Janus

(European mythology)

An old Italian deity, represented with two faces, looking different ways. His double-gated temple on the Forum in Rome had a symbolic significance: it was open in time of war and closed in time of peace. Janus may have been connected with the fortunes of war because any army had to pass through a gateway in order to start a campaign. An ianua, ‘entrance gate’, has two sides and presumably represents the two possible outcomes of any future event—success or failure.

From this military association Janus developed into a god of all ‘beginnings’. The month of January was sacred to him—today Europeans continue to look forwards and backwards at this time—while as Janus Quadrifrons, ‘four heads’, he presided over the four seasons. The Romans named Janus first in any list of gods invoked in prayer.

1. Roman Mythology. The god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions.
2. A satellite of Saturn.

[Latin Iānus, iānus, archway, doorway.]

(click to enlarge)
The god Janus, beardless, Roman coin; in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (credit: Larousse)

Roman god of doorways and archways, after whom the month of January is named. Often depicted as a double-faced head, he was a deity of beginnings. The worship of Janus dated back to the earliest years of Rome, and the city had many freestanding ceremonial gateways called jani, used for symbolically auspicious entrances or exits. The most famous was the Janus Geminus, whose double doors were left open in time of war and closed when Rome was at peace. The festival of Janus, the Agonium, took place on January 9.

For more information on Janus, visit Britannica.com.