Temple of Janus (Roman Forum)

Last updated
Temple of Janus
Sesterce temple janus.JPG
Temple of Janus on a coin from the reign of Nero (54–68 AD), with ornate roof decoration, a latticed window (left), and a garland hung across the closed double doors (right)
Roma PlanFXD.jpg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Temple of Janus
Shown in ancient Rome
Temple of Janus (Roman Forum)
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Coordinates 41°53′34.73″N12°29′8.60″E / 41.8929806°N 12.4857222°E / 41.8929806; 12.4857222

The Temple of Janus stood in the Roman Forum near the Basilica Aemilia, along the Argiletum. It was a small temple with a statue of Janus, the two-faced god of boundaries and beginnings inside. Its doors were known as the "Gates of Janus", which were closed in times of peace and opened in times of war. There are many theories about its original purpose; some say that it was a bridge over the Velabrum, and some say it functioned as a gate to the Capitoline.

Contents

Origins

According to Livy 1.19 the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, decided to distract the early, warlike Romans from their violent ways by instilling in them awe and reverence. His projects included promoting religion, certain priesthoods, and the building of temples as a distraction with the beneficial effect of imbuing spirituality. The Janus in the Roman Forum, although not a temple was claimed to be Numa's most famous architectural project.

Statue representing Janus Bifrons in the Vatican Museums Janus1.JPG
Statue representing Janus Bifrons in the Vatican Museums

In the early stages of the city of Rome, the inhabitants lived in separate walled villas. The Janus was the gate from the Forum to the rest of Rome as originally the Forum was the courtyard of the king's villa. [2]

Ancient descriptions

Plutarch, in Life of King Numa, wrote:

[Janus] also has a temple at Rome with double doors, which they call the gates of war; for it always stands open in time of war, but is closed when peace has come. The latter was a difficult matter, and it rarely happened, since the realm was always engaged in some war, as its increasing size brought it into collision with the barbarous nations which encompassed it round about. But in the time of Augustus it was closed, after he had overthrown Mark Antony; and before that, when Marcus Atilius and Titus Manlius were consuls, it was closed for a short time; then war broke out again at once, and it was opened. [3]

Appearance and construction

The Temple of Janus was a small temple just large enough to house a bronze statue of the god. A small portion of the temple's brick structure can be found beside the ruins of the Basilica Aemilia, along the path of the Argiletum in the Roman Forum, [4] so much of what we know about the temple visually comes from Roman scholars and artifacts. The various styles of architecture seen on Roman coins suggest rough dates for the reconstructions; both in the third and fourth centuries BC. [5] As described by the Byzantine scholar Procopius who says "the temple is entirely of bronze and was erected in the form of a square, but it is only large enough to cover the statue of Janus ... of bronze and not less than five cubits high". [5] There are also descriptions that can be taken from items from the Roman world most notably coins minted for Emperor Nero. These coins depict the Temple of Janus as a small rectangular building with two doors accompanied by two columns having Ashlar masonry on the outside and only bronze plating on the inside. This shows a discrepancy in the sources, leaving the assumption that it was bronze only on the inside of the Temple. The temple of Athena Chalcioecus in Sparta and Apollo at Delphi are also built this way. [5] The art style of the Temple was inspired by Etruscan architecture and influences from the Near East. [5]

Purpose of the gates

The Gates themselves were the main purpose for the Temple of Janus. The opening and closing of the gates were to symbolize either wartime or peace. The Temple of Janus tied in warfare and religious tradition. It is unanimously held by ancient and modern scholars that the gates were closed in peace and opened in times of war. [6] [7] [8] While its purpose is agreed upon the reasons behind the openings and closings of the gates are much murkier. Both Virgil and Ennius state that the gates held in Discord and Fury inside the temple during times of peace. Ennius's Annales state "After foul Discord has broken open the iron-clad posts and gates of war". [6] Virgil supports this view with "There are twin gates of War ... Janus the guard does not withdraw from his threshold". [6] Horace does not use prison imagery but can be interpreted as saying peace, or if Janus himself, is kept locked in the temple. [6] This lack of clarity by the Romans themselves demonstrates the fluctuating nature of their mythos-history. However, a Roman viewed the Temple of Janus's gates as having them shut was a time of celebration and of pride for the rulers of Rome. As demonstrated by Caesar Augustus's accounts of shutting the doors three times. [9]

The gates in use

During Numa's reign, the Gates of Janus were closed as Rome was at peace. The next king, Tullus Hostilius, opened the Gates of Janus when he went to war with Alba Longa. The Gates of Janus remained open for the next 400 years until after the First Punic War when A. Manlius Torquatus closed the Gates of Janus in 241 BC. [10] War with the Gauls in Northern Italy forced the Gates of Janus to reopen.[ when? ] They did not close again until 29 BC, following the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra. [11]

The Res Gestae Divi Augusti, a first-person account of the life of Augustus, claims:

The Janus Quirinus, which our ancestors wished to be closed whenever peace had been secured by victories throughout the Roman Empire by land and sea, was recorded to have been closed, before I was born, twice altogether since the foundation of the city, but the senate decreed that it should be closed on three occasions while I was princeps . [12]

From Cassius Dio 51.20 and 53.27 we are able to date the first two closures in Augustus's reign to 29 and 25 BC respectively. The exact date of the third closure remains a matter of scholarly debate. The only ancient author to date it was Orosius, [13] who associates the event with the birth of Christ, traditionally (but probably incorrectly) assigned to December 1 BC. However, modern scholars almost universally reject Orosius because Roman armies were campaigning in Germany and/or the Far East at this time. Inez Scott Ryberg and Gaius Stern date the third closure more plausibly to 13 BC based on the joint return of Augustus and Agrippa to Rome after pacifying the provinces. [14] Sir Ronald Syme [15] dated the closure to 7 BC, to coincide with the triumph of Tiberius and his second consulship, the events of which year are lost in a gap in the surviving manuscripts of Cassius Dio. Mario Torelli followed Orosius' date. [16]

Nero coin: Obverse: Nero; Reverse: Ara Pacis As-Nero-Ara pacis-RIC 0562.jpg
Nero coin: Obverse: Nero; Reverse: Ara Pacis

Later emperors also closed the Gates of the Janus to great fanfare. The most famous closures occurred under Nero and Vespasian. Nero minted a large series of coins with the Ara Pacis (and the Janus itself with closed gates) on the reverse to commemorate this event. Other emperors certainly closed and reopened the Gates of the Janus, but references in later and less thorough historians are fairly rare. There is a record of Gordian III in about the year 241 opening the doors for his war with Shapur I .

The Roman poet Virgil included in the Aeneid the opening of the Gates of Janus to start war between the Trojans and the Latins. [17]

Later historical contexts

The legends of Janus have been used for many purposes throughout history. 16th century Roman priests used them to justify the seat of Christianity being moved from Rome to Jerusalem and described the Vatican as the "Throne of Janus". This was done to gain traction in Italy through the perceived support of the "god of beginnings". [18]

The story of the Gates of Janus was also used by British political and military leaders during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They portrayed the opening of the Gates as a part of the glory of war and used the legend to add honour to the wars over control of their empire. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

This article concerns the period 29 BC – 20 BC.

The Pax Romana is a roughly 200-year-long period of Roman history which is identified as a golden age of increased and sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stability, hegemonic power, and regional expansion. This is despite several revolts and wars, and continuing competition with Parthia. It is traditionally dated as commencing with the accession of Augustus, founder of the Roman principate, in 27 BC and concluding in AD 180 with the death of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the "Five Good Emperors".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nero Claudius Drusus</span> Roman general and statesman, step-son of emperor Augustus (38–9 BC)

Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, also called Drusus the Elder, was a Roman politician and military commander. He was a patrician Claudian but his mother was from a plebeian family. He was the son of Livia Drusilla and the stepson of her second husband, the Emperor Augustus. He was also brother of the Emperor Tiberius; the father of the Emperor Claudius and general Germanicus; paternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Numa Pompilius</span> King of Rome from 715 to 672 BC

Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are attributed to him, such as the Roman calendar, Vestal Virgins, the cult of Mars, the cult of Jupiter, the cult of Romulus, and the office of pontifex maximus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ara Pacis</span> Ancient Roman religious monument in Rome, Italy

The Ara Pacis Augustae is an altar in Rome dedicated to the Pax Romana. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after three years in Hispania and Gaul and consecrated on January 30, 9 BC. Originally located on the northern outskirts of Rome, a Roman mile from the boundary of the pomerium on the west side of the Via Flaminia, the Ara Pacis stood in the northeastern corner of the Campus Martius, the former flood plain of the Tiber River and gradually became buried under 4 metres (13 ft) of silt deposits. It was reassembled in its current location, now the Museum of the Ara Pacis, in 1938, turned 90° counterclockwise from its original orientation so that the original western side now faces south.

<i>Res Gestae Divi Augusti</i> Funerary inscription of the first Roman emperor, Augustus

Res Gestae Divi Augusti is a monumental inscription composed by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The Res Gestae is especially significant because it gives an insight into the image Augustus offered to the Roman people. Various portions of the Res Gestae have been found in modern Turkey. The inscription itself is a monument to the establishment of the Julio-Claudian dynasty that was to follow Augustus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pax (goddess)</span> Roman goddess of peace

Pax, more commonly known in English as Peace, was the Roman goddess of peace derived and adopted from the ancient Greek equivalent Eirene. Pax was seen as the daughter of the Roman king god Jupiter and the goddess Justice. Worship of Peace was organized and made popular during the rule of the emperor Augustus who used her imagery to help stabilise the empire after the years of turmoil and civil war of the late republic. Augustus commissioned an altar of peace in her honour on the Campus Martius called Ara Pacis, and the emperor Vespasian built a temple for her on called the Templum Pacis. Pax had a festival held for her on January 30. In art she is commonly depicted holding out olive branches as a peace offering, as well as a caduceus, cornucopia, corn and a sceptre. Pax is also often associated with spring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple of Augustus and Rome</span> Augusteum in Altındağ, Ankara, Turkey

The Temple of Augustus and Rome is an augusteum located in the Altındağ district of Ankara. It is thought to have been built around 25–20 AD. Besides being one of the most important Roman-period ruins in the city, it is also known for the Monumentum Ancyranum. This is an inscription about the works of Augustus, who was considered the first Roman emperor. It is the most complete copy of Res Gestae Divi Augusti that has survived to the present day, even as the original in Rome had disappeared.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mausoleum of Augustus</span> Ancient Roman tomb in Rome, Italy

The Mausoleum of Augustus is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC on the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The mausoleum is located on the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, near the corner with Via di Ripetta as it runs along the Tiber. The grounds cover an area equivalent to a few city blocks nestled between the church of San Carlo al Corso and the Museum of the Ara Pacis. After being closed for fourteen years to perform restoration work, the mausoleum was reopened to the public in March 2021.

Titus Manlius Torquatus was a politician of the Roman Republic. He had a long and distinguished career, being consul in 235 BC and 224 BC, censor in 231 BC, and dictator in 208 BC. He was an ally of Fabius Maximus "Cunctator".

Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respectively the son, grandson and great-grandson of Sextus Appuleius (I) and Octavia Major.

Lucius Arruntius was a Roman admiral. He saw action during the War with Sextus Pompeius, and the war of Mark Antony and Octavian. He is most notable for his participation during the Battle of Actium, where he was in command of victorious Augustus' central division. He was also instrumental in convincing Octavian to pardon Gaius Sosius, one of Mark Antony's generals, after his capture. Arruntius was consul in 22 BC as the colleague of Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forum of Augustus</span> Ancient Roman imperial forum, a landmark of Rome, Italy

The Forum of Augustus is one of the Imperial fora of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus. It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated in 2 BC, 40 years after they were first vowed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple of Janus (Forum Holitorium)</span> Ancient religious monument in Rome, Italy

The Temple of Janus at the Forum Holitorium was a Roman temple dedicated to the god Janus, located between the Capitoline Hill and the Tiber River near the Circus Flaminius in the southern Campus Martius. The temple was built during the First Punic War, after the Temple of Janus in the Roman Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solarium Augusti</span> Roman solar marker in the Campus Martius

The Solarium Augusti or Horologium Augusti was a monument in the Campus Martius of ancient Rome constructed in 10 BCE under the Roman emperor Augustus. It included an Egyptian obelisk that had first been erected under the pharaoh Psamtik II used in some fashion as a gnomon. Once believed to have been a massive sundial, it is now more commonly understood to have been used with a meridian line used to track the solar year. It served as a monument of Augustus having brought Egypt under Roman rule and was also connected with the Altar of Augustan Peace commemorating the Pax Romana established by his ending the numerous civil wars that ended the Roman Republic. The Solarium was destroyed at some point during the Middle Ages. Its recovered obelisk is now known as the Obelisk of Montecitorio.

Dynamis, nicknamed Philoromaios, was a Roman client queen of the Bosporan Kingdom during the Late Roman Republic and part of the reign of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. Dynamis is an ancient Greek name which means the “powerful one”. She was a monarch of Iranian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. She was the daughter of King Pharnaces II of Pontus and his Sarmatian wife. She had an older brother called Darius and a younger brother called Arsaces. Her paternal grandparents had been the monarchs of the Kingdom of Pontus, Mithridates VI of Pontus and his first wife Laodice, who was also his sister. Dynamis married three times. Her husbands were Asander, a certain Scribonius and Polemon I of Pontus. According to Rostovtzeff, she also had a fourth husband, Aspurgos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flamen Divi Julii</span>

In Roman Imperial cult, the flamen Divi Julii or flamen Divi Iulii, was the priest of the divinised Julius Caesar, and the fourth of the so-called flamines maiores to be created. The new flaminate was established by the Roman senate in 42 BC, as part of Caesar's consecration as a divus two years after his assassination. Caesar had, in his lifetime, been the recipient of unofficial, divine cult from his supporters, and had designated Mark Antony to serve as his priest. Caesar's cult continued after his death, and in 40 BC, the senate confirmed Antony as the first flamen Divi Iulii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple of Jupiter Feretrius</span> Lost ancient Roman temple

The Temple of Jupiter Feretrius was, according to legend, the first temple ever built in Rome. Its site is uncertain but is thought to have been on the Capitoline Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Propaganda in Augustan Rome</span>

Roman Emperor Augustus employed various forms of propaganda as he ascended to power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustan and Julio-Claudian art</span>

Augustan and Julio-Claudian art is the artistic production that took place in the Roman Empire under the reign of Augustus and the Julio-Claudian dynasty, lasting from 44 BC to 69 AD. At that time Roman art developed towards a serene "neoclassicism", which reflected the political aims of Augustus and the Pax Romana, aimed at building a solid and idealized image of the empire.

References

  1. ↑ dodd, Loudon. "Janus1.JPG". Wikipedia. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  2. ↑ Wright, Horace W. "The Janus Shrine of the Forum." American Journal of Archaeology 29, no. 1 (1925): 79-81. Accessed April 12, 2020. doi:10.2307/497726.
  3. ↑ Plutarch's Lives Volume 1
  4. ↑ Coarelli, Filippo (2014-05-10). Rome and Environs. University of California Press. doi:10.1525/9780520957800. ISBN   978-0-520-95780-0.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Muller, Valentine (October 1943). "The Shrine of Janus Geminus in Rome". American Journal of Archaeology. 47 (4): 437–440. doi:10.2307/499831. JSTOR   499831. S2CID   245265095.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Green, S. J. (2000). "Multiple Interpretation of the Opening and Closing of the Temple of Janus: A Misunderstanding of Ovid "Fasti" 1.281". Mnemosyne. 53 (3): 302–309. doi:10.1163/156852500510615. ISSN   0026-7074. JSTOR   4433099.
  7. ↑ Plutarch (November 12, 2004). "Plutarch's Lives, Volume I (of 4)".
  8. ↑ Livy. ""The History of Rome, Vol. 1"".
  9. ↑ Augustus; Cooley, Alison E. (2009-05-14). "Res Gestae Divi Augusti: Text, Translation, and Commentary". Higher Education from Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511815966.004 . Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  10. ↑ Harris, William (1985). War and Imperialism in Republican Rome 327-70 BC. Oxford University Press. pp. 190–91. ISBN   9780198148661.
  11. ↑ Syme, Ronald. “Problems about Janus.” The American Journal of Philology 100, no. 1 (1979): 188-212.
  12. ↑ Res Gestae Divi Augusti, paragraph 13, translation [ dead link ] from Wikisource
  13. ↑ Orosius In Paganos 6.22
  14. ↑ Inez Scott Ryberg, "The Procession of the Ara Pacis," MAAR 19 (1949), 77-101; Gaius Stern, Women, Children and Senators on the Ara Pacis Augustae (Berkeley diss. 2006), and "How Many Lictors are on the Ara Pacis Augustae?" CAMWS 2007
  15. ↑ Ronald Syme History in Ovid (1977), 24 ff, and "Problems with Janus," AJP 100 (1979), 188 ff
  16. ↑ Mario Torelli, Structure and Typology of Roman Historical Reliefs, (1982) Chapter 2: “A New Start: The Ara Pacis Augustae"
  17. ↑ Vergil Aeneid 7
  18. ↑ Temple, Nicholas. “St. Peter's Basilica: Orientation and Succession.” In Revovatio Urbis: Architecture, Urbanism, and Ceremony in the Rome of Julius II, 189–94. New York, NY: Routledge, 2011.
  19. ↑ Nabulsi, Karma. “High Priests of the Temple of Janus: The Martial Traditions of War.” In Traditions of War: Occupation, Resistance, and the Law, 102–26. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.