To what end would you chase down a job? Well believe it or not, back in the day some guys were prepared to lose their manhood in order to work! Seriously. Two thousand years ago, securing a position as a eunuch was seen as a plum role. Except that as a condition of employment, any contract had to be signed off with castration. Yep, the "family jewels" would be handed over in exchange for a career that usually involved safeguarding the chastity of women. Incredibly though, a eunuch could end up wielding immense power and influence, even over the person who hired him in the first place, and the applications rolled in. But why would a man sacrifice the pleasures of the flesh for a vocation like this, and what were the long-term prospects?
Click through and read up on the eye-watering history of the eunuch.