Editing Janus (section)

=== Space ===
Janus was also involved in spatial transitions, presiding over home doors, city gates and boundaries. Numerous toponyms of places located at the boundary between the territory of two communities, especially Etrurians and Latins or Umbrians, are named after the god.<ref>[[Giano dell'Umbria]], [[Torgiano]] near Perugia, [[Iano]] near Volterra.</ref> The most notable instance is the [[Ianiculum]] which marked the access to [[Etruria]] from Rome.<ref>Paulus ex Festus s.v. P. L.</ref> Since borders often coincided with rivers and the border of Rome (and other Italics) with Etruria was the [[Tiber]], it has been argued that its crossing had a religious connotation; it would have involved a set of rigorous apotropaic practices and a devotional attitude. Janus would have originally regulated particularly the crossing of this sacred river through the [[pons sublicius]].<ref>L. Adams Holland above.</ref>
The name of the Iāniculum is not derived by that of the god, but from the abstract noun ''iānus, -us''.<ref>P. Grimal above p. 40-43.</ref><ref>Paulus s. v. above : "Ianiculum dictum, quod per eum Romanus populus primitus transierit in agrum Etruscum". "It is named Janiculum because originally the Romans passed on to the Etruscan territory (ager) through it".</ref> Adams Holland opines it would have been originally the name of a small bridge connecting the [[Tiber Island]] (on which she supposes the first shrine of Janus stood) with the right bank of the river.<ref>L. Adams Holland above p. 231-3.</ref>
However Janus was the protector of doors, gates and roadways in general, as is shown by his two symbols, the key and the staff.<ref>Macrobius ''Saturnalia'' I 9 7: "But among us the name of Janus shows that he was the patron of all doorways, which is similar to Θυραίω. Indeed he is represented also with a key and a stick, as if he were the protector of all doorways and the ruler of all roadways"; Ovid ''Fasti'' I 254-5.</ref> The key too was a sign that the traveller had come to a harbour or ford in peace to exchange his goods.<ref>J. Gagé, "Sur les origines du culte de Janus", ''Revue de l'histoire des religions'' 195/1 (1979), p. 8.</ref>

The rite of the bride's oiling the posts of the door of her new home with wolf fat at her arrival, though not mentioning Janus explicitly, is a rite of passage related to the ''ianua''.