Myths and Legends: Journeys Through Time
Janus
Have you ever had a moment where you feel as if you’re looking forward to whatever the
future may bring yet at the same time, looking back as to what the past has brought? Or have
you ever sat around on New Year’s Eve contemplating the coming new year while reminiscing
about the past year? January is the first month of the year and it’s named after a Roman god
named Janus. Janus is one of the more….interesting gods in the Roman pantheon. He’s just
as if not more important than Jupiter, who is the ruler of all the gods. In Greek mythology
Jupiter’s counterpart is Zeus, Janus however has no Greek counterpart. The closest Greek
mythology comes to having a counterpart for Janus is two-faced god similar to the god
Hermes. Two faced…yes Janus is most often depicted as having two faces. One looking
forward in time, to the future and all things coming, and the other looking back into times,
to the past and all things that have happened. In Roman mythology Janus is considered the
god of beginnings, gates, doorways, marriages, the harvest, deaths…any event or time in a
person’s life where the was a new beginning, an end or change. Originally though, Janus was
the patron of the concrete and abstract beginnings of the world, human life, new historical
ages and economical enterprises. Also in his original depiction, he was the patron of home
entrances, gates, bridges, covered and arched passageways. One version of the mythology
holds that Janus originally came from Thessaly and was welcomed into Latium by Carmese
who later became his wife. By Carmese he had several children one of them being Tiberinus
who’s the namesake for the river Tiber. When Carmese died, Janus became the sole ruler of
Latium. When Saturn (The Roman counterpart to the Greek Titan Kronos) was fleeing from
his son Jupiter, it was Janus that offered him a place of shelter. Janus was the first king of
Latium and as such, he brought about many things. One of the things that he brought was a
time of peace and change which is also known as the Golden Age. He introduced money,
agriculture and the laws. In a sense you could say he was responsible for making Rome
civilized. When Janus died he was deified. Basically..he was made a deity and became
the protector of Rome. When Romulous stole the Sabine virgins and the Sabines attacked
Rome as a result, Janus became known for one thing. The daughter of one of the guards
decided to betray he fellow countrymen and guided the Sabines to the city. When they
attempted to climb the hill, Janus caused a hot spring to erupt from said hill. The Sabines
fled and ever since then, the gates of Janus’ temple were kept open in war times so that he
could come and help whenever needed. Whenever there’s peace the gates of his temple are
closed. January is named after Janus because on December 31 we celebrate New Year’s Eve
and at midnight we say goodbye to the old year and hello to the new year. At this time a
person is effectively looking forward while looking back. Janus may have been a two faced
god but he was a two faced god in a very good way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus