Here is a fun fact you may or may not be aware of: I've read that there was a common anatomical belief amongst ancient physicians in Rome/Greece that the hair was a sexual organ. Some physicians believed that the hair of a woman would retain the constituents of semen after they have intercourse. There is some indication of this belief in one of Paul's epistles in the New Testament, which would be one reason why Orthodox and Catholic women have historically veiled themselves. Another more obvious reason is that the fallen angels in the book of Enoch had sexual relations with human women, creating the Nephilim. Since angels are present during the Divine Liturgy, it would be sinful to tempt them into relations due to the exposure of hair.
Here is a fun fact you may or may not be aware of: I've read that there was a common anatomical belief amongst ancient physicians in Rome/Greece that the hair was a sexual organ. Some physicians believed that the hair of a woman would retain the constituents of semen after they have intercourse. There is some indication of this belief in one of Paul's epistles in the New Testament, which would be one reason why Orthodox and Catholic women have historically veiled themselves. Another more obvious reason is that the fallen angels in the book of Enoch had sexual relations with human women, creating the Nephilim. Since angels are present during the Divine Liturgy, it would be sinful to tempt them into relations due to the exposure of hair.
Footnotes? Bibliography? Suggested reading for those who'd like to know more? Thank you.
E.g. Elite women in ancient Mesopotamia and in the Macedonian and Persian empires wore the veil as a sign of respectability and high status.(1)
1. Ahmed, Leila (1992). Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 15.