Editing Janus (section)

====Iunonius====
Janus owes the epithet ''Iunonius'' to his function as patron of all kalends, which are also associated with Juno. In Macrobius's explanation: "''Iunonium, as it were, not only does he hold the entry to January, but to all the months: indeed all the kalends are under the jurisdiction of Juno''". At the time when the rising of the new moon was observed by the [[pontifex]] minor the [[rex sacrorum]] assisted by him offered a sacrifice to Janus in the ''[[Curia Calabra]]'' while the [[regina sacrorum]] sacrificed to Juno in the [[regia]].<ref>Macrobius I 15, 9–10 and 19.</ref>

Some scholars have maintained that Juno was the primitive paredra of the god. This point bears on the nature of Janus and Juno and is at the core of an important dispute: was Janus a debased ancient uranic supreme god, or were Janus and Jupiter co-existent, their distinct identities structurally inherent to their original theology?

Among Francophone scholars, Grimal and (implicitly and partially) Renard and Basanoff have supported the view of a uranic supreme god against Dumézil and Schilling. Among Anglophone scholars Frazer and Cook have suggested an interpretation of Janus as uranic supreme god.

Whatever the case, it is certain that Janus and Juno show a peculiar reciprocal affinity: while Janus is ''Iunonius'', Juno is ''Ianualis'', as she presides over childbirth and the menstrual cycle, and opens doors.<ref>Servius ''Aeneis'' VII 620–622; Ovid ''Fasti'' I; Isidore ''Origines'' VIII 11, 69: "Iunonem dicunt quasi Ianonem, id est ianuam, pro purgationibus feminarum, eo quod quasi portas matrum natis pandat, et nubentum maritis".</ref> Moreover, besides the kalends Janus and Juno are also associated at the rite of the Tigillum Sororium of 1 October, in which they bear the epithets ''Ianus Curiatius'' and ''Iuno Sororia''. These epithets, which swap the functional qualities of the gods, are the most remarkable apparent proof of their proximity.<ref>M.Renard above p. 14-17.</ref> The rite is discussed in detail in the section below.