Sexual Temptations in Early Byzantine Collective Biographies

Sexual Temptations in Early Byzantine Collective Biographies

By Dr Andria Andreou, Centre for Medieval Arts and Rituals, UCY

In our modern view, early Christian ascetics who renounced everything in their worldly life to recede in the depths of the desert must have earned their golden ticket for salvation. However, as suggested by saint Anthony’s famous temptations, their lives were far more complicated. Ascetics who chose a life in the desert welcomed a number of hardships that came hand in hand with their ascetic vocation.

The admirable life of desert Fathers (and some Mothers) is the subject of two early Byzantine collections of tales described by some scholars as ‘collective biographies’. The first is the anonymous fourth-century History of the Monks in Egypt (HME), while the second is the fifth-century Lausiac History (LH) composed by Palladios of Hellenopolis. The tales included in these collections focus on the remarkable feats of ascetics in terms of diet, bodily practices, teachings, miraculous powers, and temptations. One of the most difficult temptations that these figures have to overpass is sexual temptation which often becomes an imminent and severe threat to their virtuous lives. This blog post explores the ways in which sexual temptations are depicted in HME and LH and how ascetics fight against them. In the fight against sexual temptations a critical role is played by both the mind and body of those tempted that have to be purified or corrected, following a ritualistic process of chastisement.

As ascetics struggle to explain what happens to them, they seem to contemplate on the way sexual temptation is materialised. Father Pachon, an ascetic in the LH explains the triple form sexual temptations assume. Pachon says: ‘The battle with porneia has three aspects: sometimes the flesh, being robust, afflicts us, sometimes the passions through our thoughts, sometimes the demon himself does it by malign influence’ (LH ch. 23.2; tr. Wortley 2015, 63). The facets of sexual temptations brought to the fore by Pachon, namely the arousal of the flesh, the phantasies, and the external attacks machinated by demons are often intertwined in the narratives under discussion. Naturally, younger ascetics are more prone to the first facet of sexual temptation, while the other two are age unrelated.

But what does it feel like to be trialled by sexual temptations? Sexual temptations are usually experienced as burning sensations or as a repeated series of dreams and phantasies, tormenting both mind and flesh. For example, a certain Moses is reported in the LH to be gravely tormented by the craving of sex despite vigorous exercise: ‘Although he afflicted his miserable body, he was still burning up and subject to dreams’ (LH, ch. 19.6; tr. Wortley 2015, 50). Sexual temptations are thus presented as brutal attacks against the ascetic vocation and as one of the ascetics’ hardest battles. Since both mind and body are involved in the experience of sexual temptation, there is an unwritten ‘prescription’, followed by the most pious ascetics: to chastise both body and mind. Father Isidore tells the said Moses: ‘A dog habitually in at a butcher’s does not go far away, but if the butcher’s is closed and nobody gives him anything, he does not hang around anymore. So it is with you; if you remain constant, the devil becomes bored and has to go away from you’ (LH, ch. 19.6; tr. Wortley 2015, 49). After this Moses ‘engages in a more severe spiritual discipline’ (LH ch. 19.6; tr. Wortley 2015, 49). He cuts down food portions and prays incessantly. Similar advice is given to other ascetics that suffer by sexual temptations. This unwritten ‘rule’ for purifying one’s flesh and mind that is followed and repeated by so many ascetics in a number of tales creates a type of ritual with many forms. Namely the ascetic’s body and mind are repeatedly involved in a strict chastisement which can differ from tale to tale, but it is nevertheless based on the same general rule, that of disciplining one’s mind and body.

In fact, the ascetics’ compliance with a ritualised purification entails a certain reaction to the temptation which divides the ascetics into two broad categories: the ascetics who overcome the temptation and those who are unable to do so. The ascetics who belong to the first category move a step toward salvation, whereas those of the second category fall into the pit of spiritual destruction. Notably enough, the materialisation of and reaction to sexual temptation appears to be gender-specific in the examined collections. It mostly appears as a male battle. In the rare examples that sexual temptations concern female ascetics, there is a focus on either these women’s effort to preserve their virginity that is threatened by rape or on the loss of their chastity. A case in point is an anonymous virgin from the LH who being overcome by the passion of pride does not manage to fight against her sexual temptation. As the storyteller remarks,

I also knew a spinster in Jerusalem who wore sackcloth for six years and lived enclosed, taking nothing of what might contribute to her pleasure, but subsequently she was abandoned for excessive pride and met with a fall. Opening her window, she admitted the man who looked after her and made love with him. For she was not keeping to her spiritual discipline following a godly purpose and love for God, but as a human display, composed of vainglory and an impure intention. As her thoughts were occupied in passing judgment on others, the guardian of continence was not in her (LH, ch. 28; tr. Wortley 2015, 70).

The passage is telling as regards the reasons the virgin finally gave in to her temptation. She was preoccupied with ‘showing off’ her virtue. This deprived her of the divine assistance that would support her in fighting against sexual temptation. The loss of her continence and virginity is presented as an act of carelessness. There is no explanation in the tale concerning what triggered her sexual temptation and what she did after she lost her chastity.

Fig. 1: Susanna spied upon by the Elders; the bath of Susanna, Sacra Parallela, Rome (?), after 843 (?). Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 923, fol. 373v (© BnF Paris). Source: here

In the case of male protagonists, on the other hand, there are detailed depictions of sexual temptations attacking them provoking their strong reaction. An illustrative example is Ammonios, an ascetic from the LH. The following account is given about him. ‘He never spared himself when delight in his flesh rose up to attack him. He would apply a red-hot iron to his members, with the result that he was always scarred’ (LH, ch. 11.4; tr. Wortley 2015, 26). As Ammonios’ story shows, male ascetics often attempt to apply the ritual of chastising the flesh in extreme ways so as to fight-off sexual temptations. They attack their flesh in repetitive acts of inflicting harm, with the aim of disabling their bodies and minds from experiencing the temptation. Another case in point is the above-mentioned Moses. Continuously tormented by sexual thoughts, Moses adds to the said deprivation of food and incessant prayer sleep deprivation for six years and the filling of other ascetics’ water bowls for an additional amount of time (LH, ch. 19.5). In this manner, Moses chastises his flesh and mind with the intention of exhausting them and keeping them busy and away from harmful thoughts and phantasies.

In the tales discussed so far, the ascetics in question perform a ritualistic behaviour to fight against a temptation that already inflicts their body and mind. But what happens when the temptation is just at the door, machinated by a demon? In this case, there is another way through which ascetics can effectively combat temptation. This concerns attacking not their own body, but the body of their attacker, that is the demon, saving their own bodies and minds from experiencing the temptation. Let us take a closer look into the depiction of such attacks.

Demons in the discussed collections assume many forms – they appear as fire (e.g. LH ch. 18), animals (LH ch. 19), God (e.g. LH, ch. 25) or humans (e.g. HME, ch.1; LH ch. 16). When tempting an ascetic toward fornication, however, their preferred ‘costume’ is that of a beautiful woman. An example from the HME demonstrates the reaction of an ascetic named Apelle, who remained chaste despite the alluring attack: ‘One day when he happened to be forging utensils for the monks, the devil came to him in the guise of a woman. In his zeal he snatched up a red hot piece of iron from the fire with his bare hands, and badly seared her face and whole body’ (HME ch. 13.1, tr. Russel 1981, 93). The passage is telling, in that it showcases the very combative stance of abba Apelle who, this time does not turn against his own body, but turns instead against the demon’s borrowed body. Normally, ascetics are characterised by extreme patience and endurance against various temptations and demonic attacks. However, as this example also highlights, ascetics might directly engage in physical battle with the demon’s personification. Apelle jumps into a frontal attack, targeting exactly what is dangerous for his chastity – the beauty of the woman’s face. By destroying what could tempt him, Apelle can safely return to his vocation.

Not all these tales, however, come to a happy end. The same temptation with the said Apelle is also experienced by another unnamed monk in the HME, whose story is narrated by John of Lycopolis:

There was a monk […] who lived in […] the nearer desert […]. Then the Tempter […] presented him the image of a beautiful woman lost in the desert. Finding the door open she darted into the cave, and throwing herself at the man’s knees begged him to give her shelter […]. He […] received her as a guest in his cave […]. She kept on talking to him for some time, and somehow gently enticed him to fall in love with her. The conversation became much freer, and there was laughter and hilarity. With so much talking she led him astray. Then she began to touch his hand and beard and neck. And finally she made the ascetic her prisoner. As for him, his mind seethed with evil thoughts as he calculated that the matter was already within his grasp, and that he had the opportunity and the freedom to fulfil his pleasure. He then consented inwardly and in the end tried to unite himself with her sexually. He was frantic by now, like an excited stallion eager to mount a mare. But suddenly she gave a loud cry and vanished from his clutches, slipping away like a shadow. And the air resounded with a great peal of laughter. It was the demons who had led him astray. (HME, ch. 1.32–35; tr. Russel 1981, 56–57).

Fig. 2: Outstretched hand of an elderly woman
Source: here

While Ammonios and Moses attack their own bodies and Apelle prevents the tempting effect by the fierce attack against the demon’s body, this ascetic gives in. He admits the beautiful woman into his cell and because of their close contact he is gradually de-humanised, reaching the state of a rampage stallion. In specific, this ascetic presents some similarities with the prideful virgin mentioned above in that he completely trusts in himself and becomes careless, but he also differs from her in that his sexual temptation is portrayed in detail. His inability to withstand and purify his flesh compromises both his spiritual advancement and his humanity. Brought down to shame, he is greatly ridiculed by the demons, who laugh at him and enjoy their achievement. Eventually, this tale works as a warning against admitting women into ascetic cells or maintaining any contact with women whatsoever, as John of Lycopolis emphatically advises his listeners. Conversing with them can give rise to tempting memories and make one vulnerable (HME, ch 1.36). In other words, allowing one’s body to experience worldly pleasures and trusting it can lead an ascetic onto a treacherous path.

Even those who give in to sexual temptations, however, can apply corrective measures through a ritual of chastising the flesh. The unnamed ascetic who is ridiculed by demons spends the rest of his life in strict ascesis. But what happens if those tempted do not want to repent for their sin? In such cases, there is a ‘forced’ way to do so. ‘Forced correction’ features in another tale included in the LH, with abba Innocent, priest of the Mount of Olives as its protagonist. Innocent cursed his son to become possessed after the latter had sex with the daughter of a priest, ‘thinking it better for him to fight with a demon than with a licentious nature’ (LH, ch. 44.2; tr. Wortley 2015, 105–106). In this example Innocent’s son could not chastise his body and mind on his own. Innocent thus decides that it is better in spiritual terms to inflict possession on his son, so that the latter is chastised for the sexual sin he committed. Possession thus acts as a preventative and corrective measure against sexual sins. It is a ‘forced’ purification effected through prayer. This is not the only case where sexuality is restricted via physical inability. An unnamed priest lies disfigured outside the cell of Macarios, the miracle performer who does not undertake to heal the man. As Makarios explains, this disease was sent to the priest because of his sexual incontinence so that his soul might be healed. Hence, the attack to the body is in this case materialised through his bodily deformation, which acts as a disciplinary measure against the priest’s inability to control his sexual urges.

This brief examination constitutes an attempt to present forms of sexual temptations and their treatment in a couple of early Byzantine collective biographies. In order to achieve a better understanding of temptations in such texts, further investigation is, of course, needed. This investigation could be of comparative nature, targeting more collections of tales and more types of temptations. Nevertheless, this presentation has paved avenues of approach regarding the manner sexual temptations were understood in early monastic literature. First, sexual temptations involve both body and mind. Second, there is a gender specific treatment in the depiction of sexual temptations and the protagonists’ reactions. Third, overcoming sexual temptation follows a ritual of purification of both mind and body. This ritual involves chastising the body, either in an optional or forced way. If a demonic power is involved, attacking the body of the demon might also be a workable option.

Fig. 3: Walking man in the desert
Source: here

This post draws on some of the results of a research project, entitled ‘Telling and Listening to Stories: Narrative, Ritual, and Community in Early Monastic Tale Collections’ (StoRiCom; PI Stavroula Constantinou), which is taking place under the auspices of the Centre for Medieval Arts & Rituals of the University of Cyprus and with the funding of the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation (2022-2024).

Bibliography

Sources and Translations

History of the Monks in Egypt (BHG 1433–1434). In Historia monachorum in Aegypto, ed. by André Jean Festugière, Subsidia Hagiographica 34 (Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1971)

Palladios of Hellenopolis, Lausiac History (BHG 1435–1438). In The Lausiac History of Palladius, ed. by Dom Cuthbert Butler (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Russel, Norman (tr.), The Lives of the Desert Fathers, Monastic Studies 4 (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 1981)

Wortley, John (tr.), Palladius of Aspuna: The Lausiac History (Collegeville, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2015)