TARSUS in CILICIA 2-1stCenBC Tyche Sandan Lion Pyre Ancient Greek Coin i45704

Item: i45704

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Greek city of
Tarsos
in
Cilicia

Bronze 21mm (7.86 grams) Struck 2nd-1st Century B.C.
Reference: Sear 5672 var.

Veiled and turreted head of Tyche right, dotted border.

 Pyre of Sandan, in the form of pyramidal structure, containing figure of Sandan
on lion, surmounting square basis; eagle perched on apex; TAPΣΕΩΝ
in field to right, monogram in field to left.

Hittite/Babylonian sun, storm,
or warrior god, also perhaps associated with agriculture, who the Greeks equated
with Herakles (Hercules) and who the Lydians believed their royal house
descended from. Sardis (Sardes, Sardeis), the capital of Lydia, may have been
named after Sandon. “In honour of Sandan-Heracles there was celebrated every
year in Tarsus a funeral pyre festival, at the climax of which the image of the
god was burned. The dying of nature under the withering heat of the summer sun
and its resurrection to new life was the content of this mystery, which at once
suggests its kinship with the cults of the Syrian Adonis, the Phrygian Attis,
the Egyptian Osiris, and the Babylonian Tammuz.” The pyre of Sandan is featured
on coins of Tarsus. Sandan is also associated on coinage with a lion.

The first city of Cilicia and
capital of the native rulers down to circa 400 B.C., Tarsus was situated in the
fertile eastern plain on the river Kydnos, about 12 miles from the sea. In the
4th century, until the arrival of Alexander in 333 B.C., Tarsus was the chief
mint of the Persian satraps. Eventually, in the 1st century B.C., it became the
capital of the Roman province of Cilicia.

You are bidding on the exact

Guarantee of Authenticity.

Tyche (Greek for luck; the Roman equivalent
was Fortuna
) was the presiding
tutelary deity
that governed the fortune and
prosperity of a city, its destiny. Increasingly during the Hellenistic period,
cities had their own specific iconic version of Tyche, wearing a
mural crown
(a crown like the walls of the
city).

The
Greek historian Polybius
believed that when no cause can be
discovered to events such as floods, droughts, frosts or even in politics, then
the cause of these events may be fairly attributed to Tyche.

Stylianos Spyridakis  concisely expressed Tyche’s appeal in a Hellenistic
world of arbitrary violence and unmeaning reverses: “In the turbulent years of
the Epigoni of Alexander
, an awareness of the
instability of human affairs led people to believe that Tyche, the blind
mistress of Fortune, governed mankind with an inconstancy which explained the
vicissitudes of the time.”

In literature, she might be given various genealogies, as a daughter of
Hermes
and
Aphrodite
, or considered as one of the
Oceanids
, daughters of
Oceanus
and
Tethys
, or of

Zeus. She was connected with
Nemesis
and
Agathos Daimon
(“good spirit”).

She was uniquely venerated at
Itanos
in Crete, as Tyche Protogeneia,
linked with the Athenian
Protogeneia
(“firstborn”), daughter of
Erechtheus
, whose self-sacrifice saved the
city.

She had temples at
Caesarea Maritima
,
Antioch
,
Alexandria
and
Constantinople
. In
Alexandria
the Tychaeon, the temple of
Tyche, was described by
Libanius
as one of the most magnificent of the
entire Hellenistic world.

Tyche appears on many
coins
of the Hellenistic period in the three
centuries before the Christian era, especially from cities in the Aegean.
Unpredictable turns of fortune drive the complicated plotlines of
Hellenistic romances
, such as
Leucippe and Clitophon
or
Daphnis and Chloe
. She experienced a
resurgence in another era of uneasy change, the final days of publicly
sanctioned
Paganism
, between the late-fourth-century
emperors
Julian
and
Theodosius I
who definitively closed the
temples. The effectiveness of her capricious power even achieved respectability
in philosophical circles during that generation, though among poets it was a
commonplace to revile her for a fickle harlot.

In medieval art
, she was depicted as carrying a
cornucopia
, an
emblematic
ship’s rudder, and the
wheel of fortune
, or she may stand on the
wheel, presiding over the entire circle of fate.

The constellation of
Virgo
is sometimes identified as the heavenly
figure of Tyche, as well as other goddesses such as
Demeter
and
Astraea
.

Sandan was the
Anatolian
(Hittite)
lion god during the Classical period. He used to be represented in association
with a horned lion, and often resided inside a pyre surmounted by an eagle.
Sandan was often associated to the Greek god
Herakles
. In ceremonies, an image of the god
was placed inside a pyre and was set on fire.

Sandan appears in the coins of the
Seleucids
, as well as on other coins of
Tarsus
(Cilicia)
during the time of the Roman emperors.

A pyre (Greek:
πυρά, pyrá, from πυρ, pýr, fire), also known as a funeral pyre,
is a structure, usually made of

wood, for burning a body as part of a
funeral
rite. As a form of
cremation
, a body is placed upon the pyre,
which is then set on fire
.

Uses

Religious

The funeral pyre of Chan Kusalo (the Buddhist high monk of Northern
Thailand) at
Wat Chedi Luang
, Chiang Mai,
Thailand

Traditionally, pyres are used for the cremation of the deceased in the
Hindu
and
Sikh
religions, a practice which dates back
several thousands of years.
Funeral pyres were also used in
Viking
culture, typically on floating boats, as
well as by the
Romans
.

Tarsus (Greek:

Ταρσός,

Armenian

: Տարսոն, Darson) is a

historical city
in

south-central Turkey

, 20 km inland from

Mediterranean Sea

. It is part of

Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area

, fourth largest

metropolitan area

in

Turkey
with a

population of 2.75 million. Tarsus is an administrative district in

Mersin Province

and lies in the core of

Çukurova
, a

geographical, economical and cultural region.

With a history going back over 9,000 years Tarsus has long been an important

stop for traders, a focal point of many civilisations including the

Ancient Romans

when Tarsus was capital of the province of

Cilicia
,

scene of the first meeting between

Mark

Antony
and

Cleopatra

and birthplace of

Saint Paul

.

//

 Geography

Located on the mouth of the Tarsus Çay (Cydnus),

which empties into the

Mediterranean Sea

, Tarsus is a junction point of land and sea routes

connecting the Cilician

plain (today called

Çukurova
),

central Anatolia

and the Mediterranean sea. The climate is typical of the

Mediterranean

region, summers very very hot, winters chilly and damp.

Tarsus has a long history of commerce and is still a commercial centre today,

trading in the produce of the fertile Çukurova plain; also Tarsus is a thriving

industrial centre refining and processing that produce same for export.

Industries include agricultural machinery, spare parts, textiles,

fruit-processing, brick building and ceramics.

Agriculture is an important source of income, half of the land area in the

district is farmland (1,050 km²) and most of the remainder is forest and

orchard. The farmland is mostly well-irrigated, fertilised and managed with the

latest equipment.

 Etymology

The ancient name is Tarsos, (Greek:

Ταρσός) possibly derived from a

pagan god, Tarku; at other times the city was named Tarsisi;

Antiochia on the Cydnus (Greek:

Αντιόχεια του Κύδνου,

Latin
:

Antiochia ad Cydnum); and Juliopolis. [Տարսոն, Darson in

Western Armenian

and Tarson in

Eastern Armenian

] . The

Hittites

referred to Tarsus as Tarsa.^[1]

Pegasus

the winged horse was a mortal. Because of his faithful service to Zeus the Greek

god, he was honored with a constellation.[5] On the last day of pegasuses life,

Zeus transformed him into a constellation, then a single feather fell to the

earth near the city of Tarsus {Ταρσός} in Greek.

 History

 Antiquity

 Foundation

and prehistory

Excavation of the mound of Gözlükule reveals that the prehistorical

development of Tarsus reaches back to the

Neolithic Period

and continues unbroken through

Chalcolithic

and

Early Bronze Ages

.

The settlement was located at the crossing of several important trade routes,

linking Anatolia

to Syria

and beyond. Because the ruins are covered by the modern city, archaeology has

barely touched the ancient city. The city may have been of

Semitic

origin; it is mentioned as Tarsisi in the campaigns of

Esarhaddon
,

as well as several times in the records of

Shalmaneser I

and

Sennacherib

. A Greek legend connects it with the memory of

Sardanapalus

(Ashurbanipal), still preserved in the Dunuk-Tach, called ‘tomb

of Sardanapalus’, a monument of unknown origin.

Stephanus of Byzantium

quotes

Athenodorus of Tarsus

as relating another legend:

Much of this legend of the foundation of Tarsus, however, appeared in the

Roman era, and none of it is reliable. The geographer

Strabo
states

that Tarsus was founded by people from

Argos
who were

exploring this coast. Another legend states that the winged horse

Pegasus
was

lost and landed here, hurting his foot, and thus the city was named tar-sos

(the sole of the foot). Other candidates for legendary founder of the

city include the hero

Perseus
and

Triptolemus

son of the earth-goddess

Demeter
,

doubtless because the countryside around Tarsus is excellent farmland. Later the

coinage of Tarsus bore the image of

Hercules
,

due to yet another tale in which the hero was held prisoner here by the local

god Sandon
.

Tarsus has been suggested as a possible identification of the biblical

Tarshish
,

where the prophet Jonah

wanted to flee, but

Tartessos

in Spain is a more likely identification for this. (See further^[2])

 Early

antiquity, Greece and Persia

In historical times, the city was first ruled by the

Hittites
,

followed by Assyria

, and then the

Persian Empire

. Tarsus was the seat of a Persian

satrapy
from

400 BC onward. Indeed,

Xenophon

records that in 401 BC, when

Cyrus the Younger

marched against

Babylon
, the

city was governed by King

Syennesis

in the name of the Persian monarch.

Alexander the Great

passed through with his armies in 333 BC and nearly met

his death here after a bath in the Cydnus. By this time Tarsus was already

largely influenced by

Greek language and culture

, and as part of the

Seleucid Empire

it became more and more

hellenized

. Strabo praises the cultural level of Tarsus in this period with

its philosophers, poets and linguists. The schools of Tarsus rivaled

Athens
and

Alexandria
.

2

Maccabees
(4:30) records its revolt in about 171 BC against

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

, who had renamed the town Antiochia on the Cydnus.

In his time the library of Tarsus held 200,000 books, including a huge

collection of scientific works. The name didn’t last, however, due to the

confusion of so many cities named Antioch.

 Rome

Pompey

subjected Tarsus to Rome, and it became capital of the Roman province of

Cilicia
, the

metropolis where the governor resided. In 66 BC, the inhabitants received Roman

citizenship. To flatter

Julius Caesar

, for a time it took the name Juliopolis. It was also

here that

Cleopatra

and

Mark

Antony
met and was the scene of the celebrated feasts they gave during the

construction of their fleet (41 BC).

When the province of Cilicia was divided, Tarsus remained the civil and

religious metropolis of Cilicia Prima, and was a grand city with palaces,

marketplaces, roads and bridges, baths, fountains and waterworks, a gymnasium on

the banks of the

Cydnus

, and a stadium. Tarsus was later eclipsed by nearby

Adana
, but

remained important as a port and shipyard. Several Roman emperors were interred

here:

Marcus Claudius Tacitus

,

Maximinus

, and

Julian the Apostate

, who planned to move his capital here from Antioch if he

returned from his Persian expedition.^[3]

 Christianity

Tarsus was the birthplace of

Saint Paul

(Acts

9:11; 21:39; 22:3), who returned here after his conversion (Acts 9:30). From

here Barnabas

retrieved him to help with the work in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:25). Already by

this time a Christian

community probably existed, although the first recorded bishop,

Helenus

, dates only from the third century; Helenus visited

Antioch

several times in connection with the dispute concerning

Paul of Samosata

. Later

bishops of Tarsus

included

Lupus

, present at the

Council of Ancyra

in 314; Theodorus, at the

Council of Nicaea

in 325; Helladius, who was condemned at the

Council of Ephesus

and who appealed to the bishop of Rome in 433; above all

the celebrated exegete Diodorus, teacher of

Theodore of Mopsuestia

and consequently one of the fathers of

Nestorianism

.^[4]

From the sixth century the metropolitan see of Tarsus had seven suffragan

bishoprics;^[5]

the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

archdiocese is again mentioned in

the tenth century (^[6]),

and has existed down to the present day, part of the

Patriarchate of Antioch

.

Owing to the importance of Tarsus, many martyrs were put to death here, among

them being

Saint Pelagia

,

Saint Boniface

,

Saint Marinus

,

Saint Diomedes

,

Saint Quiricus and Saint Julitta

.

At about the end of the tenth century, the Armenians established a diocese of

their rite, which still exists;

Saint Nerses of Lambroun

was its most distinguished representative in the

twelfth century.

A cave in Tarsus is one of a number of places claiming to be the location of

the legend of the

Seven Sleepers

, common to Christianity and Islam.

 Islam

and beyond

The Tarsus region was annexed by the Forces of

Rashidun Caliphate

under the command of

Khalid ibn Walid

in 637. Tarsus was on the edge of the de facto border with

the Byzantine empire in this period of the

Taurus Mountains

range separating the

Armeniac

and

Anatolic

themes

from Cilicia, Syria and northern Iraq. Tarsus was near the

strategically important

Cilician Gates

which passed through the Taurus Mountains as well as access

to the Mediterranean Sea which was used for both land and naval operations

further in the Byzantine territory. While the region was lost by the Byzantine

Emperor Heraclius

in 637, it is unclear when the city was permanently

occupied by the Arabs as sources indicate the city was garrisoned and retaken

multiple times until the 9th century.^[7]

According to the Arabic geographer

Ibn Hawqal

and the accounts of Arab historian Abu Amr Al-Tarsusi, Tarsus was a stronghold

of Muslim forces with thousands of volunteers from across the Islamic world

coming to fight in jihad against the Byzantine Empire. The city was a base of

operations for the regular summer raids (ṣawāʿif) into Byzantine lands

through the Cilician Gates when the mountain snows had melted and passage was

possible. Later the city was used in defense of the frontier in response to a

resurgent Byzantine empire in the mid-10th century.^[8]

The city was lost in 965, when

Nicephorus Phocas

returned it to the

Byzantine Empire

for nearly a century. The area was retaken by the

Seljuk Turks

, recaptured in 1097 during the

Crusades

and then disputed between Latins, Greeks, and Armenians of the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

(Kingdom of Lesser Armenia); these last became

definitively masters until about 1360, when it was captured by the

Ramazanoğlu

Turks. Finally, the area was brought under the control of the

Ottomans

by Selim I

in 1517.

In the Middle Ages Tarsus was renowned throughout the Middle East; a number

of Arab writers praised it as a beautiful and well-defended city, its walls

being in two layers with five gates and earthworks outside, surrounded by rich

farmland, watered by the river and the lake. By 1671 the traveller

Evliya Çelebi

records “a city on the plain, an hour from the sea,

distinct neighbourhoods inside the walls”.

Despite its excellent defences, Tarsus was captured from the Ottomans in 1832

by the

Mamluks

of

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt

, son of

Muhammad Ali

, and for 8 years remained in the hands of the Egyptians, who

began growing cotton on the surrounding plain. Upon the return of the Ottomans

this cotton drove a substantial growth in the economy of the area, due to

increased world demand for the crop during shortages caused by the

U.S. Civil War

. A new road was built to the port in

Mersin
and the

city of Tarsus grew and thrived. Still today many large houses in the city stand

as reminders of the wealth generated during this period. However after being a

port for 3,000 years, by the end of the 19th century neglect resulted in Tarsus

no longer having access to the sea, and the delta became a swamp. At this point

Tarsus was a typical Ottoman city with communities of Muslim Turks, Christian

Greeks and Armenians

. At the founding of the

Turkish Republic

in the 1920s the swamp was drained and the River Berdan was

dammed to build Turkey’s first hydro-electric power station. Irrigation,

roadworks and a railway brought the economy of Tarsus back to life, with new

factories, particularly producing textiles.

 Life

in Tarsus today

Tarsus has slightly more in the way of culture (cinema, theatre, museums)

than most Turkish country towns, but in many ways still has a small town feel;

people walk in the road rather than on the pavements. Predictably, the people of

the mountain forests in the hinterland have an even quieter rural existence.

The local cuisine includes:

hummus
;

şalgam

(pickled turnips);

tantuni

(a sandwich of grilled meats; the tiny pizzas called “fındık

lahmacun”; and

cezerye
(a

confection made out of carrots).

 Places

of interest

Tarsus has a great many ancient sites of interest, with many in need of

restoration and research. The best known include:

• Cleopatra Gate – to the west of the city, the only ancient city gate

  still standing, where Anthony and Cleopatra entered the city in 41 BC,

  though the “restoration” of this structure has involved covering much of it

  over with shiny new stone (see

  [2]

  for a picture of the gate before the work was done).

• The Roman bridge of Justinian over the Berdan River. Still in good

  condition.

• Tarsus Museum – contains lots of ancient coins and a severed mummified

  arm.

Sites of religious interest and pilgrimage:

• The church and well of St Paul.

• The tomb of the

  Seven Sleepers

  , busy place of pilgrimage for Muslims today.

• The mosque said to be the burial place of the

  Prophet Daniel

  .

From the Turkish era:

• The old baths; the dark brown spots on the white marble walls are said

  to be the bloodstains of

  Shah Meran

  , the legendary Snake King who was killed in an ambush in the

  baths.

• Tarsus American College

  ; founded in the Ottoman period, still active

  today.

• “Nusret

  (Nusrat)” the

  minelayer

  used to defend the straits before the

  Battle of Gallipoli

  is being restored in Tarsus; it is to be part of a

  memorial park to those lost in the fighting.

Places of natural beauty include:

• Tarsus Waterfall; since the construction of the Berdan dam the water of

  the Tarsus river has been distributed in canals for irrigation, with the

  result that the waterfall can now be seen only in seasons of very heavy

  rainfall.

 Notable

residentss

• Antipater

  ,

  Stoic

  philosopher

• Caliph

  Al-Ma’mun

  died near Tarsus

• Journalist

  Oral Çalışlar

  was born in Tarsus.

• Chrysippus

  , Stoic philosopher

• Cleopatra

• Lokman

  the Physician

• Mark Antony

• Saint

  Nerses of Lambron

  , Archbishop of Tarsus in the

  Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

• Paul the Apostle

  (Saul

  of Tarsus), Christian apostle, missionary, martyr, and saint, was born

  here and returned for a brief period later in life.

• Saint

  Theodore of Tarsus

  ,

  Archbishop of Canterbury

  .

• Tarsus is one of a number of cities that claims to be the burial place

  of

  Bilal ibn Rabah

  , first

  muezzin
  ,

  or caller to prayer, in Islam.

• Tarsus Idman Yurdu

  is the local football team.

A veil is an article of clothing or cloth
hanging that is intended to cover some part of the
head
or
face
, or an object
of some significance. It is especially associated
with women and sacred objects.

One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an
object or space. The actual sociocultural, psychological, and sociosexual
functions of veils have not been studied extensively but most likely include the
maintenance of social distance and the communication of social status and
cultural identity. In Islamic society, various forms of the veil have been
adopted from the Arab culture in which Islam arose. The
Quran
has no requirement that women cover their
faces with a veil, or cover their bodies with the full-body
burqua
or
chador
.

History

The first recorded instance of veiling for women is recorded in an
Assyrian
legal text from the 13th century BC,
which restricted its use to noble women and forbade prostitutes and common women
from adopting it.^{[citation
needed]} The
Mycenaean Greek
term a-pu-ko-wo-ko
meaning “craftsman of horse veil” written in
Linear B
syllabic script is also attested since
ca. 1300 BC. In
ancient Greek
the word for veil was “καλύπτρα”
(kaluptra,
Ionic Greek
“καλύπτρη” – kaluptrē, from
the verb “καλύπτω” – kaluptō, “I cover”) and is first attested in the
works of Homer
.

Classical Greek and Hellenistic statues sometimes depict Greek women with
both their head and face covered by a veil. Caroline Galt and Lloyd
Llewellyn-Jones have both argued from such representations and literary
references that it was commonplace for women (at least those of higher status)
in ancient Greece to cover their hair and face in public.

For many centuries, until around 1175,
Anglo-Saxon
and then
Anglo-Norman
women, with the exception of young
unmarried girls, wore veils that entirely covered their hair, and often their
necks up to their chins (see
wimple
). Only in the
Tudor period
(1485), when
hoods
became increasingly popular, did veils of
this type become less common.

For centuries, women have worn sheer veils, but only under certain
circumstances. Sometimes a veil of this type was draped over and pinned to the
bonnet
or hat of a woman in
mourning
, especially at the
funeral
and during the subsequent period of
“high mourning”. They would also have been used, as an alternative to a

mask, as a simple method of hiding the identity of a woman who was
traveling to meet a lover, or doing anything she didn’t want other people to
find out about. More pragmatically, veils were also sometimes worn to protect
the complexion from sun and wind damage (when un-tanned skin was fashionable),
or to keep dust out of a woman’s face, much as the
keffiyeh
is used today.

Religion

In Judaism
,
Christianity
and
Islam
the concept of covering the head is or
was associated with propriety and modesty. Most traditional depictions of the
Virgin Mary
, the mother of
Christ
, show her veiled. During the
Middle Ages
most European and Byzantine married
women covered their hair rather than their face, with a variety of styles of
wimple
, kerchiefs and headscarfs. Veiling,
covering the hair rather than the face, was a common practice with church-going
women until the 1960s, typically using

lace, and a number of very traditional churches retain the custom.
Lace face-veils are still often worn by female relatives at funerals.

In North India, Hindu women may often veil for traditional purposes, it is
often the custom in rural areas to veil in front of male elders. This veil is
called the Ghoonghat
or Laaj. This is to show humility and
respect to those elder to the woman, in particular elder males. The ghoonghat is
customary especially in the westerly states of
Gujarat
and
Rajasthan
.

Although religion stands as a commonly held reason for choosing to veil, it
has also reflects on political regimes and personal conviction, allowing it to
serve as a medium through which personal character can be revealed.

Praying Jewish woman wearing
Tichel

Judaism

After the
destruction of the Temple
in
Jerusalem
, the
synagogues
that were established took the
design of the
Tabernacle
as their plan. The
Ark of the Law
, which contains the
scrolls
of the
Torah
, is covered with an embroidered curtain
or veil called a
parokhet
. (See also
below
regarding the veiling – and unveiling –
of the bride.)

The
Veil of our Lady
is a liturgical feast
celebrating the protection afforded by the
intercessions
of the Virgin Mary.

Traditionally, in Christianity, women were enjoined to cover their heads in
church, just as it was (and still is) customary for men to remove their hat as a
sign of respect. This practice is based on
1 Corinthians 11:4–16
, where
St. Paul
writes:

Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon
his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled
brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had
had her head shaved. For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may
as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her
hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil. A man, on the
other hand, should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of
God, but woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but
woman from man; nor was man created for woman, but woman for man; for this
reason a woman should have a sign of authority on her head, because of the
angels. Woman is not independent of man or man of woman in the Lord. For
just as woman came from man, so man is born of woman; but all things are
from God. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with
her head unveiled? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears his
hair long it is a disgrace to him, whereas if a woman has long hair it is
her glory, because long hair has been given (her) for a covering? But if
anyone is inclined to be argumentative, we do not have such a custom, nor do
the churches of God (New
American Bible translation)

In many traditional
Eastern Orthodox Churches
, and in some very
conservative
Protestant
churches as well, the custom
continues of women covering their heads in church (or even when praying
privately at home).

In the
Roman Catholic Church
, it was customary in most
places before the 1960s for women to wear a headcovering in the form of a scarf,
cap, veil or hat when entering a church. The practice now continues where it is
seen as a matter of etiquette, courtesy, tradition or fashionable elegance
rather than strictly of canon law.
Traditionalist Catholics
also maintain the
practice.

The wearing of a headcovering was for the first time mandated as a universal
rule for the
Latin Rite
by the
Code of Canon Law of 1917
, which code was
abrogated by the advent of the present (1983) Code of Canon Law. Traditionalist
Catholics majorly still follow it, generally as a matter of ancient custom and
biblically approved aptness, some also supposing St. Paul’s directive in full
force today as an ordinance of its own right, without a canon law rule enforcing
it. The photograph here of Mass in the
Netherlands
in about 1946, two decades before
the changes that followed the
Second Vatican Council
, shows that, even at
that time, when a hat was still considered part of formal dress for both women
and men, wearing a headcovering at Mass was not a universal practice for
Catholic women.

A veil over the hair rather than the face forms part of the headdress of some
religiouss
of

nuns or
religious
sisters; this is why a woman who
becomes a nun is said “to take the veil”. In medieval times married women
normally covered their hair outside the house, and nun’s veils are based on
secular medieval styles, reflecting nuns position as “brides of Christ”. In many
institutes, a white veil is used as the “veil of probation” during
novitiate
, and a dark veil for the “veil of
profession” once religious vows are taken – the color scheme varies with the
color scheme of the habit of the order. A veil of
consecration
, longer and fuller, is used by
some orders for final profession of
solemn vows
.

Nuns
also wear veils

Nuns are the female counterparts of

monks, and many
monastic orders
of women have retained the
veil. Regarding other institutes of religious sisters who are not
cloistered
but who work as teachers, nurses or
in other “active” apostolates outside of a nunnery or monastery, some wear the
veil, while some others have abolished the use of the veil, a few never had a
veil to start with, but used a bonnet-style headdress even a century ago, as in
the case of
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
.

The fullest versions of the nun’s veil cover the top of the head and flow
down around and over the shoulders. In Western Christianity, it does not wrap
around the neck or face. In those orders that retain one, the starched white
covering about the face neck and shoulders is known as a
wimple
and is a separate garment.

The Catholic Church has revived the ancient practice of allowing women to
profess a solemn vow as
consecrated virgins
. These women are set aside
as sacred persons who belong only to Christ and the service of the church. They
are under the direct care of the local
bishop
, without belonging to a particular order
and receive the veil as a
sign
of
consecration
.

There has also been renewed interest in the last half century in the ancient
practice of women and men dedicating themselves as
anchorites
or
hermits
, and there is a formal process whereby
such persons can seek recognition of their vows by the local bishop – a veil for
these women would also be traditional.

Some Anglican
women’s religious orders also wear a
veil, differing according to the traditions of each order.

In
Eastern Orthodoxy
and in the
Eastern Rites
of the Catholic Church, a veil
called an
epanokamelavkion
is used by both nuns and
monks, in both cases covering completely the
kamilavkion
, a cylindrical hat they both
wear. In
Slavic
practice, when the veil is worn over the
hat, the entire headdress
is referred to as a
klobuk
. Nuns wear an additional veil under
the klobuk, called an
apostolnik
, which is drawn together to
cover the neck and shoulders as well as their heads, leaving the face itself
open.

Islam

A variety of headdresses worn by
Muslim women
and girls in accordance with
hijab
(the principle of dressing modestly)
are sometimes referred to as veils. The principal aim of the Muslim veil is to
hide that which men find sexually attractive. Many of these garments cover the
hair, ears and throat, but do not cover the face. The
khimar
is a type of
headscarf
. The
niqāb
and
burqa
are two kinds of veils that cover
most of the face except for a slit or hole for the eyes.

The Afghan
burqa covers the entire body, obscuring
the face completely, except for a grille or netting over the eyes to allow the
wearer to see. The
boshiya
is a veil that may be worn over a
headscarf; it covers the entire face and is made of a sheer fabric so the wearer
is able to see through it. It has been suggested that
the practice of wearing a veil
 – uncommon among
the Arab
tribes prior to the rise of
Islam
 – originated in the
Byzantine Empire
, and then spread.

The wearing of head and especially face coverings by Muslim women has raised
political issues in the West; see for example
Hijab controversy in Quebec
,
Islamic dress controversy in Europe
,
Islamic scarf controversy in France
, and
United Kingdom debate over veils
. There is also
high debate of the veil in
Turkey
, a
Muslim majority country
but secular, which
banned the headscarves in universities and government buildings, due to the
türban (a Turkish styled headscarf) being viewed as
a political symbol of Islam
, see
Headscarf controversy in Turkey
.

Frances Perkins
wearing a veil
after the death of U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Hats

Veils pinned to hats have survived the changing fashions of the centuries and
are still common today on formal occasions that require women to wear a hat.
However, these veils are generally made of netting or another material not
actually designed to hide the face from view, even if the veil can be pulled
down.

Wedding veils

An occasion on which a Western woman is likely to wear a veil is on her
white wedding
day.
Brides
once used to wear their hair flowing
down their back at their wedding to symbolise their virginity. Veils covering
the hair and face became a symbolic reference to the virginity of the bride
thereafter. Often in modern weddings, the ceremony of removing a face veil after
the wedding to present the groom with a virgin bride is skipped, since many
couples have already entered into conjugal relations prior to their wedding
day – the bride either wears no face veil, or it is lifted before the ceremony
begins, but this is not always the case. Further, if a bride is a virgin, she
often wears the face veil through the ceremony, and then either her father lifts
the veil, presenting the bride to her groom, or the groom lifts the veil to
symbolically consummate the marriage, which will later become literal. Brides
who are virgins may make use of the veil to symbolize and emphasize their status
of purity during their wedding however, and if they do, the lifting of the veil
may be ceremonially recognized as the crowning event of the wedding, when the
beauty of the bride is finally revealed to the groom and the guests. It is not
altogether clear that the wedding veil is a non-religious use of this item,
since weddings have almost always had religious underpinnings, especially in the
West. Veils, however, had been used in the West for weddings long before this.
Roman brides, for instance, wore an intensely flame-colored and fulsome veil,
called the flammeum, apparently intended to protect the bride from
evil spirits
on her wedding day. Later, the
so-called velatio virginum became part of the rite of the
consecration of virgins
, the liturgical rite in
which the church sets aside the virgin as a sacred person who belongs only to
Christ.

In the 19th century, wedding veils came to symbolize the woman’s
virginity
and
modesty
. The tradition of a veiled bride’s face
continues even today wherein, a virgin bride, especially in Christian or Jewish
culture, enters the marriage ritual with a veiled face and head, and remains
fully veiled, both head and face, until the ceremony concludes. After the full
conclusion of the wedding ceremony, either the bride’s father lifts the veil
giving the bride to the groom who then kisses her, or the new groom lifts her
face veil in order to kiss her, which symbolizes the groom’s right to enter into
conjugal relations with his bride.

The lifting of the veil was often a part of ancient wedding ritual,
symbolizing the
groom
taking possession of the wife, either as
lover or as property, or the revelation of the bride by her parents to the groom
for his approval.

A bride wearing a typical wedding veil

In Judaism, the tradition of wearing a veil dates back to biblical times.
According to the Torah in
Genesis 24:65
, Isaac is brought Rebekah to
marry by his father Abraham’s servant. It is important to note that Rebekah did
not veil herself when traveling with her lady attendants and Abraham’s servant
and his men to meet Isaac, but she only did so when Isaac was approaching. Just
before the wedding ceremony the
badeken
or bedeken is held. The groom places
the veil over the bride’s face, and either he or the officiating Rabbi gives her
a blessing. The veil stays on her face until just before the end of the wedding
ceremony – when they are legally married according to Jewish law – then the
groom helps lift the veil from off her face.

The most often cited interpretation for the
badeken
is that, according to
Genesis 29
, when Jacob went to marry Rachel,
his father in law Laban tricked him into marrying Leah, Rachel’s older and
homlier sister. Many say that the veiling ceremony takes place to make sure that
the groom is marrying the right bride. Some say that as the groom places the
veil over his bride, he makes an implicit promise to clothe and protect her.
Finally, by covering her face, the groom recognizes that he his marrying the
bride for her inner beauty; while looks will fade with time, his love will be
everlasting. In some ultra-orthodox traditions the bride wears an opaque veil as
she is escorted down the aisle to meet her groom. This shows her complete
willingness to enter into the marriage and her absolute trust that she is
marrying the right man. In Judaism, a wedding is not considered valid unless the
bride willingly consents to it.

In ancient Judaism
the lifting of the veil took place just
prior to the consummation of the marriage in sexual union. The uncovering or
unveiling that takes place in the
wedding ceremony
is a symbol of what will take
place in the marriage bed. Just as the two become one through their words spoken
in wedding vows, so these words are a sign of the physical oneness that they
will consummate later on. The lifting of the veil is a symbol and an
anticipation of this.

In the
Western world
,
St. Paul’s
words concerning how marriage
symbolizes the union of Christ and His Church may underlie part of the tradition
of veiling in the marriage ceremony.

Dance

Veils are part of the stereotypical images of courtesans and harem women.
Here, the mysterious veil hints at sensuality, an example being the dance of the
seven veils. This is the context into which belly dancing veils fall, with a
large repertoire of ways to wear and hold the veil, framing the body and
accentuating movements. Dancing veils can be as small as a scarf or two, silk
veils mounted on fans, a half circle, three-quarter circle, full circle, a
rectangle up to four feet long, and as large as huge Isis wings with sticks for
extensions. There is also a giant canopy type veil used by a group of dancers.
Veils are made of rayon, silk, polyester, mylar and other fabrics (never wool,
though). Rarely used in Egyptian cabaret style, veil dancing has always played
an important part in the international world of belly dance, extending the range
of the dance and offering lovely transitory imagery.

Courtesans

Conversely, veils are often part of the stereotypical image of the
courtesan
and
harem
woman. Here, rather than the virginity of
the bride’s veil, modesty of the Muslim scarf or the piety of the nun’s
headdress, the mysterious veil hints at sensuality and the unknown. An example
of the veil’s erotic potential is the
dance of the seven veils
.

In this context, the term may refer to a piece of sheer cloth approximately 3
x 1.5 metres, sometimes trimmed with sequins or coins, which is used in various
styles of belly dancing
. A large repertoire of ways to
wear and hold the veil exists, many of which are intended to frame the body from
the perspective of the audience.

Veils for men

Among the
Tuareg
,
Songhai
,
Moors
,
Hausa
. and
Fulani
of
West Africa
, women do not traditionally wear
the veil, while men do. The men’s facial covering originates from the belief
that such action wards off evil spirits, but most probably relates to protection
against the harsh desert sands as well; in any event, it is a firmly established
tradition. Men begin wearing a veil at age 25 which conceals their entire face
excluding their eyes. This veil is never removed, even in front of family
members.

In India
,
Pakistan
,
Bangladesh
, and
Nepal
, men wear a
sehra
on their wedding day. This is a male
veil covering the whole face and neck. The sehra is made from either flowers,
beads, tinsel, dry leaves, or coconuts. The most common sehra is made from fresh
marigolds. The groom wears this throughout the day concealing his face even
during the wedding ceremony. In India today you can see the groom arriving on a
horse with the sehra wrapped around his head.

Etymology

“Veil” came from Latin
vēlum, which also means “sail“.
There are two theories about the origin of the word vēlum:-

• Via the “covering” meaning, from (Indo-European
  root
  ) *wel– = “to cover, to
  enclose”.
• Via the “sail” meaning, from Indo-European *weghslom, from root *wegh-
  = “way” or “carry in a vehicle”, because it makes the ship move.