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The Man Who Lived On Top Of A Pole For 37 Years
An early Christian practitioner lived an extreme lifestyle on his way to becoming famous and then a saint
Humans have always seemed to enjoy climbing. From clambering up trees as youngsters and scaling the world’s tallest mountains, we are seemingly always looking for something to ascend. There have also been more innocuous climbing fads, including pole sitting where people competed to see how long they could sit on top of poles without coming down. However, nearly two-thousand years before this became popular, an ancient Syrian man named Simeon Stylites gained renown for living on top of a pole for in excess of 37 years.
Simeon Stylites (AKA Symeon the Stylite; AKA Simeon Stylites the Elder) roughly translates in Greek to Simeon of the pillar(s). He was a Syrian acetic of the Christain faith, practicing severe self regulation and punishment in the name of achieving a higher spiritual experience. Born around 390 A.D., he lived to the relatively ripe old age of 69, passing away in September, 459 A.D.. He has the distinction of being recognized as a saint in the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches, and also the Roman Catholic church.
What made Simeon a model of purity was the way he denied himself comfort and pleasure. This was most…
