Janus-like Deities

Notes (4) to Zeus by Arthur Bernard Cook (1925)

!r4"
referring to:Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
Janiform god
Zeus is neer described as a t!in
"
#he Celtic $anifor% god
2
& the head of Zeus into that of a t!o&faced bearded god rese%bling lanus (figs'
2()*2"(+
" Source: ,age -". in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
2 Source: ,age -2- in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
Beardless Janiform heads
/old stateres and 0uarter&stateres struck by the 1edio%atrici* !hose chief to!n !as 2ioduru%
(1ettis* Metz) on the 1oselle* hae for oberse ty,e a beardless $anifor% head (figs' 2""32"-+'
Two-faced Janus
3
4But Cordeilla* no! %istress of the hel% of state* buried her father in a certain underground
cha%ber* !hich he had bidden to be %ade beneath the rier Sora !ithin the to!n of
5egecestria' 6o! this underground cha%ber had been founded in honour of the t!o-#a$ed
Janus' And here* !hen the day of celebration ca%e round* all the !ork%en of the to!n used
to begin the !ork that !ould occu,y the% throughout the year'4
Cordalia no! took the soereignty of Britain into her o!n hands' 5ear !as buried in a
caern for%ed belo! the Rier Soar at 5eicester* and !hich had been %agnificently
constructed in honour of the %od Bi#rons' 7ere like!ise all the artificers of the kingdo%
!ere asse%bled annually* to !ork at !hat trade soeer they !ere to ,ursue* to the end of the
year fro% that ti%e'
Sir $ohn Rhys co%%ents: 4 #his see%s to %ean that 5lyr as a Celtic Dis
4
!as a god of
beginnings* and that he had* like the 2is of the /auls* &ore than one #a$e* !hich naturally
led hi% to be identified !ith the Ro%an $anus' #he to!n of 5eicester see%s to hae been a
great centre of this cult*
- Source: ,age -28 in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
9 :f course ; a bi&faced #uisco
Iupiter as a two-faced god?
5
Braun !as able to su,,ort his contention by 0uoting fro% P' Pedrusi (fig' 2"8+ a siler coin of /eta*
struck in 2"" A'2'* !hich certainly sho!s a beardless(<+ t!o-#a$ed 'od3 ,resu%ably Iu,iter 3
holding a thunderbolt in his left hand and a reersed s,ear in his right'
=orchha%%er obsered that the attributes are those of (u)iter Conser*ator* and suggested that this
god !as fused !ith (anus Conser*ator in a uni0ue nu%is%atic ty,e co%%e%orating the double
rule of %eta and Cara$alla'
Iupiter Optimus Maximus Co(nservator) et Ainbisagrus
6
A%bisagrus is ulgar 5atin for A%bisacrus and %eans 4+a$red on both sides4' It i%,lies that the
Iu,iter in 0uestion !as a god rese%bling the t!o-#a$ed (anus'
Accordingly* !e are not sur,rised to discoer that in the sa%e to!n A0uileia there !as a cult of
(u)iter Dianus3an ancient for% of Ianus identified !ith the later Iu,iter' It is hardly accidental
that this Jani#or& (u)iter occurs in a district !hich !as ,er%eated !ith Celtic influences'
8 Source: ,age -2> in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
? Altar found at A0uileia records the !orshi, of lu,iter Optimus Maximus Co(nservator] et Ainbisagrus
Iupiter and lanus in the Salian Hymn
7
#o these nine reconstructions I a% te%,ted to add a tenth' =or conenience4 sake I ,rint the
traditional te@t side by side !ith %y reading of it :
co,eulodorieso' io* Zeu 5oidorie* io'
o%nia ero ad,atula coe%isse' o%nia era da ,atula* Ca%ise'
ian cusianes duonus ceruses' (anus (an esA duonus Cerus es*
dunus(anus ' duonus(anus*
ue uet ,o% %elios eu% recu%' el eteru% ,ro%erios recu%'
47o* =estal (u)iter* hoB
=ling !ide all the doors* god of the Arch!ay'
#hou art (anus (anA thou art the good Creator*
good (anus*
fore%ost* an thou !ilt* of ancient kings'4
Ieu as ocatie
1r $' Chat%ough* !ho% I consulted on the %atter* ,ro,oses leu as ocatie (dieu D (eu D (ou D
(u&,iter+ and !ould be rid of rhotacis%'
:n this sho!ing the original (corru,ted in Varro4s te@t by /recis% and rhotacis%+ %ight hae run :
io* (eu 5oidosie* io'
o%nia era da ,atula* Ca%ese'
(anos (an esA duenos Ceros es*
duenos(anos*
el eteso% ,ro%esios reco%'
. Source: ,age --( in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
(anus and (u)iter on $oins
-
!ithin and !ithout Ro%e itself Ianus !as associated !ith Iu,iter as senior !ith Eunior deity'
Ianus !as co%%only recogniFed as the oldest god of Italy' $uenal addresses Ianus Pater as
4%ost ancient of the gods'4
7erodian s,eaks of hi% as the 4 %ost ancient indigenous god of Italy'4 Proko,ios says: 4 #his
Ianus !as the first of the ancient gods* !ho% the Ro%ans in their language ter%ed Penates'4
7e !as god of the day' 7e !as god of the %onths' 7e !as god of the seasons' 7e !as god of the year' 7e
!as god of eternity* being either the father of Aion or Aion4s ery self' 6o! if !e assu%e3as* I think*
!e are Eustified in assu%ing3that Ianus* like Iu,iter* !as* to begin !ith* si%,ly the diine Sky* !e
can understand* not only all the foregoing atte%,ts to inter,ret hi% in ter%s of s,ace and ti%e* but
also the ery re%arkable descri,tion of hi% as 4god of gods4 contained in an e@tant frag%ent of the
Salian hy%n'
In short* I conceie that Ianus and Iu,iter !ere the sky&gods !orshi,ed by t!o successie strata in the
,o,ulation of Italy* Ianus* it !ould a,,ear* belonged to the older stock3!hich* for !ant of a better
na%e* I should ter% Illyrian"3and !as retained by the inco%ing 5atins* des,ite the fact that their
o!n Iu,iter !as a god of essentially si%ilar character' =urther* I should be ,re,ared to find that*
corres,onding !ith 2ianus (Ianus+ and 2iana (Iana+ the ancient sky&god and his consort of the
Italian ,eninsula* there !as a si%ilar diine ,air of kindred origin on the o,,osite side of the
Adriatic' 6o! the ,honetic counter,art of the Salian Ian is Zan* !hich R' 1eister has ,roed
to be no hy,erdoris% for ZenG but a genuine 2oric for% attested by all dialect&sources'
Ianus or Ian !as e0uated !ith Zan
)
'
; #he e0uation of Ian and Zan %ay also e@,lain the e0uation of Ieu and Zeu* Iu and Ziu'
> Source: ,age --" in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
) Source: ,age -9" in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
!an " an older !eus
#$
#he cult of Zan can be traced %ost clearly in Crete* !here he bore the title 1egas* the /reat Zan*
3a natural a,,ellatie of the sky&god'
47ere lies /reat Zan* !ho% %en call Zeus4
The significance of Janus% dou&le face
##
Chat !as the ulti%ate significance of Ianus4 double face< Ancient and %odern e@,lanations being
ad%ittedly unsatisfactory* !e %ust ,erforce look further afield and take into account certain facts
noted by students of co%,aratie anthro,ology' And here I shall aail %yself at once of an obiter
dictum in Sir $a%es =raFer4s discussion of African beliefs about t!ins: 4:n the Slae Coast !hen a
!o%an has brought forth stillborn t!ins* she has a statue %ade !ith t!o faces and sets it u, in a
corner of her house''''#his suggests that else!here t!o&faced i%ages* like those of $anus* %ay hae
been intended to re,resent t!ins-'4
5et us fit the ne! key into our rusty lock and see if the door !ill o,en' Ianus* !e hae said* !as
originally the diine Sky' #he diine Sky is bright by day and dark by night' Being* therefore* of a
t!ofold or t!in character* Ianus !as naturally re,resented as a double&faced god'
"( Source: ,age -98 in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
"" Source: ,age -.> in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
'rgos
#(
Argos* !ho in his earliest for% a,,ears to hae been a sky&god co%,arable !ith Zeus* is described in the
7esiodic Aigimios as 4looking this !ay and that !ay !ith four eyes4 and ,ortrayed on ases fro% s. i
on!ards !ith a $anifor% head'
#he later ase %akes one face bearded* the other beardless* adds eyes all oer hi%* and e0ui,s hi% !ith
petasos, ,anther&skin* and club'
Ce need not* therefore* hesitate to inter,ret the petasos of 7er%es or Argos or lanus as an
unso,histicated sy%bol for the sky oerhead'
"-
"2 Source: ,age ->( in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
"- Source: ,age ->? in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
Silenos together with a &ay-wreathed 'pollon
#)
Another Ianus&like head* in the =itF!illia% 1useu% at Ca%bridge* sho!s an iy&!reathed Silenos together
!ith a bay&!reathed A,ollon (fig' 2).+'
"9 Source: ,age ->> in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
Ianus-li*e head with male and female faces
#5
By a further ,rocess of diergence the co%,onent faces beca%e res,ectiely %ale and fe%ale'
"8 Source: ,age -)( in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
The supports of the S*y personified
#+
#he t!o ,illars of burnished bronFe %ade by the Phoenician 7ira% for the forefrontof Solo%on4s
te%,le !ere* according to C' Robertson S%ith* in the nature of huge candlesticks or cressets*
,erha,s in actual use as fire&altars na%es gien to the%3$achin* 4 7e !ill establish*44 the Stablisher*4
and Boas* in 7i% is Strength4 (<+ 3i%,ly that they !ere in so%e sense ,ersonified su,,orts*
though still aniconic in sha,e' And their original character as sky&,illars has been detected by R'
Hisler'
,omulus and ,emus
#7
At Ro%e* for instance* there see%s to hae been a definite and ,ersistent tendency to!ards a dual
kingshi,' 7ence (says our authority+ the still ,realent use of the royal 4 !e4B
Twins
#iberius !as oerEoyed !hen in ") A'2' 5i ia or 5iilla* the sister of /er%anicus* bore to
2rusus Caesar the t!ins #iberius and /er%anicus'
The effeminate Twin
1-
#he %ystical school of H,i%enides %aintained that the 2ioskouroi !ere res,ectiely %ale
and fe%ale'
'pollo
19
Although A,ollo is a co%,aratiely late co%er into /reece* he stands out in 7o%er* al%ost in his
full deelo,%ent* !ith a cos%o,olitan character' 7e is essentially a %igratory god* !hich see%s to
be one source of his great ,o,ularity'
"? Source: ,age 92? in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
". Source: ,age 99( in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
"> Source: ,age 98" in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
") Source: ,age 98) in Zeus a Study in Ancient Religion Vol 2 Part I (1925) by Arthur Bernard Cook
Inhoud
$anifor% god'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"
Beardless $anifor% heads'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''2
#!o&faced $anus'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''2
Iu,iter as a t!o&faced god<'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''-
Iu,iter :,ti%us 1a@i%us Co(nserator+ et Ainbisagrus'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''-
Iu,iter and lanus in the Salian 7y%n'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''9
Ieu as ocatie''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''9
Ianus and Iu,iter on coins'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''8
Zan ; an older Zeus''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''?
#he significance of $anus4 double face'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''?
Argos''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''.
Silenos together !ith a bay&!reathed A,ollon'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''>
Ianus&like head !ith %ale and fe%ale faces'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''')
#he su,,orts of the Sky ,ersonified'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"(
Ro%ulus and Re%us'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"(
#!ins''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"(
#he effe%inate #!in'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"(
A,ollo'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"(