Achaemenid court eunuchs in their Near Eastern context: images in the longue durée

• Published in: Anais do Museu Paulista Vol. 31; pp. 1 - 37
• Main Author: Araujo, Matheus Treuk Medeiros de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Museu Paulista, Universidade de São Paulo 21-12-2023; Universidade de São Paulo, Museu Paulista
• Subjects: Achaemenid Empire; Eunuchs; Gender; HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY; Monumental Reliefs; Neo-Assyrian Empire; Monumental Reliefs; Império Aquemênida; Relevos monumentais; Império Neoassírio; Eunucos; Gênero; Achaemenid Empire; Gender; Neo-Assyrian Empire; Eunuchs
• ISSN: 0101-4714; 1982-0267; 1982-0267
• DOI: 10.11606/1982-02672023v31e34

This study aims to compare some images of beardless attendants in monumental reliefs from the Achaemenid (c. 550-330 BCE) and Neo-Assyrian (c. 911-612 BCE) empires, which we consider relevant sources for the study of court eunuchs and cultural conceptions about castrati. We argue that such comparisons are possible since eunuchism was a long-standing institution in the Ancient Near East, as shown by several analogies with the Assyrian evidence. We also argue that scholars have downplayed the importance of court eunuchs due to gender/sex assumptions based on Western and modern perspectives that consider eunuchism incompatible with high-ranking social standing. With these theoretical considerations in mind, we finally sketch some possible analytical proposals to explore the images of beardless attendants in Persia and Assyria.