In Roman mythology, Janus (or Ianus) was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. Roman mythology, or more appropriately Latin mythology, refers to the mythological beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its God, as a male Deity, contrasts with female deities or " goddesses " A gate is a point of entry to a space enclosed by Walls or an opening in a Fence. A door is a panel or barrier usually hinged or sliding that is used to cover an opening in a Wall or partition going into a building or space His most prominent remnants in modern culture are his namesakes: the month of January, which begins the new year, and the janitor, who is a caretaker of doors and halls. Events in January Holidays New Year's Day - January 1 Coptic Christmas - January 7 For the Scrubs character see Janitor (Scrubs A janitor is a person who takes care of a building such as a School, Office
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Ancient incarnation
Janus was usually depicted with two heads (not faces) looking in opposite directions, and was frequently used to symbolize change and transitions such as the progression of past to future, of one condition to another, of one vision to another, the growing up of young people, and of one universe to another. He was also known as the figure representing time because he could see into the past with one face and into the future with the other. Hence, Janus was worshipped at the beginnings of the harvest and planting times, as well as marriages, births and other beginnings. He was representative of the middle ground between barbarity and civilization, rural country and urban cities, and youth and adulthood.
Myths
Carna
His ability to see both forwards and backwards at the same time aided him in his pursuit of the nymph Carna to whom he gave power over door hinges as a reward for her favours.
Other myths
Janus was supposed to have come from Thessaly in Greece and he shared a kingdom with Camese in Latium. Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Latium was a region of ancient Italy, home to the original Latin people. They had many children, including Tiberinus. See also Tiberinus Silvius Tiberinus is a figure in Roman mythology.
When Romulus and his men kidnapped the Sabine women, Janus caused a volcanic hot spring to erupt, resulting in the would-be attackers being buried alive. Romulus (c 771 BC– c 717 BC and Remus (c 771 BC–c 753 BC are the traditional founders of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology The Sabines ( Latin Sabini, Singular Sabinus) were an Italic tribe that lived in ancient Italy, inhabiting In honor of this, the doors to his temples were kept open during war so that Janus himself may easily watch this happen. The doors and gates were closed in ceremony when peace was concluded.
Origins
The Romans associated Janus with the Etruscan deity Ani. The Etruscans were a people of unknown origin living in Northern Italy, who were eventually integrated into Roman culture and politically became part of the Roman Republic In Etruscan mythology, Ani is god of the sky He is identified as residing in the highest heaven and is sometimes depicted with two faces possibly equating with the Akkadian However, he was one of the few Roman gods who had no ready-made counterpart, or analogous mythology. We can find in Greece Janus-like heads of gods related to Hermes, perhaps forming a compound god: Hermathena (a herm of Athena), Hermares, Hermaphroditus, Hermanubis, Hermalcibiades, and so on. Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos ( Ancient Greek:) was the child of Aphrodite and Hermes. In the case of these compounds it is disputed whether they indicated a herm with the head of Athena, or with a Janus-like head of both Hermes and Athena, or a figure compounded from both deities.
Janus in modern usage
Like many mythological dieties, Janus has remained popular in modern culture. There are many references to Janus in pop culture, and he appears on coins such as the recent 100 euro The Sculpture Gold coin. Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — Euro gold and silver commemorative coins are special Euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone. He also inspired the name of the Janus kinase family of enzymes which have two nearly identical sub-regions. Janus kinase ( JAK) is a family of intracellular non-receptor Tyrosine kinases that transduce Cytokine -mediated signals via the JAK-STAT pathway Enzymes are Biomolecules that catalyze ( ie increase the rates of Chemical reactions Almost all enzymes are Proteins
Janus also appears on Two-Face's signature double-sided coin in the 1995 movie, Batman Forever. This article is about the DC comics villain For the Nigerian musician see 2face Idibia. See also Batman Forever (score, Batman Forever (soundtrack, Batman Forever (video game, Batman Forever The Arcade Game Batman
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