Two-faced Janus - who is he? Janus in ancient Roman mythology The sun god Janus.

Two-Faced Janus

Janus, the god of the past, present and future, doors, entrances, war and peace and the patron of all endeavors, was one of the most important gods of Rome, but he was also completely unknown to the Greeks.

According to some myths, he was the son of Apollo. He was born in Thessaly, but in his youth he came to Italy, where he founded a city on the Tiber, which he called Janiculum. Here he was joined by Saturn, who had gone into exile, with whom he generously shared his throne. Together they introduced civilization to the wild population of Italy. People during their reign lived so richly that these years were often later called the golden age.

Saturn was the first to come to them from the heights of the ethereal Olympus,

Deprived of his kingdom, terrified by his son's weapons.

He is the savages who wandered alone through the mountain forests,

Merged into a single people, and gave them laws, and Latin land

He named it in which he had long since taken refuge safely.

The age when Saturn ruled is now called golden.

Virgil

Janus was usually depicted with two faces looking in different directions, since he knew well not only the present, but also the past and future. In addition, it was considered a symbol of the sun, which, rising, begins a new day, and descending, ends it.

There were statues with one face, some depicting old men with gray hair and beards, others depicting young men. There were also sculptures where Janus had three or even four heads.

I am Janus, the eldest of the lords,

I look back and forward,

Counting like a gate patron,

The years that have passed through them.

I cover the paths with snow,

I drive birds off the frozen waters,

I hide the rivers under the ice

And I light the fires.

Longfellow

The beginning of every year, month and day was dedicated to Janus, and at this time special sacrifices were brought to his altar and special prayers were read. He was also the patron of all doors and roads; It was believed that only with his help prayers reach the ears of the gods, therefore during all religious ceremonies his name was pronounced first. He was often depicted with keys in his right hand and a twig in his left. When he represented the patron of the year, he held the number 300 in one hand and 65 in the other.

He was also believed to oversee war and peace. Many temples throughout Italy were dedicated to Janus. One of his most famous temples was called Janus Quadrifront because it was square. Each wall of the temple had one door and three windows. These openings had a symbolic meaning - the doors represented the four seasons, and the windows - the twelve months of the year.

In times of war, the doors of the temple were wide open, for people seeking help or consolation flocked to the temple and made sacrifices to Janus; but when peace came, the doors were immediately closed, since the help of God was no longer needed. However, the Romans were such a warlike people that the doors of the temple were closed only three times in seven centuries, and then not for long.

Celebrations in honor of Janus were held on the first day of the new year. One month - January - bore his name and was considered dedicated to him. On the first day of this month, people went to visit friends and relatives, wished them well and gave gifts - this Roman custom has survived to this day.

Janus is not the only one among the Greek and Roman gods whose name was assigned to a month or day of the week. In Latin, the names of the days of the week were: dies Solis (day of the Sun), dies Lunoe (day of the Moon), dies Martis (day of Mars), dies Mercurii (day of Mercury), dies Jovis (day of Jupiter), dies Veneris (day of Venus) , dies Saturni (day of Saturn). These names are still used in legislation and legal acts. In England, the days of the week were named after the corresponding Saxon gods.

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Differences in gods. The appearance of the goddess Minerva next to Jupiter and Juno looks a little unexpected if we remember which gods were considered the eldest among the Greeks. But the difference in the position and seniority of the Greek and Roman gods does not end there. Next in importance to the Capitoline Triad (and sometimes even more important) among the Romans are the goddess Vesta (Greek Hestia) and the god Janus.

Two-faced Janus. The Greeks did not have a god like Janus, but in Italy he has long been revered. The Romans considered the hearth, patronized by Vesta, and the doors to be the most sacred place in the house. After all, it is the doors that connect any house with the outside world, and the doors fence off the house from it. The doors were called "janua" in Latin, and Janus was their god. But every door has two sides: one faces the inside of the room, the other faces the outside. So Janus was depicted with two faces. Sometimes one of these faces was made young and the other old; one of them looks forward, the other looks back, one looks east, the other looks west, one sees the past, the other sees the future. Because of these two faces, Janus was called “Double”, “Double-faced”, [and we call a hypocritical person “two-faced Janus”, although, of course, hypocrisy does not belong to the qualities of this Roman god.]

Patron of all beginners. Gradually, Janus became not just the god of doors, but the god of every entrance and exit, and then the patron saint of all beginnings and undertakings, as well as the completion of any business. It was believed that Janus begins a new day every morning, unlocking the heavenly gates and releasing the luminaries into the sky, and every evening he closes these gates again. Therefore, every morning was dedicated to Janus, and the first prayer was offered to him, asking that the day be successful. The calendars of each month were also dedicated to him, and since there are twelve months in a year, Janus also had twelve altars in Rome.

"Januarius." But twelve months are a year, so the beginning and end of the year were also dedicated to Janus. The first month of the year, Januarius, was named after him. On the first day of this month, in the temple of Janus, they sacrificed a white bull to him and prayed for the well-being of the Roman state in the new year, and all the Romans brought honey pies, wine, and fruits as gifts to Janus. They wished each other happiness and gave tasty things so that the coming year would be “sweet” and happy. A special law was even passed that prohibited swearing and quarrels on the first day of the year: the Romans were afraid that Janus, angry that his holiday was ruined through the fault of one, would send a bad year on everyone.

Since Janus was the patron of the entire year, he was often described as having 365 fingers on his hands, 300 on one and 65 on the other. But it’s one thing to describe, and another to depict - try to draw or make so many fingers on a statue! The Romans found a way out - the number 365 was inscribed on the hands of the statue of Janus that stood in his temple.

Temple of Janus. The Romans believed that Janus also influenced their military successes - after all, every war has a beginning and an end, and for its successful completion the mercy of the two-faced god is very important. They built an unusual temple, it had two gates: one opposite the other. When the Romans declared war, the double doors of the temple (they were called the “doors of war”) were unlocked and under the arches of the temple the warriors marching passed the statue of the god Janus. Throughout the war, the temple stood open, and when the war ended and the troops returned victoriously from the campaign, the armed warriors again passed in front of the statue of the god - and the heavy oak doors of the temple, decorated with gold and ivory, were locked behind them.

But the Romans fought constantly, sending their armies on campaigns against neighboring peoples, so in the more than 600 years that passed from the time of its construction under the second Roman king Numa Pompilius until Emperor Augustus began to rule Rome, the Temple of Janus was closed only twice. Augustus, who was proud of his peacefulness, closed the temple of Janus three times during the forty years of his reign - more than in the entire history of Rome before his reign!

Goddess of the hearth. Like Hestia, Vesta is the goddess of the hearth and the fire that burned in it. If the doors were dedicated to Janus, then the front room, located behind the doors, was dedicated to Vesta. It was called "vestibulum", and from this word our "vestibule" comes from. However, unlike the Greek goddess, who was revered but did not play a special role either in myths or in state veneration of the gods, Vesta was not only a domestic goddess, but also the goddess of the entire Roman state. In Rome, only one temple was dedicated to her, in which an eternal and unquenchable fire burned; The Romans believed that until it went out, their state would not perish.

Temple of Vesta. The Temple of Vesta was located in the city center, in the Forum - the main square of Rome. They say that it was built in ancient times, under the second Roman king Numa Pompilius. The temple had a round shape. Why? There were two answers to this. The Romans thought that the Universe was spherical in shape, and in its center there was an undying fire. The Temple of Vesta with her fire was supposed to represent the Universe. Or maybe everything was simpler - after all, the home hearth had a round shape, in which Vesta’s fire also burned. Perhaps the temple was made round in imitation of a hearth.

Temple of Vesta in Rome

"Pure Fire" Unlike other Roman temples that contained images of gods, the Temple of Vesta did not have a statue of this goddess. The symbol of her image was the fire that burned in the temple. This fire was constantly maintained, and if it suddenly went out for some reason, it could not be rekindled in the usual way. This was done necessarily by rubbing the planks of the “lucky tree” against each other or from the sun, using a mirror with which the sun’s rays were directed onto the firewood in the hearth. Only such a fire was considered “pure”, worthy of burning in the hearth of the goddess.

Fire update. The fire in the Temple of Vesta was extinguished only once a year - at the beginning of the new year. After all, on this day everything should be renewed, be young. Therefore, the fire of Vesta was also renewed. It was extinguished and then rekindled using one of the described methods. When a Roman moved from Rome, he always took fire from Vesta’s hearth with him in order to light the hearth in his home in his new homeland.

Vesta's secret vault. In addition to the hearth, in the temple of Vesta there was a storage room, into which uninitiated people were prohibited from entering. Everyone knew that some sacred objects were kept there, but no one saw them. They said that there was palladium there - a wooden image of Pallas Athena, which once fell from the sky in Troy and which Aeneas brought with him to Italy. The Romans believed that palladium gave their city immunity and that as long as it was here, no enemy would enter the Eternal City. In addition to palladium, images of the Trojan household gods, the Penates, who also arrived in Italy along with Aeneas, were also kept here.

Son - Font, son-in-law - Vulturn. In Greek literature he is mentioned by Proclus, identifying him with Zeus.

Janus in literature

In the story by the Strugatsky brothers “Monday Begins on Saturday,” Janus turned into the mysterious figure of Janus Poluektovich Nevstruev, the director of the institute, one in two persons. Janus Poluektovich is one person, but in one person he lives, like all other people, from the past to the future, and the “second person” arose after in the future he carried out a successful experiment to achieve counter-motion and began to live from the future to the past .
In the book by Edward Radzinsky “Alexander II. Life and Death,” Tsar Alexander is called the two-faced Janus by the author because of his penchant for both reforms and cruel autocratic methods of rule, so characteristic of his father Nicholas I.

Notes

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See what “Janus (god)” is in other dictionaries:

- (Janus) one of the most ancient Roman gods of the Indians, who, together with the goddess of the hearth Vesta, occupied an outstanding place in Roman ritual. Already in ancient times, different opinions were expressed about the essence of the religious idea that was embodied in Ya.... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

- (Janus). An ancient Latin deity, originally the god of the sun and the beginning, which is why the first month of the year is called by his name (Januarius). He was considered the god of doors and gates, the gatekeeper of Heaven, the mediator in every human matter. Janus was called upon... ... Encyclopedia of Mythology

- (myth.) among the ancient Romans, initially the god of the sun, subsequently of every undertaking, entrances and exits, gates and doors. Depicted with two faces facing the opposite way. hand, also with a scepter and key. Dictionary of foreign words included... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Allah, Jehovah, Hosts, Heaven, Almighty, Almighty, Lord, Eternal, Creator, Creator. (Zeus, Jupiter, Neptune, Apollo, Mercury, etc.) (female goddess); deity, celestial being. See idol, favorite... deceased in God, send a prayer to God,... ... Synonym dictionary

In the myths of the ancient Romans, the god of entrances and exits, doors and every beginning (the first month of the year, the first day of every month, the beginning of human life). He was depicted with keys, 365 fingers (according to the number of days in the year that he began) and with two looking at... ... Historical Dictionary

Janus (lat. Janus, from janus - covered passage and janua - door), in ancient Roman religion and mythology the god of entrances and exits, doors and all beginnings. The Temple of Ya (a gate with two doors covered by a vault) was located in the Forum, in peacetime its gates were... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

January Dictionary of Russian synonyms. Janus noun, number of synonyms: 4 god (375) deity (... Synonym dictionary

This term has other meanings, see Janus (meanings). Janus (lat. Ianus, from ... Wikipedia

Janus (Latin: Ianus): Wiktionary has an article “Janus” Janus is the two-faced god of doors, entrances, exits, passages, beginnings and ends in Roman mythology. Janus (satellite), Saturn X inner satellite of the planet Saturn. Named after the god Janus... ... Wikipedia

Books

God from the Star, Chashchina A., Inspector Bogdan Sheptunov flies to the orbital station of the distant planet Janus. On one of the illegal transport shuttles, under unclear circumstances, more than two hundred people transported died... Category:

One of the oldest Roman gods was Janus. He was called the “unlocking” and “locking” god and was depicted with keys. He had two faces - one forward, the other backward. The two-faced nature of Janus meant that any door could open or close. When addressing the gods, the Romans considered Janus the main one. In addition to his ability to open and close all doors and exits, this Roman god taught people shipbuilding, cultivating the land and growing vegetables. His feast day, the agony, was celebrated on January 9th. The first month of the year is named in his honor - Januarius (January).

Two-faced Janus did not perform any outstanding feats. He was not handsome, did not have much strength or power. But, according to the beliefs of the ancient Romans, he supervised the most important natural phenomena. Before the cult of the god Jupiter appeared, he was called the god of the sky and sunlight. Janus opened the gates of heaven, released the sun into the sky, and he closed these gates when night approached and the sun disappeared. He controlled all the doors of private houses, temples, and city gates.

Before starting any business, the Romans called upon the god Janus for help, as they considered him the god of all endeavors. It is no coincidence that the first month of the year, January, is dedicated to him in the calendar. People believed that it was Janus who taught the ancient people calculus, so the number CCC (300) was inscribed on the fingers of his right hand, and LXV (65) on the fingers of his left hand. The priest of Janus is a king-priest, among the priests of other gods he was considered the most important.

The sanctuary of the god Janus in Ancient Rome was erected next to the Roman forum. According to legend, in his honor, the second king of Ancient Rome, Numa Pompilius, ordered the installation of a double arch covered with bronze, supported by columns. When war was declared, the king or consul used a huge key to unlock the heavy double oak gates of the temple. They were decorated with gold, ivory, and green branches. And in front of the double marble face of the god Janus, warriors going to war passed under the arches. Along with the battle-hardened veterans walked young men who were about to fight the enemy for the first time. They looked at the god Janus and asked him to give them luck so that they could come back victorious. Throughout the war, the gates of the temple stood open. When peace was concluded, the returning troops again passed in front of the statue of the god, and the temple was locked until the next war.

In times of peace, the Romans came to the sanctuary to worship their two-faced god Janus. His “duplicity” for them meant movement in both directions - a solemn forward and a happy return back. They offered him wine, fruits and honey pies, and at the beginning of the year a white bull.

It is believed that Janus was one of the first kings of Latium, the ancestral home of the center of modern Italy and its capital Rome. On the right bank of the Tiber, on the Janiculum hill, he had a palace, from where he ruled the area under his control. But his solitary reign did not last long. He was interrupted by the god Saturn arriving on a ship in Latium.

Later, the god Janus was replaced by the more powerful and active god Jupiter - the god of all nature, who was identified with the ancient Greek god Zeus.

Janus, Roman deity of doors; as such, it had two faces, since the door is both an entrance and an exit, it leads both inside and outside the house. In addition, he was the god of contracts and alliances. Janus commanded the beginnings, his place in space is the entrance doors and gates, his place in time is the beginning of the year, the beginning of events.

Before the advent of the cult of Jupiter, Janus was the deity of the sky and sunlight, who opened the heavenly gates and released the sun into the sky, and closed these gates at night. There was also a belief that Janus reigned on earth even before Saturn and taught people the calculation of time, crafts and agriculture. He is associated with the Golden Age, as he was considered the first ruler of Latium, a civilization traditionally defined as "Promethean" because its existence was initiated by his gifts to humanity: fire, crafts and the calendar.

According to legend, the first temple of Janus was erected by King Numa Pompilius. The Temple of Janus consisted of two large arches connected by transverse walls, with two gates facing each other. Inside there was a statue of a god who had two faces facing in opposite directions; one - to the past, the other - to the future. Janus had a key in his hand, with which he unlocked and locked the gates of heaven. Since Janus was the god of time, counting days, months and years, the number 300 was inscribed on his right hand, and 65 on his left, which meant the number of days in a year. The Romans associated Janus with fate, time and war; The Italians turned to Janus when declaring war.

In Ovid, the two-faced Janus, as the embodiment of the beginning and the end, is identified with the chaos from which the ordered world arose; during this process, Janus himself turned from a shapeless block-ball into a god who, according to Ovid, rotates the axis of the world. He may have originally acted as the supreme deity; his name was mentioned first when addressing the gods. His epithet Gemin means Double; the image of Janus can be considered as an expression of the unity of opposites and the personification of all-inclusiveness, power over all spheres of existence. This image embodies the idea that technological progress entails irreversible and often negative changes in the human way of life; it is a symbol of the careless and improvident use of natural forces and the achievements of civilization.

Janus was also the patron saint of travelers and the guardian of roads, and was revered among Italian sailors, who believed that it was he who taught people how to build the first ships. Wine, fruits and honey pies were sacrificed to Janus, and at the beginning of the year, a white bull.

Janus - in Roman mythology - the two-faced god of doors, entrances, exits, various passages, as well as the beginning and end, as well as the god of time. The two-faced Janus was always depicted with two faces - usually young and old, looking in opposite directions.

Two-faced Janus was the deity of the sky and sunlight, who opened the heavenly gates and released the sun into the sky, and closed these gates at night. Under the auspices of Janus were all the doors - a private house, a temple of the gods or the gates of city walls, and since he counted the days, months and years, the number CCC was inscribed on the fingers of his right hand, and LXV on the left, the total of these the numbers indicate the number of days of the year. The beginning of the year is named after Janus; its first month is Januarius.

Today, Two-Faced Janus is a symbol of duplicity, hypocrisy and lies, in my opinion, completely undeservedly - the ancient Romans did not at all associate these qualities with the deity of Janus, the directions for which he was responsible were very honorable, vitally important and had a philosophical meaning.

Apparently, people simply associate the presence of two persons in one deity with opposite qualities, according to the good-bad principle, and they belong to the same creature.

Sources: aforizmu.com, godsbay.ru, esperanto-plus.ru, dic.academic.ru, talusha.3bb.ru

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