The Temple of Janus

ROMAN FORUM

Janus as the God of Roman

Janus, the God of Roman, manages the war, gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings.
Janus was portrayed with two faces looking in opposite directions, one bearded and the other one
clean-shaven which symbolized the moon and the sun, or age and youth. Janus was depicted
holding a porters staff in one hand and a set of keys on the other hand. Those keys are used for the
means of entrance to heaven while, the staff is to signify his authority and as a guide. He also
represented time as he could see into the past in one face and the other into the future.

Misconception of the myth

Most of the mythology we read from books state that the gates of the temple is the only way to the
heaven, but in fact, the actual function of the temple is to represent the degree of peace of the
country. When the gates are open, it signifies that the country is at war. Likewise, when the gates are
closed, the country is at peace. Besides, the temple described as the indicator of war and peace is
not in dispute as it is written in a variety of ancient source.

Roman coins

History

The Temple of Janus in Rome was situated in a street named Argiletum, an important road that connected the Roman Forum and the
residential areas in the northeast. Janus was a very old and important Roman god. The oldest lists of gods usually began with his name.
Besides that, his portrait can be found on the oldest Roman coins. Furthermore, the Temple of Janus is also known as Janus Geminus to reflect
his twin faces. It was a small shrine that held an archaic bronze statue of the god, said to have been dedicated by Numa, Rome's second king.
Plutarch of Chaeronea states that Janus has a temple at Rome with double doors, called the gates of war. During the reign of the legendary
king Numa, the gates of the temple were always closed, showing peace. Numa had invented the rule that they were to remain open during war
periods. However, the gates are rarely close as the realm was always engaged with some war. In Emperor Augustus autobiography, he says
that the gateway of Janus Quirinus should be shut when victories had been achieved and had secured peace by land and sea throughout the
whole empire of Roman people. However, the gate was only closed twice in traditional records. He states that while he was leading the citizen,
the Senate resolved that it should be on three occasions. On the other hand, Pliny, the Elder relates that the sculptors art, the god portrayed
with two bearded heads existed in Italy in the earliest times. The fingers were arranged in a unique way, indicating 355 days of the year. He
thought it was a reference to the number of days of the oldest Roman calendar.

Culture and festival

The temple of Janus as the Leicesters

model of idea
In the early 1919, Sir Edwin Lutyens, one of the foremost English architects of his days,
the creator of the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the Great War memorials in France and
Belgium, was invited by Leicester City Councils Memorial Committee to design a
monument to commemorate the men of the city and county of Leicester who died in the
Great War. For Lutyens, the architectural challenge was to express in stone. The
profound loss the nation felt must be with a special reverence and dignity. Therefore, he
turned to antiquity and adopted the Greek idea of catafalque for the Cenotaph in London.
For Leicester, he turned to the temples of Rome and in particular one of the oldest,
smallest and most curious, the temple of Janus. The original Temple of Janus was
moved and later demolished, as there were subsequent replacements.

Like other gods in mythology that will celebrate its own distinct
festival, Janus is no exception. Januss festival is known as the
Agonalia, which is also listed as Agonium, which means victim. It
is celebrated 4 times during the year, where its dates fall on 17th
March, 21st May, 11th December and 9th January. During the
festival, Rex Sacrorum, the king of sacrifice, would enter the
Forum and sacrifice a ram to the god, which is used to ensure the
protection of the state. Besides that, according the Romes
calendar, Janus is also known as the God of the New Year as
every New Year began on January 1st. The first day of the year
was devoted and set apart by feriae publicae which means public
holiday. In the old Roman times, slaves were granted
inconvenience. Besides, people in the country need to exchange
cheerful words, containing good wishes to each other.

Coin
Janus has an enduring place in Roman religion. He was
present during the creation of Rome during the time of
Romulus as well as being present till the rise of
Christianity and the split of the Republic under the rule of
Diocletian. Janus was well-respected and highly-regarded
as a god by the Romans, and so his dual-faced image
could be found on many things ranging from city gates
and Roman coins, it is apparent that Janus played a
significant role in Roman myth and religion.

LOCATION
Latitude : 415320.83
Longtitude : 12295.15

TEY CHENG FERN 0323912

VIVIAN TAY HUEY SHUEN 0323869