The History of Circumcision

Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BCE, lists first of all the Egyptians being the oldest people practicing circumcision then Colchians, Ethiopians, Phoenicians, and Syrians as circumcising cultures.

Psychologists have extended this theory to incorporate notions of pain imprinting. By encoding violence on the brain, child-maternal bonding is interrupted and a sense of betrayal is instilled in the infant; these are considered requisite qualities that enhance the child's ability for survival later in life7. Indeed, some components of these psychological theories have recently been tested in prospective clinical trials and there is now evidence that neonates who are circumcised without local anaesthetic do have increased pain responses when 4- and 6-monthly vaccinations are administered8.

Figure 1

Figure 1: A captured Schemite warrior is circumcised. Engraving by J. Muller. Reproduced with permission of the Wellcome Institute.

Others believe that circumcision arose as a mark of defilement or slavery1,9 (fig. 1). In ancient Egypt captured warriors were often mutilated before being condemned to the slavery. Amputation of digits and castration was common, but the morbidity was high and their resultant value as slaves was reduced. However, circumcision was just as degrading and evolved as a sufficiently humiliating compromise. Eventually, all male descendents of these slaves were circumcised. The Phoenicians, and later the Jews who were largely enslaved, adopted and ritualized circumcision. In time, circumcision was incorporated into Judaic religious practice and viewed as an outward sign of a covenant between God and man (Genesis XVI, Fig. 2).

https://www.cirp.org/library/history/dunsmuir1/