Question: Eunuchs, and how they came about?

So for a bit of context beyond the usual 'title is the question', firstly know that I'm not well educated, I'm astoundingly average at best.

Insofar as I've read and learned; eunuchs were very seldom the product of willful volunteering and that it was more used as a form of capital punishment than anything to be celebrated or such.

If anyone better schooled could take a few minutes out of their day to educate an idiot I'd appreciate it.
 
Neutering various domesticated farm ranch and war animals goes back a very long time. Consider the horse. Some stallions were just non controllable or trainable. Too darn wild. We had such. But ... after they were cut, (gelded) which is removing the testicles after just a few months the now gelding, (not stallion anymore) mostly became a more docile trainable but still mostly spirited animal. Since horse geldings were usually larger than mares and did not come into season once a month or so geldings made much better overall useful horses.

Human male slaves may or may not have been neutered. Depended upon the time and culture. War captive soldiers sometimes had the choice of being neutered or put to death and then slavery. Some choice but there it was. Some big powerful male slaves were gelded just as a matter of choice. Harum (sp?) male guards usually were eunuchs only they usually cut away ALL external male parts. Eliminated many potential problems. Gelded males tended, (not always) to make better more docile slaves. Sometimes even paid retainers. Wow.

Short version. I am sure others will contribute more or make corrections.
 
Other instances of castrated males. BTW castration is removal of the testicles, castration plus penectomy is the removal of all of the "junk". In China the royal eunuchs had a great deal of influence, one of the famous Chinese admirals (can't recall the name) who explored as far as Africa was a eunuch. Harem guards/servants, well the reason for castration +/- penectomy is pretty obvious.(1) Another reason for eunuchs is that since they could not have children, they would (supposedly) have more loyalty to their leader and be less threat to try and advance their family - no nepotism. In Italy in particular you had the castrati, boys with good voices castrated before puberty so they maintained their soprano voices. Since talented castrati were celebrated and wealthy, boys with good voices were often given by their families for this. There is somewhere out there a recording of the last castrati - an early recording of poor quality but... The church was often the "employer" of these castrati.

Because of the privileged positions of eunuchs in some societies, a fair number were either volunteers or volunteered by their parents. ZOf course war prisoners and slaves made up the bulk of the eunuchs.

(1) If one is castrated before puberty the penis does not grow, and the sex drive is low. For those castrated in adulthood, sex drive is retained although diminished and one can have erections - hence harem guards losing everything so even intercourse without possibility of offspring is prevented.
 
Top