The origin legends created by the ancient Greeks include the most frequent surgeries in human history.
In ancient Greek mythology, Uranos represented the heavens, the first king of the gods, the first ruler of the universe. Uranos united with Gaia, mother of the earth, and gave birth to a bunch of children.
The narrow-tempered Uranos was always worried that his children would one day surpass themselves and become kings of the gods. As a result, Uranos banished his children to the underworld and imprisoned them.
Later, the youngest son, Kronos, escaped with the help of his mother Gaia. Kronos used his scythe to cut off the "words" of his father, Uranos, seizing power and becoming the second king of the gods. This event was called "the seizure of the throne by the sickle" by the ancient Greeks.
Uranos' "Words" were cut off and thrown into the sea, where the foam of the splash of the sea gave birth to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. So it can also be assumed that Aphrodite was the daughter of Uranos.
After Kronos became the second king of the gods, he was also afraid that his children would threaten his throne, so he swallowed his own children in his stomach...
If we look at the values of man today, the gods of ancient Greece were cruel and selfish.
(According to ancient Greek mythology, Zeus, king of the gods, Poseidon, Hades, the god of the sea, Hades, and Hera the Queen of Heaven were all children of Kronos.) ）
The youngest son, Zeus, was transferred by his mother to pose as a baby with a stone and let Kronos swallow it. Zeus grew up killing his father and becoming the third king of the gods.
Ancient Greek mythology actually reflected ancient Greek civilization as well. In ancient Greek civilization, there has always been a culture of father-killing and castration.
Initially, castration was a rather dangerous procedure aimed at punishing or subjugating the enemy, and even in ancient China and parts of the Far East, castration was seen as an alternative to beheading prisoners.
Due to poor medical conditions, the chances of castration leading to blood loss and death or gas gangrene were very high a long time ago.
By 2,500 years ago, during the time of the ancient Greek city-states and the Warring States of China, humans seemed to have mastered the science of castration—no longer a high-lethal procedure.
According to records, on the ancient Greek island of Chios in the eastern Aegean Sea, there was a man named Panionius, who became rich by castration, and the object of surgery was basically a slave.
This at least shows two problems: First, Panionius's surgery is very clever, so there will be slave owners who will find him to operate on their slaves, and the more the operations are done, the more money they make. Second, it turned out that many slaves in ancient Greece were castrated.
It is said that Panionius once operated on a slave. The slave was later sold to Persia. Unexpectedly, this slave became an eunuch in the Persian court and became a confidant of King Xerxes.
In retaliation for Panionius, the slave sent men to capture the Panionius family. Forced Old Pan to castrate his four sons, Xiao Pan. Then he forced his four sons, Xiao Pan, to castrate Old Pan.
You see, this story implies both the father-killing and castrated culture of ancient Greece.
In Western history, eunuchs did play an important role. In the courts of the Roman Empire, Arabia, and Byzantium, eunuchs enjoyed certain privileges and certain powers. They tend to be influential people with high social status, serving as diplomatic envoys, managing the country's finances, and even holding general positions.
Castration was also fairly common in the history of the Roman Empire.
In the 9th century, Michael II killed Leo V to become Emperor of Byzantium. In order to cut the grass and remove the roots, Michael II ordered that several of Leo V's sons be castrated, one of whom died of excessive blood loss and the other was frightened into a fool.
The 25th Emperor of the Roman Empire, Auribrius, had a homosexual who ordered surgeons to castrate homosexuals. Auribuus was arguably the most absurd Roman emperor, and he was later killed by the Janissaries.
It is said that for the royal family, if the king is surrounded by a large number of eunuchs, it can maintain the mystery of the royal family to some extent.
In Byzantium under Christianity, eunuchs are even considered symbolic of an extension of the story of biblical origins. The Bible describes Adam as creating a woman with one of his ribs, but the Byzantines went a step further and created a non-male and non-female "genderless" through another procedure.
In the 18th century, castration (castrated tenor) was popular in Europe. They are superstars in Italy's opera houses, and their high-pitched and clear voices have captivated many audiences.
The most famous castration at that time was probably Farinelli, who was castrated at a young age for having a beautiful voice. He has performed in Rome, Vienna, London, Paris and Madrid. At the peak of his career, the range can span three octaves!
In Spain, his voice brought great appease to the melancholy king, making him willing to grant him the office of minister.
Of course, Farinelli's success did not come entirely from castration, but from the beautiful voice he was born with.
At that time, many more children were castrated but failed to sing and take center stage. Farinelli is at the top of the pyramid, and below him are countless poor people...