The story of Tolotos - a man who has never seen a woman in his long life

The world cannot be imagined without women. They give us beauty, affection and tenderness, although they often create problems. But history knows a man who, having lived to a ripe old age, did not see a single woman. No, he was not blind from birth, he just spent his whole life in a place where it is strictly forbidden for females to appear.

Michalis Tholotos was born in Greece in 1856. His mother died immediately after giving birth, and no one ever saw his father. None of the relatives wanted to shelter the orphan, and the boy was taken to Mount Athos and left on the steps of the monastery. The monks did not leave the child to the mercy of fate and took him to their monastery. It was they who gave the name to the boy, whom no one bothered to name after birth.

Tholotos lived within the walls of the monastery all his life, 82 years. He never once left the district of the Holy Mountain, and therefore, in his entire long life, he did not see women. This seems to be fiction, but to believe it, you need to learn more about the Orthodox monasteries of Athos.

In the vicinity of Mount Athos there are 20 monasteries where ascetic monks live. They have vowed to abstain from all sense pleasures and strictly observe the rules. These are men of different nationalities and cultures, united by impeccable faith. Russian monks have been living on Mount Athos for over 1000 years. There are also Serbs, Greeks, Romanians and Bulgarians among the monastic brethren.

In 1060, a charter was adopted that allows only men to be present on Athos. This doesn't just apply to people. In the vicinity of the mountain, on an area of more than 336 square kilometers, it is forbidden to keep even female animals on farms. Nearby is the sea and women should not approach the shore closer than 500 meters. It is the largest territory without women in the world.

The monks take a vow of celibacy and the female presence is undesirable for them. Therefore, women are forbidden to visit the monasteries of Athos. The feet of the fair sex have not set foot on the territory of some monasteries for more than 1000 years. We can say that the whole of Athos is one big male monastery, living according to its own laws. Since there are no female pets in the area, this creates some problems. For example, eggs and dairy products have to be brought here.

Monks have many other restrictions as well. They are forbidden to argue and fight, as well as to be interested in events taking place in the outside world. All the inhabitants of the monasteries wear long beards, which are also not allowed to be shaved. This was done so that women could not get to Athos. Although it is doubtful that the ladies would want to sneak into this harsh male realm, devoid of the charms of worldly life.

Michalis Tolotos grew up in an Orthodox monastery and lived there all his life. During this time he did not see a single woman, but his case was special. Most of the monks came to Athos at a conscious age and saw women before taking the vows. Some were even married in a past life. Tholotos came to the monastery at the age of a few days and simply did not know what a woman was. His ideas about the opposite sex were based only on descriptions of the lives of Orthodox saints and martyrs. And in the images he saw only canonical icon-painting women.

The monk led a very righteous life. He was even more respected for the fact that he was not familiar with the fair sex. Tolotos died in 1938 at the age of 82. They buried him separately from other monks, as he was a special person. But women, despite the ban, still visited Athos. This happened during the civil war that engulfed Greece in 1946. Then, in search of a runaway herd of domestic animals, peasant women came to the sacred lands of the monasteries of Athos. History does not mention other cases.

The monks of Athos indulge in many things, but they live as a community. But a monk from Georgia has chosen the path of a hermit for himself and has been living on a rock alone for 20 years.