Janus
Sign in to saveIn ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having a double-sided head. The month of January is named for Janus (Ianuarius). According to ancient Roman farmers' almanacs, Juno was mistaken as the tutelary deity of the month of January, but Juno is the tutelary deity of the month of June.
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Janus was the ancient Roman god of beginnings, endings, transitions, and doorways, typically shown with two faces looking in opposite directions. The month of January takes its name from him, reflecting his association with new beginnings and the passage of time.
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Key facts
- Deity.type
- Roman
- Deity.name
- Janus
- Deity.other_names
- ("Janus Father"), ("Janus Fourfaced"), ("Two-faced Janus")
- Deity.member_of
- the di selecti
- Deity.image
- Double herm Chiaramonti Inv1395.jpg
- Deity.caption
- Statue representing Janus Bifrons in the Vatican Museums
- Deity.deity_of
- God of all beginnings, gates, transitions, boundaries, roads, duality, doorways, passages, paths and endings
- Deity.abode
- at the limits of Earth, at the extremity of Heaven
- Deity.symbol
- two faces
- Deity.consort
- Camese, Venilia, and Juturna
- Deity.parents
- None (primordial deity) Terra and Caelus (variant)
- Deity.siblings
Article
49 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Ancient interpretations
- Theology and functions
- God of beginnings and passages
- God of change
- Demi-god or a king reformator
- Position in the pantheon
- Structural peculiarity theory
- Solar god theories
- Temples
- Cult epithets
- Carmen Saliare
- Other sources
- Pater
- Geminus
- Patulcius and Clusivius the 1st
- Quirinus
- Ποπάνων (Popanon, Libo?)
- Iunonius
- Consivius
- Κήνουλος (Coenulus)
- Curiatius
- Rites
- Beginning of the year
- Beginning of the month
- Beginning of the day
- Space
- Rites of the Salii
- Tigillum Sororium
- Myths
- Origin, legends, and history
- Distant origin hypothesis
- 1. The boat of Janus and the beliefs of the primitive sailing techniques
- 2. Religious quality of trees
- 3. The depiction of Janus and Boreas as bifrons
- 4. The sites of the cults of Janus at Rome
- 5. Sociological remarks
- Relationship with other gods
- Janus and Juno
- Janus and Quirinus
- Janus and Portunus
- Janus and Vesta
- Janus in Etruria
- Association with non-Roman gods
- Legacy
- See also
- Citations
- Bibliography
- External links
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having a double-sided head. The month of January is named for Janus (Ianuarius). According to ancient Roman farmers' almanacs, Juno was mistaken as the tutelary deity of the month of January, but Juno is the tutelary deity of the month of June.
Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The gates of the Temple of Janus in Rome were opened in time of war and closed to mark the arrival of peace. As a god of transitions, he had functions pertaining to birth and to journeys and exchange, and in his association with Portunus, a similar harbor and gateway god, he was concerned with travelling, trading, and shipping.