Janus (mythology)
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In Roman mythology, Janus (or Ianus) was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. His most prominent remnants in modern culture are his namesakes: the month of January, which begins the new year, and the janitor, who is a caretaker of doors and halls.
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[edit] Ancient incarnation
Janus was usually depicted with two heads (not faces) looking in opposite directions, and was frequently used to symbolize change and transitions such as the progression of past to future, of one condition to another, of one vision to another, the growing up of young people, and of one universe to another. He was also known as the figure representing time because he could see into the past with one face and into the future with the other. Hence, Janus was worshipped at the beginnings of the harvest and planting times, as well as marriages, births and other beginnings. He was representative of the middle ground between barbarity and civilization, rural country and urban cities, and youth and adulthood.
[edit] Myths
[edit] Carna
His ability to see both forwards and backwards at the same time aided him in his pursuit of the nymph Carna to whom he gave power over door hinges as a reward for her favours.
[edit] Other myths
Janus was supposed to have come from Thessaly in Greece and he shared a kingdom with Camese in Latium. They had many children, including Tiberinus.
When Romulus and his men kidnapped the Sabine women, Janus caused a volcanic hot spring to erupt, resulting in the would-be attackers being buried alive. In honor of this, the doors to his temples were kept open during war so that Janus himself may easily watch this happen. The doors and gates were closed in ceremony when peace was concluded.
[edit] Origins
The Romans associated Janus with the Etruscan deity Ani. However, he was one of the few Roman gods who had no ready-made counterpart, or analogous mythology. We can find in Greece Janus-like heads of gods related to Hermes, perhaps forming a compound god: Hermathena (a herm of Athena), Hermares, Hermaphroditus, Hermanubis, Hermalcibiades, and so on. In the case of these compounds it is disputed whether they indicated a herm with the head of Athena, or with a Janus-like head of both Hermes and Athena, or a figure compounded from both deities.
[edit] Janus in modern usage
Like many mythological dieties, Janus has remained popular in modern culture. There are many references to Janus in pop culture, and he appears on coins such as the recent 100 euro The Sculpture Gold coin. He also inspired the name of the Janus kinase family of enzymes which have two nearly identical sub-regions.
Janus also appears on Two-Face's signature double-sided coin in the 1995 movie, Batman Forever.
[edit] External links
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