Editing Janus (section)

{{Short description|Roman god}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Bifrons}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}

{{Infobox deity
| type = Roman
| name = Janus
| other_names = {{lang|la|Ianuspater}} ("Janus Father"), {{lang|la|Ianus Quadrifrons}} ("Janus Fourfaced"), {{lang|la|Ianus Bifrons}} ("Two-faced Janus")
| member_of = [[Di selecti]]
| image = Double herm Chiaramonti Inv1395.jpg
| caption = Statue representing ''Janus Bifrons'' in the [[Vatican Museums]]
| deity_of = God of all beginnings, gates, transitions, time, choices, duality, doorways, passages, and endings
| abode = at the limits of Earth, at the extremity of Heaven
| symbol = two faces
| consort = Camese, [[Venilia]], and [[Juturna]]<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Juturna}}</ref>
| parents = * None ([[Greek primordial deities|primordial deity]]) 
*[[Terra (mythology)|Terra]] and [[Caelus]] (variant)
| siblings = [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]] and [[Ops]]
| children = [[Canens (mythology)|Canens]], Aithex, Olistene, [[Tiberinus (god)|Tiberinus]], and [[Fontus]]
| mount = 
| Etruscan_equivalent = [[Culsans]]
}}

In [[Religion in ancient Rome|ancient Roman religion]] and [[Roman mythology|myth]], '''Janus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|eɪ|n|ə|s}} {{respell|JAY|nəs}}; {{langx|la|Iānus}} {{IPA|la|ˈi̯aːnʊs|}}) is the [[List of Roman deities|god]] of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways,<ref>Varro apud Augustine ''De Civitate Dei'' VII 9 and 3; Servius ''Aen.'' I 449; Paulus ex Festus s. v. Chaos p. 45 L</ref> passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of [[January]] is named for Janus (''[[Ianuarius]]'').<ref>Forsythe, ''Time in Roman Religion'', p. 14.</ref> According to ancient Roman farmers' almanacs, [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] was mistaken as the [[tutelary deity]] of the month of January,<ref>[[H.H. Scullard]], ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'' (Cornell University Press, 1981), p. 51.</ref> but Juno is the tutelary deity of the month of June.

Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The gates of the [[Temple of Janus (Roman Forum)|Temple of Janus]] in Rome were opened in time of war and closed to mark the arrival of peace. As a god of transitions, he had functions pertaining to [[List of Roman birth and childhood deities|birth]] and to journeys and exchange, and in his association with [[Portunus (mythology)|Portunus]], a similar harbor and gateway god, he was concerned with travelling, trading, and shipping.

Janus had no [[flamen]] or specialised priest ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#sacerdos|sacerdos]])'' assigned to him, but the King of the Sacred Rites ''([[rex sacrorum]])'' himself carried out his ceremonies. Janus had a ubiquitous presence in religious ceremonies throughout the year. As such, Janus was ritually invoked at the beginning of each ceremony, regardless of the main deity honored on any particular occasion.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

While the [[religion in ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] had no known [[interpretatio graeca|equivalent]] to Janus, there is considerable overlap with [[culsans|Culśanś]] of the Etruscan pantheon.