Elizabeth Pemberton Janus: God of Beginnings and Ends

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Janus Elizabeth Pemberton Janus: God of beginnings and ends No Greek counterpart One of earliest Roman deities Began as a domestic deity •Spirit of the doorway or ianua Eventually evolved into state deity Presides over every entrance/ departure •Two-faced (Janus bifrons) Gatekeeper •Symbols: porter’s staff (virga) and a set of keys Janus & the Roman Religion (1) Name evoked before Zeus in prayer Protected the start of all activities Inaugurated the seasons 1st day of each month considered sacred for him January 9th: The Agonium (Festival) Janus & the Roman Religion (2) 5 shrines built to honor him • Jani: ceremonial gateways Most important shine: • located near the Forum • Opening/closing of doors meaningful • Armies leaving to wage war: exited according to ritual Rituals preformed by rex sacrorum 2 Myths Involving Origin of Janus Myth 1 Myth 2 • Janus ruled alongside • Present during time of Romulus Camesus • Rome was under attack • After Camesus’ death he ruled • Enemies scaled the walls of the city peacefully for many years • Janus poured a powerful spray of • Received the god Saturn, hot water down the wall, forcing after he was driven from their retreat Greece • Romulus established cult honoring • Deified upon death Janus • Temple doors left open 2 Myths Involving Origin of Janus Myth 1 Myth 2 • Janus ruled alongside • Present during time of Romulus Camesus • Rome under attack • Son Tiberinus • Enemies scaled the walls of the city • Built Janiculum • Janus forced their retreat • After Camesus’ death he ruled • Romulus established cult honoring peacefully for many years Janus • Received the god Saturn, after • Temple doors left open he was driven from Rome • Deified upon death Janus in Popular Culture “By Janus, I think no.” Janus Moon of Capital Saturn Act 1, Scene Group 2 References Text • http://www.britannica.com/topic/Janus-Roman-god • http://www.ancient.eu/Janus/ Pictures • https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Sesterce_temple_janus.JPG • http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/15900/15984/Janus_15984_lg.gif • http://www.crystalinks.com/janusarch2.jpg • http://teacherpress.ocps.net/wellsml/files/2013/01/Othello-Cover.jpg • http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-ES776_JanusC_G_20140926094649.jpg.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

A Journey in Pictures Through Roman Religion
A Journey in Pictures through Roman Religion By Ursula Kampmann, © MoneyMuseum What is god? As far as the Romans are concerned we think we know that all too well from our unloved Latin lessons: Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, the Roman Triad as well as the usual gods of the ancient world, the same as the Greek gods in name and effect. In fact, however, the roots of Roman religion lie much earlier, much deeper, in dark, prehistoric times ... 1 von 20 www.sunflower.ch How is god experienced? – In the way nature works A bust of the goddess Flora (= flowering), behind it blossom. A denarius of the Roman mint master C. Clodius Vestalis, 41 BC Roman religion emerged from the magical world of the simple farmer, who was speechless when faced with the miracles of nature. Who gave the seemingly withered trees new blossom after the winter? Which power made the grain of corn in the earth grow up to produce new grain every year? Which god prevented the black rust and ensured that the weather was fine just in time for the harvest? Who guaranteed safe storage? And which power was responsible for making it possible to divide up the corn so that it sufficed until the following year? Each individual procedure in a farmer's life was broken down into many small constituent parts whose success was influenced by a divine power. This divine power had to be invoked by a magic ritual in order to grant its help for the action. Thus as late as the imperial period, i.e.
[Show full text]
Ovid, Fasti 1.63-294 (Translated By, and Adapted Notes From, A
Ovid, Fasti 1.63-294 (translated by, and adapted notes from, A. S. Kline) [Latin text; 8 CE] Book I: January 1: Kalends See how Janus1 appears first in my song To announce a happy year for you, Germanicus.2 Two-headed Janus, source of the silently gliding year, The only god who is able to see behind him, Be favourable to the leaders, whose labours win Peace for the fertile earth, peace for the seas: Be favourable to the senate and Roman people, And with a nod unbar the shining temples. A prosperous day dawns: favour our thoughts and speech! Let auspicious words be said on this auspicious day. Let our ears be free of lawsuits then, and banish Mad disputes now: you, malicious tongues, cease wagging! See how the air shines with fragrant fire, And Cilician3 grains crackle on lit hearths! The flame beats brightly on the temple’s gold, And spreads a flickering light on the shrine’s roof. Spotless garments make their way to Tarpeian Heights,4 And the crowd wear the colours of the festival: Now the new rods and axes lead, new purple glows, And the distinctive ivory chair feels fresh weight. Heifers that grazed the grass on Faliscan plains,5 Unbroken to the yoke, bow their necks to the axe. When Jupiter watches the whole world from his hill, Everything that he sees belongs to Rome. Hail, day of joy, and return forever, happier still, Worthy to be cherished by a race that rules the world. But two-formed Janus what god shall I say you are, Since Greece has no divinity to compare with you? Tell me the reason, too, why you alone of all the gods Look both at what’s behind you and what’s in front.
[Show full text]
Paper Information: Title: the Realm of Janus: Doorways in the Roman
Paper Information: Title: The Realm of Janus: Doorways in the Roman World Author: Ardle Mac Mahon Pages: 58–73 DOI: http://doi.org/10.16995/TRAC2002_58_73 Publication Date: 03 April 2003 Volume Information: Carr, G., Swift, E., and Weekes, J. (eds.) (2003) TRAC 2002: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference, Canterbury 2002. Oxford: Oxbow Books. Copyright and Hardcopy Editions: The following paper was originally published in print format by Oxbow Books for TRAC. Hard copy editions of this volume may still be available, and can be purchased direct from Oxbow at http://www.oxbowbooks.com. TRAC has now made this paper available as Open Access through an agreement with the publisher. Copyright remains with TRAC and the individual author(s), and all use or quotation of this paper and/or its contents must be acknowledged. This paper was released in digital Open Access format in April 2013. The Realm of Janus: Doorways in the Roman World Ardle Mac Mahon For the Romans, the doorways into their dwellings had tremendous symbolic and spiritual significance and this aspect was enshrined around the uniquely Latin god Janus. The importance of principal entrance doorways was made obvious by the architectural embell ishments used to decorate doors and door surrounds that helped to create an atmosphere of sacred and ritual eminence. The threshold was not only an area of physical transition but also of symbolic change intimately connected to the lives of the inhabitants of the dwelling. This paper will explore the meaning of the architectural symbolism of the portal and the role of doorways in ritual within the Roman empire by an examination of the architectural remains and the literary sources.
[Show full text]
Johnlydus-4-01-January – Final
JANUARY [63] 1. I have spoken sufficiently about the fact that the month of January was defined as the beginning of the priestly calendar by King Numa; in it, they would offer sacrifice to the [beings] above the moon, just as in February [they would offer sacrifice] to the [beings] below it. And so, I must speak about Janus—who he is and what idea of him the ancients had. Now then, Labeo says1 that he is called Janus Consivius, that is, "of the council / Senate" [boulaios]; Janus Cenulus and Cibullius, that is, "pertaining to feasting"—for the Romans called food cibus; Patricius, that is, "indigenous"; Clusivius, meaning "pertaining to journeys" [hodiaios]; Junonius, that is, "aerial"; Quirinus, meaning "champion / fighter in the front"; Patulcius and Clusius, that is, "of the door"; Curiatius, as "overseer of nobles"—for Curiatius and Horatius are names of [Roman] nobility. And some relate that he is double in form [64], at one time holding keys in his right hand like a door-keeper, at other times counting out 300 counters in his right hand and 65 in the other, just like [the number of days in] the year. From this,2 he is also [said to be] quadruple in form, from the four "turns" [i.e., the solstices and equinoxes]—and a statue of him of this type is said to be preserved even now in the Forum of Nerva.3 But Longinus vehemently tries to interpret him as Aeonarius, as being the father of Aeon, or that [he got his name because] the Greeks called the year4 enos, as Callimachus in the first book of the Aetia writes: Four-year-old [tetraenon] child of Damasus, Telestorides5..
[Show full text]
The Statue of Janus Geminus and the Gates of War
The Hands of the Double God: The Statue of Janus Geminus and the Gates of War The bronze gates attached to the shrine of Janus Geminus in the Roman forum are well known, and many explanations have been proposed to explain the origin of the counter-intuitive tradition of closing the gates during peacetime and opening them during war. This project seeks to turn attention to another, less studied component of the cult: the bronze statue of Janus behind the gates. It is my intention to demonstrate that it was replaced at some point, almost certainly by Augustus. Ovid (Fasti 1.99) claims that Janus held a staff in his right hand and a key in his left. Pliny (Natural History 34.16.33; cf. Macrobius 1.9.10), on the other hand, claims that Janus was depicted with his fingers shaped so as to indicate the 365 days of the year. How exactly the statue’s fingers indicated the number 35 has been a matter of uncertainty; one recurrent explanation is that the statues fingers were contorted so as to suggest the letters of the Roman numerals for 365: the letters c, l, x, and v. In fact, no such grotesque explanation is necessary. The Romans possessed a tabulation system that used the fingers of both hands to count. The fullest account is preserved by the Venerable Bede in De Temporum Ratione. According to Bede, one would indicate the number 300 with the right hand; one would indicate 65 with the left hand; that this is what Pliny intends for us to understand has the position of Janus’ fingers is confirmed by John Lydus (1.4), who explicitly states that Janus indicated 300 with his right hand and 65 with his left hand.
[Show full text]
Ancient Rome
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY Ancient Julius Caesar Rome Reader Caesar Augustus The Second Punic War Cleopatra THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF: STATE Book No. PROVINCE Enter information COUNTY in spaces to the left as PARISH instructed. SCHOOL DISTRICT OTHER CONDITION Year ISSUED TO Used ISSUED RETURNED PUPILS to whom this textbook is issued must not write on any page or mark any part of it in any way, consumable textbooks excepted. 1. Teachers should see that the pupil’s name is clearly written in ink in the spaces above in every book issued. 2. The following terms should be used in recording the condition of the book: New; Good; Fair; Poor; Bad. Ancient Rome Reader Creative Commons Licensing This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. You are free: to Share—to copy, distribute, and transmit the work to Remix—to adapt the work Under the following conditions: Attribution—You must attribute the work in the following manner: This work is based on an original work of the Core Knowledge® Foundation (www.coreknowledge.org) made available through licensing under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This does not in any way imply that the Core Knowledge Foundation endorses this work. Noncommercial—You may not use this work for commercial purposes. Share Alike—If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. With the understanding that: For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work.
[Show full text]
Calendar of Roman Events
Introduction Steve Worboys and I began this calendar in 1980 or 1981 when we discovered that the exact dates of many events survive from Roman antiquity, the most famous being the ides of March murder of Caesar. Flipping through a few books on Roman history revealed a handful of dates, and we believed that to fill every day of the year would certainly be impossible. From 1981 until 1989 I kept the calendar, adding dates as I ran across them. In 1989 I typed the list into the computer and we began again to plunder books and journals for dates, this time recording sources. Since then I have worked and reworked the Calendar, revising old entries and adding many, many more. The Roman Calendar The calendar was reformed twice, once by Caesar in 46 BC and later by Augustus in 8 BC. Each of these reforms is described in A. K. Michels’ book The Calendar of the Roman Republic. In an ordinary pre-Julian year, the number of days in each month was as follows: 29 January 31 May 29 September 28 February 29 June 31 October 31 March 31 Quintilis (July) 29 November 29 April 29 Sextilis (August) 29 December. The Romans did not number the days of the months consecutively. They reckoned backwards from three fixed points: The kalends, the nones, and the ides. The kalends is the first day of the month. For months with 31 days the nones fall on the 7th and the ides the 15th. For other months the nones fall on the 5th and the ides on the 13th.
[Show full text]
Livy's Early History of Rome: the Horatii & Curiatii
Livy’s Early History of Rome: The Horatii & Curiatii (Book 1.24-26) Mary Sarah Schmidt University of Georgia Summer Institute 2016 [1] The Horatii and Curiatii This project is meant to highlight the story of the Horatii and Curiatii in Rome’s early history as told by Livy. It is intended for use with a Latin class that has learned the majority of their Latin grammar and has knowledge of Rome’s history surrounding Julius Caesar, the civil wars, and the rise of Augustus. The Latin text may be used alone or with the English text of preceding chapters in order to introduce and/or review the early history of Rome. This project can be used in many ways. It may be an opportunity to introduce a new Latin author to students or as a supplement to a history unit. The Latin text may be used on its own with an historical introduction provided by the instructor or the students may read and study the events leading up to the battle of the Horatii and Curiatii as told by Livy. Ideally, the students will read the preceding chapters, noting Livy’s intention of highlighting historical figures whose actions merit imitation or avoidance. This will allow students to develop an understanding of what, according to Livy and his contemporaries, constituted a morally good or bad Roman. Upon reaching the story of the Horatii and Curiatii, not only will students gain practice and understanding of Livy’s Latin literary style, but they will also be faced with the morally confusing Horatius.
[Show full text]
Roman Domestic Religion : a Study of the Roman Lararia
ROMAN DOMESTIC RELIGION : A STUDY OF THE ROMAN LARARIA by David Gerald Orr Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland in partial fulfillment of the requirements fo r the degree of Master of Arts 1969 .':J • APPROVAL SHEET Title of Thesis: Roman Domestic Religion: A Study of the Roman Lararia Name of Candidate: David Gerald Orr Master of Arts, 1969 Thesis and Abstract Approved: UJ~ ~ J~· Wilhelmina F. {Ashemski Professor History Department Date Approved: '-»( 7 ~ 'ii, Ii (, J ABSTRACT Title of Thesis: Roman Domestic Religion: A Study of the Roman Lararia David Gerald Orr, Master of Arts, 1969 Thesis directed by: Wilhelmina F. Jashemski, Professor This study summarizes the existing information on the Roman domestic cult and illustrates it by a study of the arch eological evidence. The household shrines (lararia) of Pompeii are discussed in detail. Lararia from other parts of the Roman world are also studied. The domestic worship of the Lares, Vesta, and the Penates, is discussed and their evolution is described. The Lares, protective spirits of the household, were originally rural deities. However, the word Lares was used in many dif ferent connotations apart from domestic religion. Vesta was closely associated with the family hearth and was an ancient agrarian deity. The Penates, whose origins are largely un known, were probably the guardian spirits of the household storeroom. All of the above elements of Roman domestic worship are present in the lararia of Pompeii. The Genius was the living force of a man and was an important element in domestic religion.
[Show full text]
Nota Bene-- C:\USERS\GRAF.65\DESKTOP
CHAPTER F IVE THE L UPERCALIA F ROM A UGUSTUS TO C ONSTANTINE P ORPHYROGENITUS LUPERCALIA AFTER A UGUSTUS Like many other festivals of the city of Rome, the Lupercalia became almost invisible during the first three centuries of the Imperial epoch. Only because of their special social cachet did the Luperci and their rites not entirely become invisible during the imperial centuries. Theirs was the only priestly sodalitas that Augustus reserved for the knights, whereas all other sodalitates became the privilege of the senatorial aristocracy. To be made a lupercus turned into a highly- coveted status symbol of “near-aristocracy” that was publicly marked with the statue of the new lupercus already in Julio-Claudian times – a new habit of this age, as the Elder Pliny tells us, himself of an equestrian background 1. Inscriptions from both Rome and the provinces show how to be adlected a lupercus in Rome was viewed as an important early step of an equestrian cursus honorum ; sacris ____________________________ 1Plin. Nat. 34.18: Among the Roman innovations in the iconography of statues Lupercorum habitu tam noviciae sunt quam quae nuper prodiere paenulis indutae ; see Veyne (1960), 105. – On the transformation of the Lupercalia between Caesar and Augustus see Ferriès (2009). -2- Festivals in the Greek East lupercalibus functo , “to have performed one’s duty as a lupercus” remained a major career step through most of the imperial age 2. The last lupercus whom we meet in inscriptions is L. Crepereius Rogatus, vir clarissimus , a member of the senatorial elite of the earlier fourth century, a young man when Diocletian came to power 3.
[Show full text]
The Argei: Sex, War, and Crucifixion in Rome
THE ARGEI: SEX, WAR, AND CRUCIFIXION IN ROME AND THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST Kristan Foust Ewin, B.A. Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2012 APPROVED: Christopher J. Fuhrmann, Major Professor Ken Johnson, Committee Member Walt Roberts, Committee Member Richard B. McCaslin, Chair of the Department of History James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Ewin, Kristan Foust. The Argei: Sex, War, and Crucifixion in Rome and the Ancient Near East. Master of Arts (History), May 2012, 119 pp., 2 tables, 18 illustrations, bibliography, 150 titles. The purpose of the Roman Argei ceremony, during which the Vestal Virgins harvested made and paraded rush puppets only to throw them into the Tiber, is widely debated. Modern historians supply three main reasons for the purpose of the Argei: an agrarian act, a scapegoat, and finally as an offering averting deceased spirits or Lares. I suggest that the ceremony also related to war and the spectacle of displaying war casualties. I compare the ancient Near East and Rome and connect the element of war and husbandry and claim that the Argei paralleled the sacred marriage. In addition to an agricultural and purification rite, these rituals may have served as sympathetic magic for pre- and inter-war periods. As of yet, no author has proposed the Argei as a ceremony related to war. By looking at the Argei holistically I open the door for a new direction of inquiry on the Argei ceremony, fertility cults in the Near East and in Rome, and on the execution of war criminals.
[Show full text]
Coversheet for Thesis in Sussex Research Online
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sussex Research Online A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX GAVIN OSBOURNE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY MOSAICS OF POWER: SUPERSTITION, MAGIC AND CHRISTIAN POWER IN EARLY BYZANTINE FLOOR MOSAICS VOLUME 1 SEPTEMBER 2014 3 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX GAVIN OSBOURNE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY MOSAICS OF POWER: SUPERSTITION, MAGIC AND CHRISTIAN POWER IN EARLY BYZANTINE FLOOR MOSAICS SUMMARY This thesis argues that some Early Byzantine floor mosaics had, in addition to a practical and decorative role, a supernatural function. By this I mean the images and words depicted within the mosaic were perceived as devices to attract powers from a supernatural dimension, for the benefit of those that walked over the mosaic or the building that housed it. The thesis is ultimately a discussion of the Byzantines’ beliefs in the power of art and text, and how they were believed to intervene and affect everyday life.
[Show full text]