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"The shift in the literature toward a positive depiction of eunuchs was due to their sociopolitical rise in the ninth and tenth centuries. Court offices were opened to them and many came directly from the imperial oikos (house). Basil Lekapenos is the perfect example: an illegitimate son of an emperor-usurper, castrated and turned into an ideal servant and guardian of the imperial family. His status as eunuch rendered him loyal to the imperial oikos.
From this period dates one of the most elaborate descriptions of eunuchs: the tenth-century Life of St. Basil the Younger. Here again the image of the angels is formed on the basis of current perception of the court eunuch. In her entry into Paradise, the soul of Theodora, the servant of St. Basil the Younger, encounters the Lord seated on a throne and surrounded by angels:
"And as we proceeded further a little, where, behold, we saw a shining white throne, casting rays all around, and sending off in myriad of ways joys and pleasures to all standing there. For around the throne youths were present. [They were) most beautiful, with good height, like cypresses with lofty foliage, dressed in resplendent and awesome purple silk and linen, which cannot be expressed with human words."
The angels' appearance, stature, gait, and role in the celestial palace mirror the functions of eunuchs in the terrestrial court. As in the celestial court, access to the emperor passes through the rings of eunuchs surrounding his throne. This angelic guard is characterized with long and slender bodies, snowy white skin, and radiant garments of purple and gold. The image of these angels reveals the Byzantine perception of the ideal court eunuch: young, possessing extraordinary beauty, with radiant skin and hair, dressed in purple-golden silks and linens:

"We encountered in the awesome and intangible air floating over us a gold-embroidered skin spread like an unfolded scroll. In this skin were some beautiful youths, extraordinary in nature; they were beyond count, dressed in tongues of fire, and their hair was like lightning, their feet were like milk, and their faces like snow, or rather to say, shining more powerfully than light."

In this passage, the emphasis is on the whiteness and luster of the skin. Three types of covers are compared: the unfolded parchment, the silk, and the angelic skin, all three compete in their luster and shine. The same motif is picked up and elaborated in the description of the angels in the court of St. Basil the Younger in paradise:

"And this throne Ion which St. Basil the Younger sat] was green with a variety of shades, sending off rays of radiance through the palace, [the throne was] chiseled from the hand of the Creator and architect of everything. The saint ISt. Basil the Younger) dwells there among all these unutterable, unseen, inexpressible blessings and unspeakable gladness. Many youths, uncountable in number were rejoicing together with him, and feasting together with him, feeding on this miraculous and divine pleasure ... their faces were like rays of sun sending off radiance, filled with inexplicable sweetness and gladness, all of them laughing and conversing with one another with voices flowing in honey ....They were served by quite attractive youths, beautiful in face, white like snow, with hands and fingers, if one seeing them could say, as if made by frothing milk. They were dressed in red tunics, ineffably dyed, and filled with all possible beauty. As for their feet, they were white like snow. They were girdled with belts like loroi [a sash decorated with gems and pearls worn on specific festive occasions by the Byzantine emperor], having received the colors of the celestial rainbow and filled with radiance, and around their heads, they carried golden diadems most dignified and divergent in precious gems and pearls like rays of lightning."

It is the whiteness of the skin that carries the highest value in the image of the celestial eunuch-angel. The face, hands, fingers, and feet—all these parts of human flesh left exposed from the luxury garment, compete with the luster of the radiant silks, linens, and precious stones. The whiteness and radiance of the eunuch's skin is artfully juxtaposed to the resplendent cloth of his tunic, jeweled belt, and diadem. I will return to this elision of silk and skin in the ideal image of thd eunuch, because it sheds light on another and more important elision between animate and inanimate, between eunuch and box.
Angels in heaven play the same role that eunuchs perform in the earthly realm. But as Henry Maguire has observed, when the earthly court passes through the looking glass, it emerges changed in the celestial domain. The imperial vestments of the emperor on earth, especially his loros, reappear in the heavenly domain as the costume of eunuchs. For instance, the two angels on the lid and six of the angels flanking the cross in the interior of the box all wear the loros.
It is this subtle elision between imperial and celestial, between angel and eunuch and angel and emperor that surfaces on the Limburg Staurotheke. The angelic guard is visually imperially dressed and holds the orb and scepter of power. Yet despite its imperial attire, it takes on the role of eunuchs; guarding the sacred source, protecting the divine domain. Basil saw himself in this celestial angelic guard.
He was the protector of the throne and for decades defined imperial presence (965-985). Basil Lekapenos was in a sense a container of imperial power—a beautifully adorned box."

Containers of Power: Eunuchs and Reliquaries in Byzantium. Author(s): Bissera V. Pentcheva
Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics, 51: Spring 2007 by Francesco Pellizzi
***

Byzantine art

Angels appear in Byzantine art in mosaics and icons. Artists found some of their inspiration from winged Greek figures such as "Victory". They also drew from imperial iconography. Court eunuchs could rise to positions of authority in the Empire. They performed ceremonial functions and served as trusted messengers. Amelia R. Brown points out that legislation under Justinian indicates that many of them came from the Caucasus, having light eyes, hair, and skin, as well as the "comely features and fine bodies" desired by slave traders. Those "castrated in childhood developed a distinctive skeletal structure, lacked full masculine musculature, body hair and beards,...." As officials, they would wear a white tunic decorated with gold. Brown suggests that "Byzantine artists drew, consciously or not, on this iconography of the court eunuch".

(c) Wikipedia
***
The painting depicts the most important Byzantine court eunuchs.

Antiochus or Antiochos — (Greek: Ἀντίοχος, fl. 404–421) was an influential eunuch courtier and official of the Byzantine Empire.
According to the Byzantine chroniclers, he was of Persian origin, and had served originally under Narses, who occupied the post of chief minister (vuzurg framadhār) of the Sasanian Empire for almost the entire first half of the 5th century. He first appears in the Byzantine court in ca. 404. At the time he was a servant of the imperial bedchamber (cubicularius), and although young of age enjoyed the favour of emperor Arcadius (ruled 395–408). This allowed him to influence imperial policy, and gained him the post of tutor to the young heir to the throne, the future Theodosius II. He was, for many years, the prince's intimate companion.

Samonas —(Greek: Σαμῶνας, c. 875 – after 908) was an Arab-born eunuch, who was captured by the Byzantines and became one of the most influential officials of the Byzantine Empire during the first decade of the 10th century. He was patricius and parakoimomenos of Emperor Leo VI. He headed the army, and was the commander of counterintelligence and the emperor's bodyguards.

Chrysaphius Ztommas — (Greek: Χρυσάφιος) was a eunuch at the Eastern Roman court, who became the chief minister of Theodosius II (r. 408–450). Effectively the ruler of the empire during his ascendancy, he pursued a policy of appeasement towards the Huns. He was also favorite and lover of emperor Theodosius. "... the eunuch Chrysaphius, because of his personal beauty and winning manner, won the favor of Theodosius and acquired the art of bending the emperor to his will." Malalas.

Narses — one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the Roman reconquest that took place during Justinian's reign. A Romanized Armenian,Narses spent most of his life as an important eunuch in the palace of the emperors in Constantinople.

Basil Lekapenos — was a powerful eunuch and ruler of Byzantine empire. He was an illegitimate son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos who served as the parakoimomenos and chief minister of the Byzantine Empire for most of the period 947–985, under emperors Constantine VII, Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and Basil II. His mother was a slave woman of "Scythian" (possibly implying Slavic/Bulgarians) origin. (Lekapenos or Lakapenos was the name of a Byzantine family of humble, ethnic Armenian background, which intermarried with and almost managed to usurp the throne from the Macedonian dynasty in the first half of the 10th century.)

Eutropius — eunuch who became the most powerful figure in the Eastern Roman Empire under the emperor Arcadius (Eastern ruler 383–408). Probably he have Syrian origin. He successfully led a campaign against the Huns and obtained the title of consul.

Art and information gathering by Deva.

Description
"The shift in the literature toward a positive depiction of eunuchs was due to their sociopolitical rise in the ninth and tenth centuries. Court offices were opened to them and many came directly from the imperial oikos (house). Basil Lekapenos is the perfect example: an illegitimate son of an emperor-usurper, castrated and turned into an ideal servant and guardian of the imperial family. His status as eunuch rendered him loyal to the imperial oikos.
From this period dates one of the most elaborate descriptions of eunuchs: the tenth-century Life of St. Basil the Younger. Here again the image of the angels is formed on the basis of current perception of the court eunuch. In her entry into Paradise, the soul of Theodora, the servant of St. Basil the Younger, encounters the Lord seated on a throne and surrounded by angels:
"And as we proceeded further a little, where, behold, we saw a shining white throne, casting rays all around, and sending off in myriad of ways joys and pleasures to all standing there. For around the throne youths were present. [They were) most beautiful, with good height, like cypresses with lofty foliage, dressed in resplendent and awesome purple silk and linen, which cannot be expressed with human words."
The angels' appearance, stature, gait, and role in the celestial palace mirror the functions of eunuchs in the terrestrial court. As in the celestial court, access to the emperor passes through the rings of eunuchs surrounding his throne. This angelic guard is characterized with long and slender bodies, snowy white skin, and radiant garments of purple and gold. The image of these angels reveals the Byzantine perception of the ideal court eunuch: young, possessing extraordinary beauty, with radiant skin and hair, dressed in purple-golden silks and linens:

"We encountered in the awesome and intangible air floating over us a gold-embroidered skin spread like an unfolded scroll. In this skin were some beautiful youths, extraordinary in nature; they were beyond count, dressed in tongues of fire, and their hair was like lightning, their feet were like milk, and their faces like snow, or rather to say, shining more powerfully than light."

In this passage, the emphasis is on the whiteness and luster of the skin. Three types of covers are compared: the unfolded parchment, the silk, and the angelic skin, all three compete in their luster and shine. The same motif is picked up and elaborated in the description of the angels in the court of St. Basil the Younger in paradise:

"And this throne Ion which St. Basil the Younger sat] was green with a variety of shades, sending off rays of radiance through the palace, [the throne was] chiseled from the hand of the Creator and architect of everything. The saint ISt. Basil the Younger) dwells there among all these unutterable, unseen, inexpressible blessings and unspeakable gladness. Many youths, uncountable in number were rejoicing together with him, and feasting together with him, feeding on this miraculous and divine pleasure ... their faces were like rays of sun sending off radiance, filled with inexplicable sweetness and gladness, all of them laughing and conversing with one another with voices flowing in honey ....They were served by quite attractive youths, beautiful in face, white like snow, with hands and fingers, if one seeing them could say, as if made by frothing milk. They were dressed in red tunics, ineffably dyed, and filled with all possible beauty. As for their feet, they were white like snow. They were girdled with belts like loroi [a sash decorated with gems and pearls worn on specific festive occasions by the Byzantine emperor], having received the colors of the celestial rainbow and filled with radiance, and around their heads, they carried golden diadems most dignified and divergent in precious gems and pearls like rays of lightning."

It is the whiteness of the skin that carries the highest value in the image of the celestial eunuch-angel. The face, hands, fingers, and feet—all these parts of human flesh left exposed from the luxury garment, compete with the luster of the radiant silks, linens, and precious stones. The whiteness and radiance of the eunuch's skin is artfully juxtaposed to the resplendent cloth of his tunic, jeweled belt, and diadem. I will return to this elision of silk and skin in the ideal image of thd eunuch, because it sheds light on another and more important elision between animate and inanimate, between eunuch and box.
Angels in heaven play the same role that eunuchs perform in the earthly realm. But as Henry Maguire has observed, when the earthly court passes through the looking glass, it emerges changed in the celestial domain. The imperial vestments of the emperor on earth, especially his loros, reappear in the heavenly domain as the costume of eunuchs. For instance, the two angels on the lid and six of the angels flanking the cross in the interior of the box all wear the loros.
It is this subtle elision between imperial and celestial, between angel and eunuch and angel and emperor that surfaces on the Limburg Staurotheke. The angelic guard is visually imperially dressed and holds the orb and scepter of power. Yet despite its imperial attire, it takes on the role of eunuchs; guarding the sacred source, protecting the divine domain. Basil saw himself in this celestial angelic guard.
He was the protector of the throne and for decades defined imperial presence (965-985). Basil Lekapenos was in a sense a container of imperial power—a beautifully adorned box."

Containers of Power: Eunuchs and Reliquaries in Byzantium. Author(s): Bissera V. Pentcheva
Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics, 51: Spring 2007 by Francesco Pellizzi
***

Byzantine art

Angels appear in Byzantine art in mosaics and icons. Artists found some of their inspiration from winged Greek figures such as "Victory". They also drew from imperial iconography. Court eunuchs could rise to positions of authority in the Empire. They performed ceremonial functions and served as trusted messengers. Amelia R. Brown points out that legislation under Justinian indicates that many of them came from the Caucasus, having light eyes, hair, and skin, as well as the "comely features and fine bodies" desired by slave traders. Those "castrated in childhood developed a distinctive skeletal structure, lacked full masculine musculature, body hair and beards,...." As officials, they would wear a white tunic decorated with gold. Brown suggests that "Byzantine artists drew, consciously or not, on this iconography of the court eunuch".

(c) Wikipedia
***
The painting depicts the most important Byzantine court eunuchs.

Antiochus or Antiochos — (Greek: Ἀντίοχος, fl. 404–421) was an influential eunuch courtier and official of the Byzantine Empire.
According to the Byzantine chroniclers, he was of Persian origin, and had served originally under Narses, who occupied the post of chief minister (vuzurg framadhār) of the Sasanian Empire for almost the entire first half of the 5th century. He first appears in the Byzantine court in ca. 404. At the time he was a servant of the imperial bedchamber (cubicularius), and although young of age enjoyed the favour of emperor Arcadius (ruled 395–408). This allowed him to influence imperial policy, and gained him the post of tutor to the young heir to the throne, the future Theodosius II. He was, for many years, the prince's intimate companion.

Samonas —(Greek: Σαμῶνας, c. 875 – after 908) was an Arab-born eunuch, who was captured by the Byzantines and became one of the most influential officials of the Byzantine Empire during the first decade of the 10th century. He was patricius and parakoimomenos of Emperor Leo VI. He headed the army, and was the commander of counterintelligence and the emperor's bodyguards.

Chrysaphius Ztommas — (Greek: Χρυσάφιος) was a eunuch at the Eastern Roman court, who became the chief minister of Theodosius II (r. 408–450). Effectively the ruler of the empire during his ascendancy, he pursued a policy of appeasement towards the Huns. He was also favorite and lover of emperor Theodosius. "... the eunuch Chrysaphius, because of his personal beauty and winning manner, won the favor of Theodosius and acquired the art of bending the emperor to his will." Malalas.

Narses — one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the Roman reconquest that took place during Justinian's reign. A Romanized Armenian,Narses spent most of his life as an important eunuch in the palace of the emperors in Constantinople.

Basil Lekapenos — was a powerful eunuch and ruler of Byzantine empire. He was an illegitimate son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos who served as the parakoimomenos and chief minister of the Byzantine Empire for most of the period 947–985, under emperors Constantine VII, Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and Basil II. His mother was a slave woman of "Scythian" (possibly implying Slavic/Bulgarians) origin. (Lekapenos or Lakapenos was the name of a Byzantine family of humble, ethnic Armenian background, which intermarried with and almost managed to usurp the throne from the Macedonian dynasty in the first half of the 10th century.)

Eutropius — eunuch who became the most powerful figure in the Eastern Roman Empire under the emperor Arcadius (Eastern ruler 383–408). Probably he have Syrian origin. He successfully led a campaign against the Huns and obtained the title of consul.

Art and information gathering by Deva.