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Janus
Also known as: Ianus
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Interactive 3D representation
About Janus
God of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. Uniquely Roman deity with no Greek equivalent. Depicted with two faces looking to past and future.
Origin Story
Janus is one of the oldest Roman gods, said to have no Greek counterpart. He presided over the beginning and end of conflicts, and hence war and peace. All ceremonies and rituals began with an invocation to Janus.
Domains
beginningsgatestransitionstimedoorwaysendings
Symbols
two faceskeystaffgate