The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Janus and Jana

JANUS and JANA, two divinities of ancient Rome. Their names are believed to be corruptions or abbreviations of Dianus and Diana, designating the sun and moon. Janus presided over the beginning of everything, and was therefore invoked on every occasion before all other deities. He opened the year and the seasons; he was the janitor of heaven, and on earth the guardian god of gates and doors; in time of war he went out to battle with the armies of Rome and aided them, while in time of peace he abode in his temple and watched over the city. At the dawn of every day the people addressed their supplications to him, and on the first day of every year sacrifices of cakes, barley, incense, and wine were offered in his honor on 12 altars. The worship of Janus is said to have been introduced into Rome by Romulus. Numa called the first month of the Roman year after him, and dedicated a covered passage near the Forum to him. This passage, frequently termed a temple, contained a statue of the god, and had two entrances, which were always kept open in time of war and closed in time of peace. They were closed only once during the republic, at the end of the first Punic war, and twice by Augustus. Janus was sometimes represented with two, and sometimes with four faces, and was accordingly styled Bifrons and Quadrifrons. In works of art he frequently has a staff or sceptre in his right hand and a key in his left.