The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified? Page: 6
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common misconception that early eunuchs were all merely "bedchamber attendants." In fact,
these eunuchs held many varieties of positions, including priests, scholars, physicians, ascetics,
and even as senior officials at the courts of both eastern and western rulers. At the court of
China's last emperor, over 2,000 eunuchs were employed. Although technically emasculated,
this did not stop the eunuchs from achieving positions of great power. In the Byzantine Empire,
they were able to rise to the very highest levels of the imperial hierarchy. These men held every
possible office, except for that of emperor himself. (Scholz 2001).
A significant promoter and said to be "inventor" of castration was Semiramis (Scholz).
She was an Assyrian queen in 9th century B.C. Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus stated
that:
finally [came] the throng of eunuchs, beginning with the old men and ending with the
boys, sallow and disfigured by the distorted form of their members; so that, wherever
anyone goes, beholding the troops of mutilated men, he would curse the memory of that
Queen Semiramis of old, who was the first of all to castrate young males... (Scholz 2001)
Queen Semiramis obviously did not actually "invent" the procedure of castration, yet
during her rule she personally promoted eunuchism. She surrounded herself with castrated
catamites (term for the young lover of an older man). She also became quite an astute
businesswoman through the selling of these eunuchs. She sold over 500 castrati to the Persians to
serve as catamites (Scholz 2001).
The history of Queen Semiramis is steeped in legend and myth, and the real story of her
life is seldom told, compared to the fantastical tales that surround her. The legends range from
being raised in the desert by doves, being the daughter of the goddess Atargatis. She was famed
to have had numerous lovers, and even for having many of them killed after a tryst to insure no
further complications. Semiramis has been immortalized in many artistic forms: literature,
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Sowle, Jennifer. The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified?, thesis, August 2006; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5343/m1/9/: accessed May 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .