Janus. Myths and legends of Ancient Rome

Janus was the guardian spirit of doors and gates, and later became the god of all beginnings. Dawn, the beginning of each month, was dedicated to him, and January, as the first month of the year, received its name from him - Januarius. The first of January was a community holiday. On this day, new dignitaries solemnly took up their positions, made sacrifices to the gods, and accepted congratulations from friends and acquaintances. All residents always visited each other on a friendly visit, exchanged small gifts, mainly delicacies: figs, dates, cookies - for a good omen.

All doors (in Latin - janua) were dedicated to Janus, at which his statues were often placed. The main temple of Janus stood on the north side of the Roman Forum, not far from the curia, where the Senate met and sat. It was just an arch - the gate of the most ancient fortifications. When the ancient fortifications collapsed with the destruction of the city, the gate was preserved, considering it sacred. Its black walls, overgrown with moss, made of uneven stone blocks, were covered with bronze slabs, and inside there was an amazing statue of a god. It depicted a venerable man with two bearded faces facing in opposite directions: one looking east, the other looking west. There was an old custom in the temple: to close the doors during times of peace and open them when Rome was at war. But as soon as general peace came and the rattling of weapons was not heard in the Roman state, the gates of Janus were closed very solemnly, with sacrifices, amid general joy. Throughout Roman history, filled with wars, the gates were locked only a few times.

With the further development of Roman religion, the idea of this god underwent various changes. From an ordinary god of doors, he became the god of the sea and the beginning of all things, as if the first deity, the creator of gods and people. And even when Jupiter turned into the main god of the Romans, Janus retained his honors: in all prayers he was named in first place. And even later, under. under the influence of Greek wisdom, Janus from a god became a king, who seemed to have arrived from Thessaly to Rome and taught the wild Roman people rights and laws even then. They said that he lived on that hill, which was named Janiculum in his honor. But such things were told by scientists or poets. And the people, as before, believed in the former Janus, the guardian of the doors, and devoutly cut the first Roman coins - old, heavy, green pieces of bronze, on which a two-faced god is depicted.

Janus, god

(Janus) is one of the most ancient Roman Indian gods, who, together with the goddess of the hearth Vesta, occupied a prominent place in Roman ritual. Already in ancient times, different opinions were expressed about the essence of the religious idea that was embodied in Ya. Thus, Cicero put the name of God in connection with the verb inire and saw in Y. a deity entrance And exit; others believed that Ya personifies chaos(Janus = Hianus), or air, or firmament; Nigidius Figulus identified Ya with the sun god. The latter opinion has found defenders in the latest literature; others consider Ya a symbol of heaven. All of the above explanations in the latest research on Roman religion and mythology have given way to a new and simple interpretation, according to which the name Ya is identified with the Latin word ianus (door, doorway) and Ya is characterized as a god door, vault, arch, passage. Later, probably under the influence of Greek religious art, Ya began to be depicted as two-faced (geminus) - an image that naturally follows from the idea of a door as a two-sided object. So, Ya was originally the divine gatekeeper, who was invoked in the Salian hymn under the names Clusius or Clusivius (Closing) and Patulcius (opening); its attributes were a key and the necessary weapon of a gatekeeper who drives away uninvited guests - a stick. Just as, in contrast to the hearths of private houses, there was a state hearth in the Roman forum - Vesta populi Romani Quiritium, just as the Romans had an entrance door leading to the atrium of the state - to the Roman forum, the so-called Janus Quirinus. This was the oldest residence (maybe a sanctuary) of Ya, in the northern part of the forum, consisting of two vaults that were connected by wall partitions, so that they formed a covered passage. In the center of the arch stood the image of the two-faced J. The arch of the two-faced J. was built, according to legend, by Numa Pompilius and was supposed to serve, according to the will of the king, indicator of peace and war(index pacis bellique): in peacetime the arch was locked, in wartime its doors remained open. It is doubtful that this rite was ancient; but in the last years of the republic it was observed, and Augustus boasted that under him the arch was closed three times (the first time after the battle of Actium, in 30 BC; the second time - at the end of the war with the Cantabrians in 25 BC; for the third time - at the end of the war with the Germans, in the 1st year BC). Since the concept of time is adjacent to the concept of space (cf. initium - entrance And Start), then Ya, being the god of the entrance, was at the same time considered the patron of every beginning, the first step or moment in every act and phenomenon (Varro’s words: in the hands of Ya - the beginning, in the hands of Jupiter - everything). He was called upon at the beginning of any prayer; the first holiday of the Roman religious year was established in honor of Ya.; in the period of the day, the morning hour was dedicated to Janus (hence the epithet of God - Matutinus), in the period of the month - the calends (the first day), in the period of the 12-month year - the first month, named after Ya. January(Januarius). God’s close relationship to the concepts of time calculation led to the idea of Ya as a deity who controls the movement of the year and time in general: some of his statues expressed this idea in the arrangement of hand fingers, with the fingers of the right hand depicting the number SSS (i.e. 300), and fingers of the left hand - number LXV (==65), i.e. the fingers of both hands, in this position, showed the number 365 days of the year. At the same time, Ya protects every person in the first moments of his uterine life, from the act of conception (Janus Consevius), and stands at the head of the gods, under whose protection a person is from the moment of conception to birth. In general, as the god of every beginning, he is the most ancient and first of the Roman gods, but the first not in the cosmogonic sense, but as the deity of the beginning in the abstract meaning of the word. Ya's special priest was Rex sacrorum, who occupied first place in the hierarchy of the Roman priesthood. According to Varro, twelve altars were dedicated to Ya, according to the number of months of the year. Several Januses (gates) rose in different parts of the city; they ended most of the streets leading to the Roman forum. In ancient times, Ya. did not have his own sanctuaries, except for the arch of the Two-Faced Ya. in the Roman Forum. The first temple about which there is information was built in fulfillment of the vow made by Gaius Duilius at the Battle of Milae (260 BC). Emperor Augustus undertook the restoration of the temple, and the ancient statue of the god was replaced by an image of a two-faced figure brought from Egypt Hermes, by Skopas. Under Domitian, a sanctuary so called was built. Four-faced Ya, whose image was brought to Rome from Faleria back in 240, after the capture of this city by the Romans. The oldest image of Ya is preserved on the ass of the first Roman coinage: this is a bearded two-faced head, the design of which was created, according to Vissova, especially for first copper coins, which also represented unit values. The imagination of poets and scientists has created many etiological legends associated with the name Ya.; There were, for example, legends that J. was the prehistoric king of Latium and Janiculum (see). He, like Saturn, was credited with various inventions (shipbuilding, coinage) and generally a good influence on the development of culture (for example, fruit growing, agriculture). Closely related to Ya were the deities Mater Matuta and Portunus, of which the first was the goddess of morning light (cf. Janus Matutinus) and, like Juno Lucina, was invoked by women during childbirth, and the second was Ya’s double, as is clear from the comparison of names ; portus in the original sense means the same as porta or janua (ianus). Over time, the word portus (gate) began to be used in the sense of a harbor (i.e., the gate of a river or sea), and Portunus became the god of harbors. The name Yanikul was borne by the Janiculum hill (see). There is no information about the existence of the cult of Yaroslav outside Rome. See Roscher, "Ausführliches Lexixon der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie" (P, pp. 15 et seq.); Speyer, "Le dieu romain Janus" (in ".Revue de l"histoire de religion", XXVI, 1892, pp. 1-47); Wissowa, "Religion und Kultus der Römer" (Munich, 1902 = Jw. Müller, "Handbuch der Klassischen Altertumswissenschaft", Vol. V, Dept. IV); Aust, "Die Religion der Rümer" (Münster in Westphalia, 1899); Steuding, "Griechische und Römische Mythologie" (Lpts., 1897).

Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - S.-Pb.: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .

See what “Janus, god” is in other dictionaries:

This article is about the Roman god. See also the article about Janus, the moon of Saturn. Janus (Latin Ianus, from ianua “door”, Greek Ian) in Roman mythology, the two-faced god of doors, entrances, exits, various passages, as well as all kinds of beginnings and beginnings in time... ... Wikipedia

- (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

- (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. So,… … Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

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:

2006) can be very different. In some of them, the main plot is hidden by interweaving lines, some images become visible only at a certain turn or from a certain distance. Hence the names: “decoys”, “double-eyed”, “werewolves”. This time we are talking about what transformations the two-faced god Janus underwent.

Science and life // Illustrations

Two-faced Janus. Unknown sculptor. Italy, XVIII century. St. Petersburg, Summer Garden. Photo from 2006.

Ancient Roman coin.

Etruscan bronze bottle with two faces. Around 250 BC Height 9.4 cm. The Freud museum, London.

Knife handle with the head of a wolf and a walrus. Walrus ivory carving. Knife handle length 10 cm. 20th century. Arhangelsk region.

Slavic gods Svetovid and Triglav. Fragments of paintings by V. Korolkov. From the book: Grushko E., Medvedev Y. Myths and legends of Ancient Rus'. - M., 2003.

A werewolf whistle with a four-faced horseman on a pig-ram. 1981 V. Kovkina (born in 1922).

Werewolf candlestick "Fish - Bird". A. Yakushkin. 2006 Majolica. Ryazan region, Skopin.

"Memento mori" (from Latin: "Remember death"). Germany, mid-16th century. Ivory. Kunst Palace, Dusseldorf (Germany).

Two-faced pictures (images of old women are hidden in women’s hairstyles). XIX century. USA, France.

Vase "Fog". In the photograph we see only two faces.

Four-faced vase "Fog". A. Golubkina. 1899

High relief "Wave" (other names: "The Sea of Life", "Swimmer"). A. Golubkina. 1903 300 x 380 x 100 cm. Installed above the side entrance to the Moscow Academic Art Theater.

If we read the word ROME backwards, we get PEACE. There is a period in history when it was possible to put an equal sign between these words. Ancient Rome existed for a thousand years: from the 5th century BC. e. to the 5th century AD e., and almost all this time the city-state remained the ruler of the world. Of course, Roman rule did not extend to the entire globe, but hundreds of peoples and tribes - the Mediterranean coast - paid tribute for the right and opportunity to live their lives. The spoils of war that Rome received included jewelry, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, and decorative items. Not only things were brought to the Eternal City, but also living trophies: the best artisans, scientists, artists, writers, actors. Therefore, the culture of Ancient Rome, its religion, science and art was largely composed of more developed and ancient cultures with the participation of representatives of newly enslaved peoples.

The ancient Romans worshiped many gods. Most of these gods have ancestors in other cultures. Where did the god Janus, who took his special place in the pantheon, come from?

According to legend, Janus was the king of the region of Latium - the birthplace of the Latin language, he taught his people to build ships, plow the land and grow vegetables. Apparently, for these merits, Saturn awarded him the gift of knowing the past and foreseeing the future: hence the two faces - in front and behind.

Then Janus was proclaimed the patron of all principles. The first month of the year, January, was named after him. He was also the god of doors, because the house begins with them. Since war remained the main occupation of the Romans, Janus could not help but be related to it. An arched temple was built for him, the gates of which swung open when the Roman army set out on a campaign. In peacetime, the doors of the temple were locked. It is not known exactly how things were in reality, but historians have calculated that over the hundreds of years of the Roman Empire, the temple could have remained closed for more than a year only three times. In those days, in order to maintain power, it was necessary to continuously conduct military operations.

Images of the two-faced Janus are found on the oldest Roman coins. But during excavations of Etruscan cities that flourished in northern Italy long before Rome became a city, archaeologists found small bronze vessels of unknown purpose, made in the shape of a human head with two faces facing in different directions. The vessels are amazingly beautiful and expressive. One face on them belongs to a beautiful youth or young woman, and the other to a laughing old man, presumably the god of wine Dionysius.

The combination in sculpture of several images, transforming into one another, has received a special name in our time: “polyeconia”. Translated from Greek, “poly” means many, and “eikon” means image. Archaeologists have discovered a similar technique in other cultures, right up to the Stone Age. For example, the inhabitants of the coast of the Arctic Ocean still have a tradition of carving paired images of the heads of a walrus and a dog, a whale and a seal, a bear and a walrus on the handles of knives. Sometimes a slight turn of the bone item is enough to see the image of a walrus with a calf in the figurine of a woman.

Similar gods (with several faces) existed in Russian history. Thus, in ancient Slavic, pre-Christian culture, Svetovid was depicted with four faces, or more precisely, with four heads facing in different directions. The goddess Triglava has three of them, respectively. In Ancient Rus', Christianity borrowed from the Greeks replaced old beliefs and old gods. The most active fight against them was carried out in those cities where pagan temples and statues were located - there they were destroyed first. According to legend, “idols” were usually drowned in rivers and lakes. In forested Russia, religious monuments and household items were also destroyed by merciless fire. (Rocky Greece was luckier: many pagan temples and statues have survived to this day, albeit not in their original form.)

Historians have to look for information about the pre-Christian life of Russia bit by bit in manuscripts in Greek and Latin. In particular, they learned about Svetovid from the 16-volume work of the Danish chronicler Saxo Grammarian (grammar means teacher of literature). The story about the Slavic gods ended up in his book only because the Danes fought with the Slavic tribes and defeated them, destroying the main temple of Svetovid. Saxo Grammaticus is an eyewitness to this event.

Among the people, the memory of many-faced deities and people with several heads was preserved only in fairy tales. One of them tells about a kind young man who promised to marry two girls at once. But, seeing the third one in the window, he forgot about the first two, started talking about matchmaking and begged the girl to go out onto the porch. She came out... with three heads. It was in them that the guy recognized the two previous girls. Without leaving the porch, the unusual bride demanded that the young man fulfill his promise, keep his word, especially one given three times. Fortunately, this fairy tale has a happy ending. It turned out that the good fellow saw the first two girls in a dream and only met the third in reality.

The many-sided figurines have been preserved in folk art, in particular in painted clay toys and household ceramics. True, they moved from the divine ranks to comic characters. Birds, fish and animals appeared among them. And they began to call them “werewolves.”

In the Kursk region, folk craftswoman Valentina Kovkina sculpts from clay two-faced dolls looking in different directions, figurines of fantastic animals of the “push-pull” type, and compositions with four-faced heroes sitting, for example, on a ram-pig. Alexander Yakushkin from the city of Skopin, Ryazan region, is known as a master of unusual werewolf candlesticks.

What about the ancient god Janus? Two thousand years have passed since the collapse of the Roman Empire. Religions, ideals and assessments have changed. Janus ceased to be the god of good beginnings and foresight of the future, he turned from “two-faced” into “two-faced”, and became the embodiment of insincerity and deceit. And in a new guise it is known today to a much larger number of people than in the days of Ancient Rome. It is curious that recently the two-faced Janus has been declared the god of alliances and contracts; most often, politicians have been “awarded” in his name.

There were also changes in the images of Janus in sculptures and paintings. With the reign of the idea of “duplicity,” heads became carriers of a variety of symbols: beauty and ugliness, youth and old age, friendship and enmity, fun and sadness. Instead of male faces, young and beautiful female heads appeared in the paintings, in whose hairstyles the artists secretly but mercilessly depicted what always replaces youth.

This technique was also reflected in the work of the Russian sculptor Anna Golubkina (1864-1927). Her vase “Fog” looks like a piece of white-gray stone, shapeless, ragged, like real fog, enveloping everything and penetrating everywhere. But look more closely, and you will see that human faces emerge through the “dead” material: two male and two female. They are located on opposite sides of the vase. There is a single point (opposite the old man's face) from where the viewer can see everything and determine how many images are hidden in the "fog". If you look from a different point, the vase turns into a “two-faced” female head. In other cases, a careful eye will always be able to discern “through the fog” the features of three different faces. Golubkina sculpted her “four-faced” vase first in clay and plaster in 1899, and then in marble after a trip to Paris in 1904. In 1940, 13 years after Golubkina’s death, most of the works that had survived by that time were cast in bronze. But the “Fog” vase hardly benefited from this. In my opinion, the marble version best matches its name. Another work by Golubkina, also dedicated to the elements, “Wave,” which frames one of the entrances to the Moscow Academic Art Theater, looks beautiful in bronze. Most passers-by do not notice human figures in the supposedly abstract composition - Golubkina hid them so skillfully.

Of course, it cannot be said that the origins of all images of this kind go back to the pagan Janus, but the impetus for the creative imagination was given a long time ago, and parallels to Janus can be found in a wide variety of cultures. This means that this affects some deep structures of human nature.

The name Janus (lat. Jānus) comes from the Latin word “januae” - door, “Jani” - arch. In ancient Rome, the first day and first month of the new year were named after Janus - Januarius, that is, belonging to Janus, or January.

At the beginning of Januarius (January), people wished each other well and gave sweets to make the whole year sweet and happy. During the holiday, all quarrels and discord were prohibited, so as not to incur the wrath of the god Janus, who could change his mercy to anger and send down a bad year for everyone...

The two-faced god Janus is an ancient Italic deity, doors, entrances, exits, arched passages, as well as the beginning and end of the year, the beginning and end of life. The morning hour of every day was dedicated to God Janus; his name was invoked at the beginning of prayer, at the beginning of all business, at the first of each new month.

Life, like the annual cycle, is an endlessly rotating, Wheel of Time. On Yana - Yāna - a chariot (from the root "yā"), there is a semantic connection with the Latin word "janua" - a door that, like a wheel, also rotates on rowlocks, opening and closing, letting a person into the future and closing the door behind him into past. The Chariot of Eternal and Infinite Time - in Sanskrit “eka-yāna” - eka-yana - a single chariot; tri-yana - tri-yāna - three chariots.

The attributes of Janus were key, with which he unlocked and locked the gates of heaven, releasing the sun into the sky, and in the evening he closed them after the sun returned for the night. Janus had staff, a necessary weapon for a gatekeeper to ward off intruders. Janus is the divine gatekeeper, “opening” (Patulcius) and “closing” (Clusius or Clusivius) the door.

Janus is the oldest Greco-Roman deity who guards the front doors of the house, like the goddess Vesta - the keeper of the home, were revered in every family and protected the house from harm, was considered the patron of every beginning, the first step on the journey.

In each city a state center of Roman rule was created. goddess Vesta - Vesta populi Romani Quiritium, from which all the townspeople lit the family hearth. The ancient Greeks revered Hestia as the goddess of the hearth, which is consonant with Vestia.

In each city they built city gates, the entrance doors of the Roman forum Janus Quiritus - Janus Quirinus.

The second king of Ancient Rome, Numa Pompilius, reigned in Rome from 715 to 673 BC. e., introduced a new lunar-solar calendar, the year consisted of 355 days, divided them into weekdays and holidays (fests). The Roman king Numa Pompilius added two new months to the calendar year - January, dedicated to the god Janus, and February(Latin Februārius mēnsis “month of Februus”, “purification month” from Latin Februa - “festival of purification”). February was dedicated to Februus, the Etruscan god of the underworld, where the souls of dead people went, cleansed of sins. The rites of purification - “februa, februare, februum”, took place on a holiday (dies februatus), on the full moon, and coincided with the festival in honor of the god of Nature Faun (from the Latin Favere - kind, merciful). In the new calendar of Numa Pompilius, the year began in March and ended in December. It was believed that the god Janus taught people the calculation of time, crafts and agriculture.

Numa Pompilius ordered the construction of a sanctuary of the god Janus in the northern part of the Roman forum, consisting of two covered arched vaults, in the center of the arch stood an image of the two-faced Janus. Through the doors in the arch of the god Janus, the Roman soldiers went to war, and the doors of Janus remained open, awaiting their return. Roman warriors returning home victorious passed through the arch of the Janus doors, where the city's inhabitants waited and greeted them. In peacetime, the Roman Arch of Janus was locked with a key, protecting city residents from troubles and enemies. According to the number of months of the year, 12 Janus altars (gates) were built in different parts of Rome, dedicated to the god Janus. The Romans called him

Portus (portus - gate), like Janus (janus - door) was the deity of entrance and exit. Portus became the deity of the harbor, the gateway to rivers, or the sea. Janus was the patron of roads and travelers, and was revered by Italian sailors, who believed that it was Janus who taught people how to build the first ships.

During the reign of Numa Pompilius, a census of all the lands and population of Rome was carried out, citizens were united by profession into craft unions - guilds. Trade in goods was carried out by barter, but the price of the goods was equal to the head of cattle - pecus from here The first Latin monetary unit was the Pecunia. For one pecunia they gave 10 sheep. Numa Pompilius forbade the Romans from making human sacrifices and introduced bloodless sacrifices to the gods, in the form of honey pies, wine, and fruits. A white bull was sacrificed to the god Janus in temples, sacrifice - “yajna” - yajna.

Janus, the ancient Greco-Roman god of Time, was depicted with two faces facing in different directions. The young face of the god Janus looked into the future, forward, and the second bearded face of the old man Janus was turned back into time, back, into the past. Thus, Janus personified the unity and struggle of opposites - past and future, old and young, life and death.

Janus reigned in Italy (Saturnia) even before the appearance of Jupiter. Janus was the deity of the sky and sunlight, who opened the heavenly gates and released the sun into the sky, and at night closed the gates behind the departing sun.

During archaeological excavations of Etruscan cities in northern Italy, which flourished long before Rome, archaeologists found small bronze vessels in the shape of a human head with two faces facing in different directions. The vessels are amazingly beautiful and expressive. One face on them belongs to a handsome young man, and the other to a laughing, bearded old man. Images of the two-faced Janus are found on the oldest Roman coins.

The prototype of the god Janus may have been from the oldest part of the Rig Veda, written in Vedic Sanskrit. In Sanskrit Yama - jama - end, death. Yama is the son of the solar god Viva-matchmaker, (Vīuuahuuant) - “Living Light”, the first person sacrificed for world order. Yama is the God of death, who lives in a dwelling made of light, where after death the righteous go and become gods themselves.

In ancient Slavic, pre-Christian culture, the pagan god Svetovid was depicted with four faces facing in different directions.

One of the oldest Roman Indian gods, together with the hearth goddess Vesta, occupied a prominent place in Roman ritual. Already in ancient times, various religious ideas about him and his essence were expressed. Thus, Cicero associated his name with the verb inire and saw in Janus the deity of entrance and exit. Others believed that Janus personified chaos (Janus = Hianus), air or the firmament. Nigidius Figulus identified Janus with the sun god. Originally Janus is the divine gatekeeper, in the Salian hymn he was invoked under the names Clusius or Clusivius (Closing One) and Patulcius (Opening One). As attributes, Janus had a key with which he unlocked and locked the gates of heaven. He used a staff as a gatekeeper's weapon to ward off uninvited guests. Later, probably under the influence of Greek religious art, Janus began to be depicted as two-faced (geminus).

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 kept count of days, months and years, the number CCC (300) was inscribed on the fingers of his right hand, and LXV (65) on his left hand. ), in sum these numbers mean the number of days of the year. The beginning of the year is named after Janus, its first month is Januarius. At the same time, Janus protects every person from the moment of conception to birth, and stands at the head of the gods, under whose protection a person is.

In culture

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 staged 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.