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The Man Who Lived His Entire Life Without Ever Meeting A Woman
A Greek monk had the unusual distinction of never meeting a woman in the 83 years that he lived
Women make up roughly half of the human population at any given time. Therefore, we all meet many ladies during the course of our lives. However, in one unusual case, a man named Michael Tolotos, who lived into his eighties, went his entire life without ever making the acquaintance of one of the fairer sex.
Tolotos was born in Greece in 1856. Sadly, his mother died just four hours after his birth. The orphan had no other known family, and in an act of mercy, just days old, he was abandoned on the steps of a Greek Orthodox monastery at the summit of Mount Athos.
The kind monks who took the baby in named him Mihailo (Michael) Tolotos. It was in their remote sanctuary where he was raised and ended up remaining for the rest of his long life.
Monks have lived in this particular area for more than 1,000 years, as one of 20 monasteries. They are inhabited by men who come from many different countries and backgrounds, but share a commonality in their new home — the embrace of an ascetic life, which means they reject all sensual pleasures.
To help maintain their way of life, a law enacted in 1060 A.D. banned all women from entering a 130 square mile region (including coming within 500 meters of the shoreline) where the monasteries are located. Incredibly, this measure is still active to this day.
To really drive home their priorities, female domestic animals are even banned by the monks. This causes the inconvenience of staple items like milk and eggs not being able to be produced onsite, so instead they have such groceries brought in regularly.
It was in this environment that Tolotos lived his entire life. He never knew anything else. Since it was not a place that attracted many visitors, there was never an opportunity for him to encounter a woman, especially in light of the rigid restrictions.
It is said that the only female presence that was permitted in the monastery was the Virgin Mary, who plays a pivotal role in their ideology. Thus, when Tolotos died in 1938 when he was 83, he had gone the entirety of his life without ever having had a live woman in his line of sight. His fellow monks confirmed their belief that he was the only grown man to have never seen a woman by giving him a special burial, reflecting his achievement of their values at a higher level than the others had been able to reach in their spiritual journey.
