Two
Faced God of January to Blame for Broken Resolutions
Did
you ever wonder how it is that you can make New Year's resolutions
on January 1st - only to break them on January 4th, or 12th? Maybe
you're commitment and resolve will help you make it into February,
but sooner or later, even the most tenacious of us will break
one or several of our New Year's resolutions.
You can thank
Janus, the two-faced Roman Godof Doors, Gateways and beginnings
from whom the month of January gets its name for the malady.
When one door opens, another closes; with new beginnings, there
is always an end. As we celebrate the New Year, we mourn the death
of the old year and say goodbye with a toast and not a few sad
sentiments for the year that was. No wonder we get confused and
break our resolutions. With the two-faced Janus holding court,
January is no time for resolutions.
Janus was
one of a pantheon of Roman Gods but he held a special place in
the daily life of the Romans.
Janus
was the God of Beginnings, which also ensured good endings; for
this
reason he is always depicted with two faces gazing in opposite
directions. And don't we all do that when we are starting something
new? We look forward with anticipation towards the future yet
at the same time we look backwards to the past which has led us
so far and at last brought us to this new beginning. Just think
of the last few weeks as we awaited the close of the old year
Old God Janus's principal temple in the Roman Forum had two doorways;
one facing East and the other facing West for the beginmning and
the end of the day; and between them stood Janus with his two
faces gazing in opposite directions as though to say "Give
full face to the future but do not forget your past!" An
old Roamn version of the more modern saying "Those who do
not remember history are doomed to repeat it!" In every home
in Roman days, the morning prayer was addressed to him, and in
every domestic undertaking his assistance was sought.
As the god
of beginnings, Janus was publicly invoked on the first day of
January, the month that was named for him because it began the
new year. He was also invoked at the beginning of wars, during
which the doors to his temple in the forum always stood open;
when Rome was at peace the doors were closed. There was no counterpart
to Janus in Greek Mythology....and we would have to look hard
to find one in today's world.
by Adrien Blanchette
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Where
on Earth is
reason he is always depicted with two faces gazing in opposite
directions. And don't we all do that when we are starting something
new? We look forward with anticipation towards the future yet
at the same time we look backwards to the past which has led us
so far and at last brought us to this new beginning. Just think
of the last few weeks as we awaited the close of the old year
