ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters have focused on those eunuchs who were employed by later Roman and Byzantine rulers, either as servants at court or as officials in the imperial administration. However, eunuchs in later Roman and Byzantine society were not just confined to these positions. They are, for instance, also found as teachers and singers, but especially as religious figures, such as clergy, monks and even saints. They achieved these roles in spite of the fact that the church frowned upon self-castrates serving as clergy, and that a general hostile attitude towards eunuchs could exist. This chapter will illustrate the common existence of religious eunuchs in the later Roman and Byzantine empires, focusing especially on the latter. It will also explore the tension in attitudes towards religious eunuchs, which was polarised between antipathy and admiration. Finally, it will show that the secular and religious worlds were not mutually exclusive. Not only was religion of concern to eunuchs who were secular officials, but there were religious eunuchs who became court officials, court eunuchs who became religious figures, and religious eunuchs who also held office at court.
