Janus

Abstract

Janus is the Roman god of the passage (Latin ianua ), including doorways, archways, and bridges, as well as metaphorical transitions. His name is given to January, which became the gateway into the New Year (Ov. Fast . 1), the Janiculum hill, ianuli (a type of verse), and ianual (a sacrificial cake). In Indo‐European terms Janus seems to be “a personification of transitional spaces through which one must walk in order to begin an under‐taking” (Taylor 2000: 2).