Mihailo Tolotos: The man who lived 82 years and died without seeing a woman

Mihailo Tolotos, born in 1856, faced an unusual fate from birth. To-date, he is believed to be the only man who lived to the grand age of 82 and went his entire life without ever laying his eyes on a woman.

Obviously, Tolotos had a mother, but he didn’t even have much of an encounter with her as she passed away shortly after giving birth to him, leaving Tolotos an orphan.

As he was only a baby at the time, Tolotos was adopted by Orthodox Monks at a monastery on Mount Athos in Greece, and he was raised there by monks living at the monastery.

Found abandoned at the doorstep of a monastery on Mount Athos, Tolotos was taken in by compassionate monks.

Growing up within the walls of this secluded monastery, Tolotos lived a life largely isolated from the outside world.

The monastery strictly prohibited the presence of women, with even tourists limited to men seeking to understand or join the monastic lifestyle.

This strict adherence to tradition meant that Tolotos never laid eyes on a woman throughout his entire existence.

He spent his days immersed in the routines and teachings of the monastery, shielded from the sights and experiences that most people take for granted.

Despite the passing years, Tolotos remained within the monastery’s confines, untouched by the changes and advancements of the world beyond.

He lived a quiet, contemplative life, devoted to his faith and the practices of the monks around him.

In 1938, at the age of 82, Tolotos breathed his last breath, having lived a life devoid of the sight of a woman.

Following his passing, Tolotos was given a special burial by all the monks living at Mount Athos who believed that he was the only man in the world to have died without knowing what a woman looked like.

Tolotos’ death was recognized in a newspaper article which noted that women weren’t the only sight Tolotos had been deprived of throughout his life, as he’d also gone without seeing an ‘an automobile, a movie or an airplane’.