Janus (mythology)
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In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. His most apparent remnant in modern culture is his namesake, the month of January.
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[edit] Ancient incarnation
[edit] Imagery
Though he was usually depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions (Janus Geminus (twin Janus) or Bifrons), in some places he was Janus Quadrifrons (the four-faced).
His two faces (originally, one was always bearded, one clean-shaven; later both bearded) originally represented the sun and the moon, and he was usually shown with a key. The two-faced image of Janus was often depicted on coins of the Roman Republic.
[edit] Patronage
Janus was frequently used to symbolize change and transitions such as the progression of future to past, of one condition to another, of one vision to another, the growing up of young people, and of one universe to another. 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.
[edit] Myths
[edit] Carna
His ability to see both forwards and backwards at the same time aided him in his pursuit of the nymph Carna whom he gave power over door hinges as a reward for her favours.
[edit] Other myths
Janus was supposed to have come from Thessaly in Greece and he shared a kingdom with Camese in Latium. They had many children, including Tiberinus. Janus and his later wife, Juturna, were the parents of Fontus. Another wife was named Jana.
As the sole ruler of Latium, Janus heralded the Golden Age, introducing money, laws and agriculture (making him a culture hero).
When Romulus and his men kidnapped the goths of the Sabines, Janus caused a hot spring to erupt, causing the would-be attackers to flee. In honor of this, the doors to his temples were kept open during war so that he could easily intervene. The doors and gates were closed during peace.
Because he was the god of the door and hinges he was one the guardians of the Greek gods' treasures. From his name, we derive the English word janitor, meaning doorman.
[edit] Origins
The Romans associated Janus with the Etruscan deity Ani. 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. 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.
[edit] Janus in popular culture
Janus has appeared in many aspects of popular culture.
- In the sci-fi television show Stargate Atlantis, Janus was an Ancient who built a time machine.
- In fashion, Janus's head appears on the embellished version of the House of Fendi logo.
- In Shakespeare's play Othello, the double-crossing Iago utters the words "By Janus" when lying to Othello, a play on words considering his own two faced nature.
- Philosopher and anthropologist of science and technology Bruno Latour uses Janus in his 'bestseller' Science in Action (1987) to explain the difference between "ready made science and technology" and "science and technology in the making".
- In 'United Artists' 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, Janus was used as the name for the villain's terrorist organisation, 'The Janus Syndicate'.
- Janus Films is a U.S. film distribution company founded in 1956 that distributes classic cinema, specializing mostly in foreign films.
- A rare monster in the final dungeon in the game Shadow Hearts: From the New World.
- In the manga Ansatsu, Janus is the eighth Child in a series of bioweapons created for terrorist work.
- In Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, Janus is the moniker taken by the novel's villain.
- In the film The Da Vinci Code there is a statue of Janus in Teabing's library symbolizing that Teabing is two-faced.
- In the film Judge Dredd the super-secret program to grow clones to be Street Judges is called "Project Janus". Joseph Dredd and his evil twin Rico, were created under Project Janus before it was sealed. Additionally in the Judge Dredd comic series there is a Judge Janus
- In Alastair Reynolds's Pushing Ice, a group of comet harvesters discover that Janus (moon) is a spacecraft.
- In the second revival of The Twilight Zone, the name Janus was used for the main character as she puts on her dead husband's glasses to reveal his killer who turns out to be herself all along--implying that she has lived a double life.
- Batman villain Two-Face has used the alias Janus. Similarly, Two-Face's ex-wife is also now married to a man named Paul Janus.
- Batman: The Animated Series contains two references, both related to Two-Face: When Maxie Zeus is captured and sent to Arkham Asylum, he refers to several known Batman villains as Greek gods, and calls Two-Face "Janus". In a later episode, Two-Face uses the abandoned Janus Theater as a hideout.
- Two monsters in Final Fantasy XI have names relating to Janus, such as 'Bifrons' and the Demon 'Count Bifrons'.
- Benji Schwimmer's mock band, Sreattlands, wrote a song called Janus.
- In the Incredible Hulk episode "Death Mask" when David is being interrogated his interrogater contrasts himself with Janus saying he could not be two-faced; could not be a good cop - bad cop
- Polish town Ełk was used coat of arms with Janus two-faced head until 1967.
- In the HBO/BBC TV series Rome, the character Titus Pullo prays to Forculus, a related god to Janus to free him from a locked cart in which he has been imprisoned.
- In the original Japanese version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, a monster that lights the way in the Catacombs is called Bifrons, which is an alternate name for Janus. This was changed to Lossoth in the European and American release.
- In the popular computer game "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines" the NPC character Jeanette/Therese/Tourette Voerman is referred to as a "Daughter of Janus", referring to her split personality. This is only a dialouge option if you are playing a Malkavian character.
- In the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode "Halloween" features the charcter Ethan Rayne praying to a bust of Janus in order to bring a bout a spell that turns everone in to the personification of their halloween costumes. The spell is broken by the bust being smashed.
- In the video game Chrono Trigger, there is a boy named Janus who predicts when people will die.
- In Frans de Waal's book Our Inner Ape the behavioral tendencies of bonobos and chimpanzees are likened to a Janus head, with humans (equally close genetically to each species) able to act in either direction.
- Janus Poluektovich Nevstruev in Monday Begins on Saturday in science fiction novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky who is known to be one man in two personas, called A-Janus and U-Janus.
[edit] See also
Diprosopus congenital defect, a rare craniofacial duplication condition
[edit] External links
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