Door Knob Deities
by Lucy Atkinson
If door knobs had a god, Architectural Classics would be at church every Sunday… there is, however, the next best thing. Janus is the Roman god of doors and doorways, as well as beginnings and ends. He is easily recognisable, as he is always depicted with more than one face – usually two, looking in either direction. Earlier representations of Janus showed him with four faces … can we draw the conclusion then that revolving doors were in use much before swinging ones, do you think?
Janus was, in his time a very versatile and much worshipped god. Doors have a beautiful romance and symbolism, and ancient Romans recognised this also. So while it might seem a bit pointless to have a god of doors (when might you pray to him? When there are too many mice coming in from underneath the door? When your hinges are rusting?!), he is really the god of many things. He was worshipped at all sorts of times – marriages, births, deaths and other life transitions – because he was seen as a middle ground between two states of being, and his help could make the change easier. Harvest and planting times were another popular time to worship him. He was known as the happy medium – a convenient middle ground. However, you could also choose to see him as the god of uncomfortable buttocks, because he always sits on the fence … ! War time was another time Janus came into his own – he was not supposed to have been born a god, but was a mortal from Thessaly in Greece (there is hope for all of us yet!). His reign was a Golden Age, and during it he defended the Sabines from attack by Romulus by making a hot spring erupt. Thus doors to Janus’ temples were kept open during war time, so that he could come out to help.
One of Janus and Camese’s sons was named Fons … I bet Happy Days didn’t know that Harry Belafonte’s character was actually based on the son of a Roman God! I don’t know if that would make the Fonz cooler, or daggier…
Unfortunately for Janus, his two-facedness is often now interpreted as being a negative symbol, although Janus himself was meant to be an absolutely upstanding person and one of the most positive gods about. Greek gods often have a chequered sort of history, sometimes involving rapes, wars, divorces and adultery. Janus, however, could not be faulted! It is sort of a pity, then, that his skill of seeing things both ways has been a bit too literally interpreted as ‘two-facedness’. Hardly fair!
It’s alright though Janus, you’ll always have dedicated followers here!
Photo credits: Janus Pater by Yuri Firsanov
