"Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus (; (""Iānus""), ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. It is conventionally thought that the month of January is named for Janus (Ianuarius), but according to ancient Roman farmers' almanacs Juno was the tutelary deity of the month. Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The gates of a building in Rome named after him (not a temple, as it"
"Church Fathers, Cardea is associated with two otherwise unknown deities who preside over doorways: Forculus, from ""fores"", ""door"", plural in form because double doors were common on public buildings and elite homes ""(domūs)""; and Limentinus, from ""limen, liminis"", ""threshold"" (compare English ""liminal""). St. Augustine mocks the apparent triviality of these ""little gods"" in one of his ""attacks against the multitude of Gods,"" noting that while one doorkeeper is adequate for a human household, the Roman gods require three: ""evidently Forculus can't watch the hinge and the threshold at the same time."" Modern scholarship has pointed out that this particular set"
"Portunus (mythology) Portunus was the ancient Roman god of keys, doors, livestock and ports. He may have originally protected the warehouses where grain was stored, but later became associated with ports, perhaps because of folk associations between ""porta"" ""gate, door"" and ""portus"" ""harbor"", the ""gateway"" to the sea, or because of an expansion in the meaning of ""portus"". Portunus later became conflated with the Greek Palaemon. Portunus' festival, celebrated on August 17, the sixteenth day before the Kalends of September, was the Portunalia, a minor occasion in the Roman year. On this day, keys were thrown into a fire for"
"of divinities belongs to rituals of marking out sacred space and fixing boundaries, religious developments hypothesized to have occurred during the transition from pastoralism to an agrarian society. Among Roman deities of this type, Terminus was the most significant. Stefan Weinstock conjectured that these three doorway deities had a place in cosmology as the ""Ianitores terrestres"", ""doorkeepers of the earth,"" guarding the passage to the earthly sphere. In the schema presented by Martianus Capella, the ""Ianitores terrestres"" are placed in region 16 among deities of the lowest ranks, while Janus, the divine doorkeeper ""par excellence"", is placed in region 1."
"Culsans Culsans (Culśanś) is an Etruscan deity, known from two inscriptions and a variety of iconographical material which includes coins, statuettes, and a sarcophagus. Culśanś is usually rendered as a male deity with two faces and at least two statuettes depicting him have been found in close association with city gates. These characteristics suggest that he was a protector of gateways, who could zealously watch over the gate with not one, but two pairs of eyes. Many scholars recognize the deity, Janus, as a Roman equivalent to Culśanś because he is also rendered as a bifrons (two-faced god) and his"
"""wading point"". Portunus' flamen, the flamen Portunalis, was one of the flamines minores and performed the ritual of oiling the spear (""hasta"") on the statue of god Quirinus, with an ointment especially prepared for this purpose and stored in a small vase (""persillum""). Portunus (mythology) Portunus was the ancient Roman god of keys, doors, livestock and ports. He may have originally protected the warehouses where grain was stored, but later became associated with ports, perhaps because of folk associations between ""porta"" ""gate, door"" and ""portus"" ""harbor"", the ""gateway"" to the sea, or because of an expansion in the meaning of"
"Cardea Cardea or Carda was the ancient Roman goddess of the hinge (Latin ""cardo, cardinis""), Roman doors being hung on pivot hinges. The Augustan poet Ovid conflates her with another archaic goddess named Carna, whose festival was celebrated on the Kalends of June and for whom he gives the alternative name Cranê or Cranea, a nymph. Ovid's conflation of the goddesses is likely to have been his poetic invention, but it has also been conjectured that ""Carna"" was a contracted form of ""Cardina"", and at minimum Ovid was observing that their traditions were congruent. In the Christian polemic of the"
"passageway, with the large central passageway for caravans and wheel traffic and the two smaller ones flanking the large one for pedestrians. The Gate, which was dedicated to the Sun by the Romans and known to them as the Gate of The Sun, dates back to ca. 200 AD. Although the gate had little defensive structures in the Roman period, it was most likely flanked by towers from both sides. Its architecture was minimal with the only adoration being the tall pilasters projecting from its walls. The gate, wide, stood over a grand avenue, the city's Decumanus Maximus known by"
"Porta Carmentalis The Porta Carmentalis was a double gate in the Servian Walls of ancient Rome. It was named for a nearby shrine to the goddess or nymph Carmenta, whose importance in early Roman religion is also indicated by the assignment of one of the fifteen ""flamines"" to her cult, and by the archaic festival in her honor, the Carmentalia. The shrine was to the right as one exited the gate. The gate's two arches seem to have been set at angles, and were known by separate names. It was unlucky to leave the city through the arch called Porta"
"Porta Collina The Colline Gate (Latin Porta Collina) was a landmark in ancient Rome, supposed to have been built by Servius Tullius, semi-legendary king of Rome 578–535 BC. The gate stood at the north end of the Servian Wall, and past it were two important streets, the Via Salaria and Via Nomentana. Within this area the Alta Semita linked the Quirinal with the Porta Carmentalis. Several temples were located near the gate, including temples of Venus Erycina and Fortuna. To a person facing the gate in the 3rd century AD, the Gardens of Sallust would have been on the left,"
"""working from afar"". While Apollo presided over the prophetic powers and magic of light and heaven, Hecate presided over the prophetic powers and magic of night and chthonian darkness. If Hecate is the ""gate-keeper"", Apollo ""Agyieus"" is the ""door-keeper"". Hecate is the goddess of crossroads and Apollo is the god and protector of streets. The oldest evidence found for Hecate's worship is at Apollo's temple in Miletos. There, Hecate was taken to be Apollo's sister counterpart in the absence of Artemis. Hecate's lunar nature makes her the goddess of the waning moon and contrats and complements, at the same time,"
"took its name from him, and not vice versa. Similarly, his tutelage extends to the covered passages named ""iani"" and foremost to the gates of the city, including the cultic gate of the ""Argiletum"", named ""Ianus Geminus"" or ""Porta Ianualis"" from which he protects Rome against the Sabines. He is also present at the Sororium Tigillum, where he guards the terminus of the ways into Rome from Latium. He has an altar, later a temple near the ""Porta Carmentalis"", where the road leading to Veii ended, as well as being present on the Janiculum, a gateway from Rome out to"
"the Greek god Hermes, the messenger for the gods, conductor of the dead and protector of merchants and thieves, was cruelly apt to describe the eventual fate of the 'Railway King'. Porticos in the 1860s were an unusual motif in Berlin and were much more common in the Palladian buildings in England, where Strousberg had spent his youth. Five windows flank either side of the portico to create a simple, clean and balanced façade. To the north side of the building, in place of the outermost windows to the cellar and ground floor, a double swing gate was located behind"
"Menshen Menshen or door gods are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu () and Yulü () under the Han, but the deified generals Qin Shubao () and Yuchi Gong () have been more popular since the Tang. In cases where a door god is affixed to a single door, Wei Zheng or Zhong Kui is commonly used. The gates and doors of Chinese houses have long received special ritual attention. Sacrifices to a door spirit"
"century Temple of Harmony in Somerset, England is a folly based on the Temple of Portunus. Temple of Portunus The Temple of Portunus () or Temple of Fortuna Virilis (""manly fortune"") is a Roman temple in Rome, Italy, one of the best preserved of all Roman temples. Its dedication remains unclear, as ancient sources mention several temples in this area of Rome, without saying enough to make it clear which this is. It was called the Temple of Fortuna Virilis from the Renaissance, and remains better known by this name. If dedicated to Portunus, the god of keys, doors and"
"Temple of Apollo through the Carmentalis and along the Vicus Iugarius to the Forum. Porta Carmentalis The Porta Carmentalis was a double gate in the Servian Walls of ancient Rome. It was named for a nearby shrine to the goddess or nymph Carmenta, whose importance in early Roman religion is also indicated by the assignment of one of the fifteen ""flamines"" to her cult, and by the archaic festival in her honor, the Carmentalia. The shrine was to the right as one exited the gate. The gate's two arches seem to have been set at angles, and were known by"
"Munsin (deity) ""Not to be confused with Jules Munshin, a song-and-dance artist."" Munshin (Hangul: 문신, Hanja: 門神, literally ""Door god""), known in the southernly Jeju Island as Munjeon (Hangul: 문전, Hanja: 門前) is the god of the door in Korean shamanism. The worship of Munshin is strongest in Jeju Island, where Munshin (known as Munjeon) is one of the most-worshipped deities; however, the worship of Munshin also exists in the mainland. The first Munshin-like entity that is recorded in Korean history is Cheoyong. According to the history book ""Samguk Yusa"", Cheoyong successfully repulsed the disease deity, who was having sex"
"BC and installed by Domitian in the Forum Transitorium, although having a different meaning, seems to be connected to the same theological complex, as its image purports an ability to rule over every direction, element and time of the year. It did not give rise to a new epithet though. ""Patulcius"" and ""Clusivius"" or ""Clusius"" are epithets related to an inherent quality and function of doors, that of standing open or shut. Janus as the Gatekeeper has jurisdiction over every kind of door and passage and the power of opening or closing them. Servius interprets Patulcius in the same way."
"is often called, but an open enclosure with gates at each end) were opened in time of war, and closed to mark the arrival of peace (which did not happen very often). As a god of transitions, he had functions pertaining to birth and to journeys and exchange, and in his association with Portunus, a similar harbor and gateway god, he was concerned with travelling, trading and shipping. Janus had no flamen or specialised priest ""(sacerdos)"" assigned to him, but the King of the Sacred Rites ""(rex sacrorum)"" himself carried out his ceremonies. Janus had an ubiquitous presence in religious"
"Porta Angelica Porta Angelica was a gate of the Leonine Wall in Rome (Italy). it rose close to the corner of the present Viale dei Bastioni di Michelangelo, Piazza Risorgimento and Via di Porta Angelica, where a coat of arms of Pope Pius XI is now visible. The gate, built before 1563 by Pope Pius IV with an elegant and simple bossage, was the main access route for the pilgrims arriving to Rome through Via Cassia or via Flaminia. The name ""Angelica"" (Italian for ""Angelic"") originates from the Christian name of the Pope who built it, Giovanni Angelo Medici, who"
"Gate deities of the underworld The Gate deities of the underworld were ancient Egyptian minor deities charged with guarding the gates of the Egyptian underworld. The Egyptians believed that in the netherworld, the Duat, there were various gates, doors and pylons crossed every night by the solar boat (Atet) of the sun-god Ra and by the souls directed to the world of the dead. Ancient funerary texts provide many different descriptions of the afterlife gates. Sometimes more than 1,000 guardian deities are listed. According to a more general view, every gate was guarded by a minor god who allowed access"
"good luck in a very solemn and lugubrious manner. His attribute was a key and his main temple in the city of Rome, the Temple of Portunus, was to be found in the Forum Boarium. Portunus appears to be closely related to the god Janus, with whom he shares many characters, functions and the symbol of the key. He too was represented as a two headed being, with each head facing opposite directions, on coins and as figurehead of ships. He was considered to be ""deus portuum portarumque praeses"" (lit. God presiding over ports and gates.) The relationship between the"
"adherents, but other scholars have argued from Indo-European parallels that the personalised gods of Roman religion must have preceded the city's foundation. Georges Dumézil regarded Jupiter, Juventas and Terminus as the Roman form of a proto-Indo-European triad, comparing the Roman deities respectively to the Vedic Mitra, Aryaman, and Bhaga. In this view the sovereign god (Jupiter/Mitra) was associated with two minor deities, one concerned with the entry of men into society (Juventas/Aryaman) and the other with the fair division of their goods (Terminus/Bhaga). Terminus (god) In Roman religion, Terminus was the god who protected boundary markers; his name was the"
"and the north and east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The east doors were dubbed by Michelangelo the ""Gates of Paradise"". The Italian poet Dante Alighieri and many other notable Renaissance figures, including members of the Medici family, were baptized in this baptistery. It was long believed that the Baptistery was originally a Roman temple dedicated to Mars, the tutelary god of the old Florence. The chronicler Giovanni Villani reported this medieval Florentine legend in his fourteenth-century ""Nuova Cronica"" on the history of Florence. However, twentieth-century excavations have shown that there was a first-century Roman wall running through the piazza with"
"Temple of Portunus The Temple of Portunus () or Temple of Fortuna Virilis (""manly fortune"") is a Roman temple in Rome, Italy, one of the best preserved of all Roman temples. Its dedication remains unclear, as ancient sources mention several temples in this area of Rome, without saying enough to make it clear which this is. It was called the Temple of Fortuna Virilis from the Renaissance, and remains better known by this name. If dedicated to Portunus, the god of keys, doors and livestock, and so granaries, it is the main temple dedicated to the god in the city."
"Porta San Giovanni (Rome) Porta San Giovanni is a gate in the Aurelian Wall of Rome, Italy, named after the nearby Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano. It is made up of a single grand arch built for pope Gregory XIII in ""opera forse"" by Giacomo della Porta or, it is argued, Giacomo del Duca, who had collaborated with Michelangelo on the Porta Pia. The confusion is because the chronology of the era merely speaks of a famous architect called Giacomo. Popular tradition insists the architect was Della Porta, for he died in crowds at the gate, ""which he had"
"into the Senate. Offerings were made to Jupiter petitioning for rain, and water was ceremonially poured over the stone. Lapis manalis A lapis manalis (Latin: ""stone of the Manes"") was either of two sacred stones used in the Roman religion. One covered a gate to Hades, abode of the dead; Festus called it ""ostium Orci"", ""the gate of Orcus"". The other was used to make rain; this one may have no direct relationship with the ""Manes"", but is instead derived from the verb ""manare"", ""to flow"". The two stones had the same name. However, the grammarian Festus held the cover"
"Porta San Sebastiano The Porta San Sebastiano is the largest and one of the best-preserved gates passing through the Aurelian Walls in Rome (Italy). Originally known as the ""Porta Appia"", the gate sat astride the Appian Way, the ""regina viarum"" (queen of the roads), which originated at the Porta Capena in the Servian Wall. During the Middle Ages probably it was also called ""Accia"" (or ""Dazza"" or ""Datia""), a name whose etymology is quite uncertain, but arguably associated with the river Almone, called ""acqua Accia"", that flowed nearby. A document ca. AD 1434 calls it ""Porta Domine quo vadis"". The"
"veritable explanation given for this double usage. This could be concluded by the presence of patron saints, (later added) to whom the other gates of the Imperial Palace had been dedicated: St. Theodore (The Western Gate), St Apollinaris (The Eastern Gate) and St. Julian (The Southern Gate). St. Martin (patron saint of soldiers), like St. Theodore was worshipped in the later Roman period, particularly in the West, during the rule of the Emperor Justinian (527-565). Church central area divided into two parts altar screen, made of marble and covered in vines, grape vines and griffon; on the space with an"
"one of the readings at Vespers on Great Feasts of the Theotokos in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches. This imagery is also found in the traditional Catholic Christmas hymn ""Gaudete"" and in a saying by Bonaventure, quoted by Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori: ""No one can enter Heaven unless by Mary, as though through a door."" The imagery provides the basis for the concept that God gave Mary to humanity as the ""Gate of Heaven"" (thence the dedication of churches and convents to the Porta Coeli), an idea also laid out in the ""Salve Regina"" (Hail Holy Queen) prayer."
"Faunus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the horned god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan. Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, known as the ""di indigetes"". According to the epic poet Virgil, he was a legendary king of the Latins. His shade was consulted as a goddess of prophecy under the name of Fatuus, with oracles in the sacred grove of Tibur, around the well Albunea, and on the Aventine Hill in ancient Rome"
"Mercury (mythology) Mercury (; Latin: ""Mercurius"" ) is a major god in Roman religion and mythology, being one of the Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon. He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication (including divination), travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery and thieves; he also serves as the guide of souls to the underworld. He was considered the son of Maia, who was a daughter of the Titan Atlas, and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is possibly related to the Latin word ""merx"" (""merchandise""; cf. ""merchant"", ""commerce"", etc.), ""mercari"" (""to trade""), and ""merces"" (""wages""); another possible"
"level of the Tullianum. It may have had a religious connection to the god of springs and wells known as Fons or Fontus who was celebrated at the Fontinalia. Ancient sources that mention the gate include Livy and Paulus. Porta Fontinalis The Porta Fontinalis was a gate in the Servian Wall in ancient Rome. It was located on the northern slope of the Capitoline Hill, probably the northeast shoulder over the Clivus Argentarius. The Via Salaria exited through it, as did the Via Flaminia originally, providing a direct link with Picene and Gallic territory. After the Aurelian Walls were constructed"