Women’s rights have come a long way in the last thousand years.
However, there is still a part of Greece where women are not allowed to step foot.
Mount Athos is located at the easternmost tip of the three peninsulas that make up Chalcidice,
Greece.
Its history is long and somewhat unbelievable.
For over 1,000 years it has been home to orthodox monks who live by strict rules.
As you can probably guess, the rule forbidding women was for the benefit of the monks to
remove temptation, but there is much more to this law than meets the eye.
Human females are not the only ones who are forbidden to come within 500 meters of Mount
Athos.
The rule includes keeping out females of any kind, including animals.
But before we can understand why this crazy law was put into place, we must travel back
in time to the founding of Mount Athos and uncover the deeper reason why women have been
banned from this area of the world.
Mount Athos consists of 20 monasteries.
The Mount itself is around 130 square miles in size, making it the largest area of the
world where women are legally not allowed.
There are over 2,000 monks from around the planet currently residing on Mount Athos,
but the first monastery was started long ago by only a handful of individuals.
These first monks were on the run from the Roman Empire during the first century.
At the time, being Christian in a pagan world could be dangerous.
Christians were tortured, thrown in arenas, and crucified for their beliefs.
Mount Athos allowed Christians a place to escape persecution due to its isolation.
However, it wouldn’t be until many centuries later that the first monasteries were built
and the monks officially gained control of the area.
In 963 St. Athanasius the Athonite pleaded with the rich to fund the first monastery
at Mount Athos.
Eventually, he came across a Byzantine imperial patron named Nicephorus II Phocas who agreed
to fund his venture.
The first monastery at Mount Athos was built using Nicephorus’ money and named the Great
Laura.
Many of the monks who had been living in the area originally rejected the call to an organized
monastic community.
But with the ruling of Byzantine emperor John I Tzimisces, the new order was forced upon
them and the first charter, also known as a Typikon, was written up.
Under the leadership of Athonite, the entire culture of the monks shifted to a stricter
subgroup of Christianity.
This eventually came to be known as Athonite Orthodoxy.
This conversion, and the writing of their Typikon, led to what is still one of the only
places in the world where women cannot set foot.
On the surface, this new order of monks seemed to be similar to other orthodox groups, yet
they were bound by much stricter constraints than most when within the territory of Mount
Athos.
The Typikon held all of the laws that must be followed.
This not only included laws for the monks, but for anyone who entered the territory of
Mount Athos.
The monks themselves were given authority to rule and enforce the region’s laws by
the Byzantine Emperor.
As long as the monks kept to themselves and did not cause any trouble outside of their
walls, the rulers of Byzantium were happy to let them continue their religious practices
of strict laws and devout prayer.
Therefore, even though the rest of Greece had no problem letting women enter the country,
Mount Almos adopted and maintained their strict no girls allowed policy and took it to the
extreme.
There were also a series of other laws written in the Typikon of Mount Athos.
Like most monks, they weren’t allowed to have any valuable personal possessions.
Everything that they had belonged to the church and God.
This included jewelry, nice clothing, and land.
The monks were given simple robes, and the Church provided anything else they might need
in life.
As long as you were male, these were a sect of equal opportunity monks.
No one was allowed to be discriminated against based on their birthplace.
This meant that monks of all different cultures and locations could come to Mount Athos, give
up everything, and devote their lives to God.
This was somewhat progressive for the time.
Unfortunately, the same courtesy was not extended to the admittance of women.
Any monk who decided to stay at Mount Athos must adhere to the Protos-Orthodox belief
system of the monasteries there.
This form of Christianity was extremely conservative.
Their belief system held that martyrdom, or dying for the Christian religion, was one
of the highest honors and greatest acts that someone could do in the name of God.
This belief did not extend to waging wars in the name of Christianity, but if a monk
was given the opportunity to give his life for God, he should gladly welcome the opportunity.
An even stranger belief associated with the Protos-Orthodox ideological system had to
do with a closely related religion to Christianity, Judaism.
Although Christians and Jews use parts of the same holy text, the Protos-Orthodox monks
believed that people of the Jewish faith always had worshiped, and still did worship, a false
religion.
When you think about it, this seems confusing as the Old Testament of Christianity and the
Torah are filled with many of the same stories and teachings.
They start with the same creation story, and pretty much every book in the Old Testament
can be found in Jewish teachings.
But the Protos-Orthodox beliefs of the monks at Mount Athos clearly stated that the Jewish
faith was based around a false religion.
The most controversial law of all was the one the monks at Mount Athos imposed against
women.
It is interesting to note that the Typikon of Mount Athos does not explicitly say no
women are allowed.
The law actually only refers to female animals.
It is assumed by many scholars that the law of no women within the Mount Athos territory
was an unwritten one as it was obvious that females shouldn’t be allowed around the
monks.
However, human females may have also just been lumped into the same category as other
female animals, which almost seems worse than explicitly stating that no women were allowed
at Mount Athos.
Even if it wasn’t written in the Typikon, the monks made sure this law was clear as
people entered their territory.
A gigantic sign sits at the entrance to Mount Athos welcoming pilgrims and monks.
On the sign are the words “The Entrance of Women is entirely forbidden”.
What is the real reason that no females are allowed within the monk-controlled region
of Mount Athos?
There are plenty of other monasteries, which nuns and women of faith are allowed into for
services and official church business, so why not Mount Athos as well?
One of the reasons is truly unique.
The most obvious reason for the no women allowed rule is to help the monks maintain celibacy.
According to Genesis, women are the source of original sin.
When Eve took a bite of the Forbidden Fruit, humanity was plunged into a world of corruption.
It is probably unfair to put all of the blame on women, but that is just how it is if the
Bible is to be interpreted literally, which very few Christians do of course.
But that is the way the Proto-Orthodox monks look at it.
The monks do not hate women.
They respect and love them as children of God.
If a monk leaves the grounds of the monastery they are more than welcome to interact with
females.
But to make sure that the sins of women and the temptation of men remain outside of Mount
Athos, the law says no women are allowed within 500 meters of the monasteries.
The law of no females in Mount Athos was most likely created to reduce the temptation of
females for the monks, but it is hard to believe that it was put in place solely to address
the problem of remaining celibate.
According to the monks and the Orthodox church, there is a much deeper and more important
reason that no females are allowed at Mount Athos.
A reason that is shrouded in mystery and could be even more significant than sex.
An important tradition and deeply held belief associated with the area of Mount Athos dates
all the way back to the early days of Christianity.
Legend has it that the Virgin Mary left Jerusalem after the crucifixion of her son.
Some claim she was headed for Europe, France in particular, where she spent the rest of
her days.
Others believe she fled to Turkey where she was eventually entombed at Ephesus.
Regardless of where Mary ended up, the monks at Mount Athos and many other Christian scholars
believe that on the way to her final destination, the Virgin Mary’s ship was blown off course
in the Mediterranean.
At the monasteries the legend states that she was aiming for Cyprus, but due to the
terrible storm, she landed on Mount Athos.
Mary was said to find the area so beautiful that she prayed to her son.
Strangely the monks believe the prayer included Mary asking Jesus to give her the land.
This seems odd as Mount Athos is not considered her final resting place.
Also, why would the mother of Jesus even want to own a piece of land right after her son
died for all of humanity’s sins?
At the time, women couldn’t technically own land anyways, so it is unclear what the
Virgin Mary would do with Mount Athos.
Regardless of what actually happened, the area is now considered a holy site.
The belief in this story and the law forbidding females of any kind has an even stranger connection.
Apparently when Jesus agreed to give Mount Athos to Mary, it became endowed with the
supernatural.
It is claimed that once the land was given to the Virgin Mary she was to be the only
woman to set foot on Mount Athos ever again.
This land is still called “The Garden of the Mother God.”
The laws forbidding females on Mount Athos are not only the rules of man but a covenant
with God.
Wild animals like birds cannot be controlled even by the Christian church, so there are
female wild animals that are considered okay at Mount Athos.
There is also a rule that female cats can walk the lands as well.
It is not clear why they are the only domesticated animal where the female of the species is
allowed to roam freely, but the monks seem to be partial to the cats as they don’t
try and get rid of them.
One reason for letting the female cats stay may be to help with pest control.
Since there are a lot of mice, having a lot of cats may be beneficial for the monks of
Mount Athos.
Having a law that bans females of any kind besides wild animals and cats results in a
few problems.
The monks need to import food like eggs and milk to get the sustenance they require.
They can’t drink cat milk, and felines don’t lay eggs.
This means food can get expensive unless people donate it out of the goodness of their hearts,
or because they think it will save their mortal soul.
The monks are reported to not eat much, especially if it comes from female animals, but they
do enjoy cheese on their salads.
It also seems that although eggs aren’t necessary year-round, the monks do require
them on Easter as one of their traditions is to paint them red.
Obviously, there is no Easter Bunny, but the tradition of painting the eggs is done to
commemorate Jesus emerging from the tomb and his resurrection.
Therefore, large quantities of eggs are delivered to Mount Almos during the Easter season, but
the hens who laid them are not allowed within 500 meters of the monasteries.
It is also interesting to note that young boys are not allowed to enter Mount Almos
unless they can grow a beard or have someone else vouch for them.
Also, when eunuchs were still prevalent they were barred from entering the region.
This started because of the fear that a woman could disguise themselves as a young boy or
eunuch to gain entry to the monasteries.
There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that this ever happened, but out of precaution,
the rules of Mount Athos state that unless the monks can be sure a young boy is in fact
a male, they are not allowed near the monasteries.
It also isn’t clear why women would want to disguise themselves to gain access to a
bunch of monks.
This brings us to an interesting point.
Although it is illegal for women to be within 500 meters of Mount Athos, there have been
several times where this rule has been broken.
And it wasn’t always without the knowledge of the monks.
During the Greek Civil War from 1946 to 1949, the monks of Mount Athos gave sanctuary to
shepherds and their flocks.
However, a raiding party followed them to the monasteries and entered the lands looking
for the animals.
Among the raiding party were women and female children.
The monks did not have the means to stop the raid, which meant females had stepped foot
on the holy ground of Mount Athos.
The next female to enter Mount Athos was a little more sneaky.
In 1953 a Greek woman disguised herself as a man and spent three days at one of the monasteries.
Her name was Maria Poimenidou and it seems as if she had no malicious intent upon infiltrating
Mount Athos other than satisfying her curiosity.
It was after Poimenidou’s ruse was discovered and she was removed from Mount Athos that
Greece passed a law prohibiting women from entering the region.
Up until that point, the only law banning women from Mount Athos was the one in the
Typikon.
Greece itself offered no legal repercussions if someone entered the sacred area.
However, the monks did have the authority to remove any women from their borders and
to refuse females access to the region.
This was supported by Greece but there were never any formal laws put in place by the
country.
After the incident with Maria Poimenidou, Greece passed a law that formally prohibited
women from entering Mount Athos.
It also included a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison for anyone caught breaking this
law.
Now not only did the monks have the power to keep women out of the region, but the Greek
authorities also had legal precedence to enforce the rule.
This only reinforced further the no girls allowed policy that had been happening for
over 1,000 years.
In 2008, four women from Moldova were surprised when they were arrested for being in Mount
Athos.
They had no idea that there were laws in place forbidding females in the area.
All the women wanted was some help as they had been dropped off on the coast by human
traffickers.
They most likely saw the monasteries and assumed that the monks would help them as servants
of God.
However, upon being discovered by some of the monks, the authorities were brought in
and the women were taken into custody.
When questioned, the women told police and the monks they were sorry, but they had no
way of knowing that Mount Athos was a no-women allowed area.
Luckily for the refugees, the monks accepted their apology and forgave them.
No charges were brought against the women and they were released from custody.
Even with the rest of the world progressing around women’s rights, the monks and traditions
of Mount Athos remain staunchly in the past.
There seems to be no serious consideration around changing the ban on women by the monks.
Within the Greek government, there has been discussion around trying to change the country’s
law to allow for women to visit the area, but even that has remained in effect.
In 2017 an equality law was introduced that would remove the ban on women from any region
of Greece.
This would in theory allow for women to have access to Mount Athos, but the law has yet
to pass.
And even if it did, there is no indication that the rules of Mount Athos would change.
Up until 1953, there was no national law that prohibited women from entering the monasteries,
yet the monks were able to keep them out for almost 1,000 years.
Unless the government intervenes, this will continue to be the case.
The religious ideologies are deeply ingrained in the monks who live at Mount Athos and they
will not succumb to the whims of men or women when they have God on their side.
Their deeply held religious beliefs and tradition will always trump the progress of any outside
law giving females access to the region.
Whether this is right or wrong can be debated.
Some would argue that the religious beliefs of the monks who have been in control of the
land for centuries should be respected.
Others claim it is a sign of oppression that must be ended.
But Mount Athos is not the only location where women are banned.
Around the world, there are instances of men-only establishments.
For example, the Sabarimala temple in India does not allow women between the ages of 10
and 50 to enter.
This is because women around those ages could be fertile, which is not permitted when worshiping
in the temple.
The Sabarimala temple is the house of the deity Lord Ayyappa, who is said to not want
menstruating women in his temple out of respect for the demon Malikapurathamma.
Lord Ayyappa defeated Malikapurathamma in battle, and afterwords she proposed to him.
Lord Ayyappa said he would marry her on the day that worshippers stopped visiting him
at Sabarimala.
Therefore, to ensure that Lord Ayyappa does not have to marry the lady-demon, devoted
followers come to the temple every day to pray.
And to make sure that Lord Ayyappa remains happy, fertile women are kept from entering
the temple.
There also might be a different reason for the ban on women at Sabarimala which is similar
to Mount Athos.
A separate legend says that Lord Ayyappa was a historical figure who gave up all worldly
possession—including sex and contact with women.
He then defeated an invading army led by an Arabian ruler named Babar or Vavar.
The temple of Sabarimala that is dedicated to him banned women during their fertile years
out of respect for Ayyappa giving up his worldly desires.
This is similar to the monks who are trying to remain celibate at Mount Athos.
It is also in line with having a piece of land dedicated to a spiritual figure such
as the monks did with the Virgin Mary.
Both Mount Athos and Sabarimala ban women due to religious beliefs, which is a completely
different reason than why women are not allowed in this next place.
The Burning Tree Club in Bethesda, Maryland is an old-school gentlemen-only gold club
that is proud of maintaining its ban on women.
It is almost unbelievable that any place could still exist in the United States that does
not allow women to enter.
But it is because Burning Tree pays an extra $150,000 in taxes each year that it can keep
its discriminatory policies.
There are no female bathrooms, and the staff isn’t afraid to turn women away at the door.
The craziest thing is that women’s rights seem to have a price in Maryland, and that
price is $150,000.
But besides temples and golf clubs, are there any other large areas like Mount Athos that
does not allow women?
Mount Ōmine in Nara, Japan is a pilgrimage destination for men of the Shugendō religion.
The religion combines the belief systems of Buddhism, Shinto, and ancient local beliefs
of the region.
Along the trail leading up to the top of the mountain are signs warning that no women are
allowed.
However, this rule is not enforced.
The original purpose was to keep away temptation when on the journey to Mount Ōmine.
The ban on women is actually not monitored by anyone.
It is a voluntary agreement that people can choose to accept or ignore.
The only repercussions of women hiking the trail to Mount Ōmine are judgemental looks
and maybe an exchange of words around respecting people’s beliefs and customs.
Perhaps the most surprising places that women are banned from are sports arenas.
To be more specific, we are talking about soccer arenas in Iran.
Granted, there are some pretty outdated laws in the country around women’s rights, but
not letting them view a soccer game seems a little odd.
This bizarre law came about at the same time the conservative religious theocracy was put
into place during the 1970s.
The thought behind it was that women would see men dressed in inappropriate clothing
such as shorts and have ideas about coveting a man other than their husband.
But even after nearly 50 years, little progress has been made around Iranian women attending
sports events.
In 2019 Sahar Khodayari was arrested when she entered a stadium to watch a soccer match.
After she was released from prison, Khodayari set herself on fire in front of the local
courthouse as a sign of protest.
This caused the international community to take a closer look at the suppression of women
in Iran.
Now Iran sells a very small number of tickets for certain sporting events to women.
However, this gesture is pretty meaningless in the scheme of things.
This brings us back to Mount Athos.
It is the only piece of land where the prohibition of women is enforced.
That is unless you count golf courses.
Private businesses seem to have the ability to keep women out for a fee, but with societal
progress, this may be a thing of the past.
Some religions seem to be holding firm on certain outdated beliefs, such as not allowing
women in temples or monasteries.
But it may only be a matter of time until even these institutions succumb to the pressure
of progress.
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