Gates of Janus
Encyclopedia
In Roman history
and legend, the Gates of Janus were opened when Rome
went to war and shut when the whole Roman world was at peace. According to Livy
1.19 the second king of Rome
, Numa Pompilius
, decided to distract the early, warlike Romans from their violent ways by instilling in them awe and reverence. His projects included establishing religion, certain priesthoods, and the building of temples as a distraction with the beneficial side effect of imbuing superstition. Karl Marx
was later inspired by this passage to coin the phrase "religion is the opiate of the masses." The Temple of Janus was Numa's most famous temple project. It was located in the Roman Forum
near the Argelitum.
During Numa's reign, the Gates of the Temple of Janus were closed and Rome remained at peace. The next king, Tullus Hostilius
, opened the Gates of Janus when he went to war with Alba Longa
. The Gates of Janus remained open for the next 400 years until after the First Punic War
when T. Manlius Torquatus
closed the Gates of Janus in 235 BC
. This closure lasted about eight years. War with the Gauls in Northern Italy
forced the Gates of Janus to reopen. They did not close again until 29 BC
, following the deaths of Antony
and Cleopatra.
The emperor
Augustus
boasted in his autobiographical Res Gestae
paragraph 13 that he closed the Gates of Janus three times. From Cassius Dio
51.20 and 53.27 we are able to date the first two closures to 29 and 25 BC
respectively. Thus, Augustus closed the Gates of Janus more times than in all prior Roman history.
The exact date of the third closure remains a scholarly debate. The only ancient author to date the third closure was Orosius, who associates the event with the birth of Christ, ca 1 BC
. However, modern scholars almost universally reject Orosius because Roman armies
were campaigning in Germany
and/or the Far East elsewhere by 2 BC
. Inez Scott Ryberg and Gaius Stern The third closure has been dated to 13 BC
based on the joint return of Augustus and Agrippa to Rome after pacifying the provinces. Sir Ronald Syme
dated the closure to 7 BC
, to coincide with the triumph of Tiberius
and his second consulship
, the events of which year are lost in a gap in the surviving manuscripts of Cassius Dio. Mario Torelli
followed Orosius' date.
Later emperors also closed the Gates of Janus to great fanfare. The most famous closures occurred under Nero
and Vespasian
. Nero minted a large series of coins with the Ara Pacis
on the reverse to commemorate this event. Other emperors certainly closed and reopened the Gates of Janus, but references in later and less thorough historians are fairly rare.
The poet Virgil
also includes in the Aeneid
the opening of the Gates of Janus to start war between the Trojans
and the Latins
.
Livy 1.19.
Vergil _Aeneid_ 7.601-22.
Velleius Paterculus
2.38.3.
Plutarch, Numa.
History of Rome
The history of Rome spans 2,800 years of the existence of a city that grew from a small Italian village in the 9th century BC into the centre of a vast civilisation that dominated the Mediterranean region for centuries. Its political power was eventually replaced by that of peoples of mostly...
and legend, the Gates of Janus were opened when Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
went to war and shut when the whole Roman world was at peace. According to Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
1.19 the second king of Rome
Roman Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....
, Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. What tales are descended to us about him come from Valerius Antias, an author from the early part of the 1st century BC known through limited mentions of later authors , Dionysius of Halicarnassus circa 60BC-...
, decided to distract the early, warlike Romans from their violent ways by instilling in them awe and reverence. His projects included establishing religion, certain priesthoods, and the building of temples as a distraction with the beneficial side effect of imbuing superstition. Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
was later inspired by this passage to coin the phrase "religion is the opiate of the masses." The Temple of Janus was Numa's most famous temple project. It was located in the Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
near the Argelitum.
During Numa's reign, the Gates of the Temple of Janus were closed and Rome remained at peace. The next king, Tullus Hostilius
Tullus Hostilius
Tullus Hostilius was the legendary third of the Kings of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius, and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius...
, opened the Gates of Janus when he went to war with Alba Longa
Alba Longa
Alba Longa – in Italian sources occasionally written Albalonga – was an ancient city of Latium in central Italy southeast of Rome in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC. In legend, Romulus and Remus, founders of...
. The Gates of Janus remained open for the next 400 years until after the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
when T. Manlius Torquatus
Titus Manlius Torquatus
Titus Manlius Torquatus may refer to three Roman Republic consuls of the gens Manlia:* Titus Manlius Torquatus , son of Lucius, consul in 347, 344, and 340 BC...
closed the Gates of Janus in 235 BC
235 BC
Year 235 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Torquatus and Bulbus...
. This closure lasted about eight years. War with the Gauls in Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
forced the Gates of Janus to reopen. They did not close again until 29 BC
29 BC
Year 29 BC was either a common year starting on Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Thursday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
, following the deaths of Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
and Cleopatra.
The emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
boasted in his autobiographical Res Gestae
Res Gestae Divi Augusti
Res Gestae Divi Augusti, is the funerary inscription of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The Res Gestae is especially significant because it gives an insight into the image Augustus portrayed to the Roman people...
paragraph 13 that he closed the Gates of Janus three times. From Cassius Dio
Dio Cassius
Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek...
51.20 and 53.27 we are able to date the first two closures to 29 and 25 BC
25 BC
Year 25 BC was either a common year starting on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday or a leap year starting on Wednesday or Thursday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
respectively. Thus, Augustus closed the Gates of Janus more times than in all prior Roman history.
The exact date of the third closure remains a scholarly debate. The only ancient author to date the third closure was Orosius, who associates the event with the birth of Christ, ca 1 BC
1 BC
Year 1 BC was a common year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Thursday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
. However, modern scholars almost universally reject Orosius because Roman armies
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
were campaigning in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and/or the Far East elsewhere by 2 BC
2 BC
Year 2 BC was a common year starting on Thursday or Friday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
. Inez Scott Ryberg and Gaius Stern The third closure has been dated to 13 BC
13 BC
Year 13 BC was either a common year starting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
based on the joint return of Augustus and Agrippa to Rome after pacifying the provinces. Sir Ronald Syme
Ronald Syme
Sir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. Long associated with Oxford University, he is widely regarded as the 20th century's greatest historian of ancient Rome...
dated the closure to 7 BC
7 BC
Year 7 BC was a common year starting on Saturday or Sunday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
, to coincide with the triumph of Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
and his second consulship
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
, the events of which year are lost in a gap in the surviving manuscripts of Cassius Dio. Mario Torelli
Mario Torelli
Mario Torelli is a contemporary scholar of Italic archaeology and the culture of the Etruscans. He teaches at the University of Perugia...
followed Orosius' date.
Later emperors also closed the Gates of Janus to great fanfare. The most famous closures occurred under Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
and Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
. Nero minted a large series of coins with the Ara Pacis
Ara Pacis
The Ara Pacis Augustae is an altar to Peace, envisioned as a Roman goddess...
on the reverse to commemorate this event. Other emperors certainly closed and reopened the Gates of Janus, but references in later and less thorough historians are fairly rare.
The poet Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
also includes in the Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
the opening of the Gates of Janus to start war between the Trojans
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
and the Latins
Latins
"Latins" refers to different groups of people and the meaning of the word changes for where and when it is used.The original Latins were an Italian tribe inhabiting central and south-central Italy. Through conquest by their most populous city-state, Rome, the original Latins culturally "Romanized"...
.
See also
Augustus Res Gestae 13.Livy 1.19.
Vergil _Aeneid_ 7.601-22.
Velleius Paterculus
Marcus Velleius Paterculus
Marcus Velleius Paterculus was a Roman historian, also known simply as Velleius. Although his praenomen is given as Marcus by Priscian, some modern scholars identify him with Gaius Velleius Paterculus, whose name occurs in an inscription on a north African milestone .-Biography:Paterculus belonged...
2.38.3.
Plutarch, Numa.