Dear Classical Wisdom Reader, I hate to be one of ‘those’ people, but I have been saying Liminal before it was cool.

Apparently it’s become a popular word to throw about, to show one’s hipness… Google confirmed my hunch:

But I’ve never been hip and it’s been one of my favorite terms since I first learned about it in Anthropology 101 a couple of decades ago. So there. For those unfamiliar with the word, ‘liminality’ is a concept meaning ‘threshold’. It’s that bizarre, ambiguous moment between two stages, a passage if you will... You can envision it as twilight... airports... birthdays...But no other liminal stage is experienced on such mass, with quite so much universal participation, as New Year’s Eve.

Indeed, for yours truly, the number one, best thing about New Year’s Eve is its liminality.

Now... what makes liminality so darn fun?Well, the very nature of it means that the norm, those standard social expectations we are usually forced to abide by, are temporarily dissolved. This, in anthropological terms, "creates a fluid, malleable situation that enables new institutions and customs to become established."In other words, all bets are off! This liminality also provides a valuable moment to evaluate your life, your society, your beliefs and convictions...it’s ripe for pontification and unbridled contemplation.  Basically, you can let down your hair, raise a glass and... engage in extensive philosophical conversation in polite company! Finally!!Now that the glorious liminal moment of transition from 2022 and 2023, the marking of time itself, has just passed... it seems like an appropriate moment to consider the Roman God of Time and Transition, a Liminal Lord, if you like… someone you can bring up at next New Year’s Eve party. Read below to learn more about Janus, the two-faced god of Rome...

All the best,

Anya LeonardFounder and Director

Classical Wisdom

Janus: Roman God of Time and Transitions

by Ed Whelan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom

We all know January is the first month of the year, and many may even know the month is named after the Roman god Janus. Yet far fewer know about this mysterious, two-headed figure…Who was he? And why was he so important?

Janus was the god of entrances, thresholds, and transition, and so was a fit deity to mark the change of the new year. In myth and art, the god was shown as bearded and having two faces looking different ways. This expressed the liminal nature of this enigmatic deity.

While we will never know the exact origins, Janus has been considered an Indo-European deity or possibly of Etruscan origin, however the name most likely came from the old Latin word for entrance.

The worship of this god was especially important in the public religion of Rome, with rites and ceremonies held in his honor. They were overseen by the priest known as the ‘King of the Sacred,’ and while the Romans believed that he was one of the first Kings of Rome, even they knew little about him and his cult was very mysterious.

In the fragmentary myths that have survived, Janus was the embodiment of change and transformation. He is described in some sources as a creator deity who attended the birth of the Roman Gods, such as Jupiter, while in another ancient account, Janus arrived in Italy by ship, and was a god of agriculture. Janus was often shown to be the assistant of Saturn and helped him to create a Golden Age. In some sources he married a nymph, and their son was Tiberinus, after whom the River Tiber was named.

The Worship of Janus

The worship of the god was thought to derive from the time of Romulus. There were many ceremonial gateways in Rome, known as Jani, and they were seen as auspicious for entrances and leave-takings. Good or bad luck became attached to a person or army as they moved through these gateways. The most famous gateway, as well as the most important shrine dedicated to Janus, in Rome was the Janus Geminus.

A temple on the Janiculum hill was believed to be the place where the god resided, but this temple has never been found by archaeologists. It was a square bronze structure with two doors, one closed inward and the other outwards. This was regarded as the symbolic threshold for first the Roman Republic and later the Empire.

The Romans believed that they should be kept closed in times of peace and open in times of war, though the war-like Romans rarely closed the gates for an extended period. The Salii priests would close and open the doors and in the early Roman Republic this would signify the beginning or end of the season for war. In ancient agricultural societies, this was only conducted during the Spring and Summer, as this is when the men could travel and were not needed for harvest. Famously, these doors were closed by Augustus and Nero, who used it for propaganda purposes in the First Century AD.

While the citizens of the Eternal City believed that Janus oversaw the start and end of wars, he was not technically a ‘god of war’ (that honor went, of course, to Ares).

Over time, Janus evolved so that he also associated with travel, trade and sailing, and many merchants celebrated the cult of Janus as a result. The two faced god was summoned at the beginning of any public ceremony, such as the Senate opening, and honored at significant moments in life, such as weddings, births, and the harvest. Private citizens would seek Janus’ protection as they crossed the threshold at home. 

This liminal deity was also responsible for the calendar. His association with transitions meant that he was often seen as a god of time, with celebrations around the New Year in mid-winter (though some scholars state that Janus’ main feast was on January 9th) because the god was believed to oversee the transition from one year to the next. Indeed, the Romans named the first month in their calendar after him. Later cultures adopted the Roman calendar and took over several of their month’s names, and it is for that reason that even today the month of January is named after the mysterious Janus.

Uniquely Roman

Unlike many other Roman gods, which had Greek counterparts (the Roman Venus and the Greek Aphrodite, for instance), Janus was a god that was unique to the Romans. An understanding of this god, therefore, can help us to understand the Romans more distinctly.

They worship him because they were preoccupied with the principles of transformation and transitions. The various cults dedicated to Janus were all thought by Romans to help to ensure that transitions were not dangerous and hazardous. In particular, Romans sought his help to ensure that the transition from peace to war, and war to peace were successfully managed.

Janus offers us an insight into the worldview of the Romans. He was worshipped because he helped them to control changes and transitions and allowed them to understand time and the nature of the world. For the average Roman, the god personified important forces that he wanted to control. In particular Janus was associated with the successful commencement and conclusion of war, which was critical for the martial Romans.

In the end, the Janiculum Temple was converted into a Christian Church, which marked the official conclusion of this ancient cult. While it seems that small groups of pagans continued to worship the god during the Gothic Wars (sixth century AD), when the doors of Janus were opened again, and while several medieval scholars believed that witches and wizards worshipped Janus in their ceremonies, the two faced god never regained the importance he held in the eyes of the ancient Romans.

Despite that, as a figure representing thresholds and transitions, perhaps there’s no more fitting legacy than inspiring the name of the year’s first month... Here’s to Janus!