cultures that had both harems and eunuchs, eunuchs were sometimes used as harem guards.

Related Topics:
Greek - Bed - Slave - Harem

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Eunuchs were also valued and trained in several cultures for their exceptional voices, which retained a childlike and other-worldly flexibility and pitch. Such eunuchs were known as castrati.

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