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The man who lived for 82 years died without ever knowing what a woman looked like

Written by on April 24, 2024

A man who lived for 82 years died without ever knowing what a woman looked like.

According to UniLad, Mihailo Tolotos, from Halkidiki, Greece, only learned about the existence of women from peers, as well as through descriptions in books.

He is thought to have been born in 1856, but shortly after giving birth to him, his mother passed away and left Tolotos an orphan.

He was adopted by Orthodox Monks at a monastery on Mount Athos in Greece, where he was raised by monks.

Tolotos lived by the strict rules in place in the area, one of which was that there were no women allowed.

Mihailo Tolotos, from Halkidiki, Greece, who lived for 82 years died without ever knowing what a woman looked like

Laws forbidding women and domestic animals, such as cows or sheep, from entering the Mount have existed since the 10th century and are still in force today.

The reason behind this rule was to ensure that all the monks living in all the monasteries of Mount Athos could fulfil their requirement to stay celibate for their entire life.

However, he could have ventured into the wider world and could have easily come across a member of the opposite sex but the decades Tolotos never left Mount Athos.

Meet Mihailo Tolotos, a man who had never seen a woman in person during his  entire life. He lived as a monk in Halkidiki, Greece until the age of 82.  His mother

Tolotos died in 1938 at the age of 82 after never being curious enough to leave his home.

The monk was even given a special burial by all the monks living at Mount Athos who believed that he was the only man in the world to have died without knowing what a woman looked like.

Tolotos’ death was recognised in a newspaper article which noted that women weren’t the only thing he had never laid his eyes on.

He apparently had never seen a car, an airplane or had never even seen a movie.

 

The Edinburgh Daily Courier newspaper clipping dated October 29, 1938, read: 'Monk dies in Greece without ever seeing woman'

The Edinburgh Daily Courier newspaper clipping dated October 29, 1938, read: ‘Monk dies in Greece without ever seeing a woman.

‘Without ever seeing a woman in the 82 years of his life, Mihailo To- loto has died in Mount Athos Monastery, in Greece.

‘Neither had he beheld an automobile, a movie or an aeroplane. His mother died when he was born, Athens reports, and he was brought up in the monastery, where no woman ever enters.’

Today, Mount Athos is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts thousands of visitors every year, many of whom are drawn to its rich history and spiritual traditions.

However women still can not enter, In recent years, the Avaton rule has been the subject of controversy with some arguing that it is discriminatory and outdated.

Mount Athos is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts thousands of visitors every year

The community includes 20 monasteries house around 2,000 Eastern Orthodox monks from around the world.

17 out of the 20 monasteries are Greek and the other 3 are Serbian, Bulgarian and Russian.

 

 


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