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Faustina II -
Roman Empress
& Wife of
Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
-
161-175 A.D. -
Silver
Denarius 16mm (2.84 grams) Rome mint 161 A.D.
Reference:
RIC 507a (Antoninus Pius), C 176
FAVSTINAEAVGPIIAVGFIL - Diademed, draped bust right.
PVDICITIA - Pudicitia standing left, pulling veil and
raising skirt.
You
are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a
Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Pudicitia ("modesty" or “sexual virtue”) was a
central concept in
ancient Roman sexual ethics
.
The word is derived from the more general pudor,
the sense of shame that regulated an individual's
behavior as socially acceptable. Pudicitia was
most often a defining characteristic of women, but men
who failed to conform to
masculine sexual norms
were said to exhibit feminizing impudicitia,
sexual shamelessness. The virtue was
personified
by the
Roman goddess
Pudicitia, whose
Greek equivalent
was
Aidôs
.
As virtue
Romans, both men and women, were expected to uphold
the virtue of pudicitia, a complex ideal that was
explored by many ancient writers, including
Livy
,
Valerius Maximus
,
Cicero
and
Tacitus
. Livy describes
the legendary figure of
Lucretia
as the epitome
of pudicitia. She is loyal to her husband and is
modest, despite her incredible beauty. The story of
Lucretia shows that the more virtuous a woman was, the
more appealing she was to potential adulterers.
Pudicitia was not only a mental attribute but
also physical; a person’s appearance was seen as an
indicator of their morality. The way a man or woman
presented him or herself in public, and the persons they
interacted with caused others to pass judgment on their
pudicitia. For example, if a woman was seen
associating with men other than her husband people would
make a negative judgment on her pudicitia. Romans
idealized the woman who was univira, a "one-man"
woman, married once, even though by the time of Cicero
and
Julius Caesar
,
divorce
was common, the
subject of gossip rather than social stigma.[1]
Modest self-presentation indicated pudicitia. The
opposite of pudicitia was impudicitia,
"shamelessness" or “sexual vice.” An assault on
pudicitia was
stuprum
, sexual
misconduct or "sex crime."
Romans associated the loss of pudicitia with
chaos and loss of control. In Cicero’s
oration against Verres
,
he discusses many of the governor’s transgressions
including sexual misconduct with both men and women. In
the Imperial age,
Augustus
enacted a
program of moral legislation to encourage pudicitia.
The
goddess
According to
Livy
, there were two
temples of Pudicitia in Rome. The original one was for
women of the
patrician
class only,
but when
Verginia
was excluded
on account of marrying a
plebeian
consul
, she and a group
of plebeian matrons founded an altar of Pudicitia for
women of the
plebeian
class as well.
Livy states that the plebeian shrine of Pudicitia
eventually fell into disuse after its sacred character
had been abused.
Annia
Galeria Faustina Minor (Minor Latin for
the younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina
the Younger
(February
16 between 125 and 130-175) was a daughter of
Roman Emperor
Antoninus Pius
and Roman Empress
Faustina the Elder
. She was a Roman Empress and wife
to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
. Though Roman sources give a
generally negative view of her character, she was held
in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was
given divine honours after her death.
//
Biography
Faustina, named after her mother, was
her parents' fourth and youngest child and their second
daughter; she was also their only child to survive to
adulthood. She was born and raised in
Rome
.
Her great uncle, the Emperor
Hadrian
, had arranged with her father for Faustina
to marry
Lucius Verus
. On February 25, 138, she and Verus
were betrothed.
Verus’ father
was Hadrian’s first adopted son and
his intended heir. However when Verus’ father died,
Hadrian chose Faustina’s father to be his second adopted
son, and eventually, he became Hadrian’s successor.
Faustina’s father ended the engagement between his
daughter and Verus and arranged for Faustina's betrothal
to her maternal cousin,
Marcus Aurelius
; Aurelius was also adopted by her
father. On May 13, 145, Faustina and Marcus Aurelius
were married. When her father died on March 7, 161, her
husband and Lucius Verus succeeded to her father’s
throne and became co-rulers. Faustina was given the
title of
Augusta
and became Empress.
Unfortunately, not much has survived
from the Roman sources regarding Faustina's life, but
what is available does not give a good report.
Cassius Dio
and the
Augustan History
accuse Faustina of ordering
deaths by poison and execution; she has also been
accused of instigating the revolt of
Avidius Cassius
against her husband. The Augustan
History mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators,
and men of rank. However, Faustina and Aurelius seem to
have been very close and mutually devoted. Her husband
trusted her and defended her vigorously against
detractors.
Faustina accompanied her husband on
various military campaigns and enjoyed the love and
reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title
of Mater Castrorum or Mother of the Camp.
Between 170-174, she was in the north, and in 175, she
accompanied Aurelius to the east. However, these
experiences took their toll on Faustina, who died in the
winter of 175, after an accident, at the military camp
in Halala (a city in the
Taurus Mountains
in
Cappadocia
).
Aurelius grieved much for his wife
and buried her in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. She
was deified: her statue was placed in the Temple of
Venus in Rome and a temple was dedicated to her in her
honor. Halala’s name was changed to Faustinopolis
and Aurelius opened charity schools for orphan girls
called Puellae Faustinianae or 'Girls of
Faustina'.[1]
The Baths of Faustina in
Miletus
are named after her.
In their thirty years of marriage,
Faustina bore Marcus Aurelius thirteen children:
-
Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina
(147-after 165)
-
Gemellus Lucillae (died around
150), twin brother of Lucilla
-
Annia Aurelia Galeria
Lucilla
(148/50-182), twin sister of Gemellus,
married her father's co-ruler
Lucius Verus
-
Titus Aelius Antoninus (born
after 150, died before 7 March 161)
-
Titus Aelius Aurelius (born after
150, died before 7 March 161)
-
Hadrianus (152-157)
-
Domitia Faustina (born after 150,
died before 7 March 161)
-
Fadilla
(159-after 211)
-
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor
(160-after 211)
-
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus
(161-165), twin brother of Commodus
-
Commodus
(161-192), twin brother of Titus
Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, later emperor
-
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar
(162-169)
- Vibia Aurelia Sabina (170-died before 217)
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 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.
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