Editing Janus (section)

====4. The sites of the cults of Janus at Rome====
The sites of the cults of Janus at Rome and his associations in ancient Latium.

;(a) ''Argiletum'': Varro gives either the myth of the killing of Argos as an etymology of the word Argi-letum (death of Argos), which looks to be purely fantastic, or that of place located upon a soil of clay, ''argilla'' in Latin. The place so named stood at the foot of the [[Viminal]], the hill of the reeds. It could also be referred to the white willow tree, used to make objects of trelliswork.

;(b) The [[Janiculum]]: The [[Janiculum]] may have been inhabited by people who were not Latin but had close alliances with Rome.<ref>L. Adams Holland above p. 224ff.: conquests of Ancus Marcius; J. Gagé ''La chute des Tarquins et les debuts de la Republique romaine'' Paris 1976 p. 197 ff.</ref> The right bank of the Tiber would constitute a typical, convenient, commodious landing place for boats and the cult of Janus would have been double insofar as amphibious.

;(c) Janus in Latium: Janus's cultic alliances and relations in Latium show a pre-Latin character. Janus has no association in cult (calendar or prayer ''formulae'') with any other entity. Even though he bears the epithet of ''Pater'' he is not head of a divine family; however some testimonies lend him a companion, sometimes female, and a son and / or a daughter. They belong to the family of the nymphs or genies of springs. Janus intervenes in the miracle of the hot spring during the battle between Romulus and Tatius: [[Juturna]] and the nymphs of the springs are clearly related to Janus as well as [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], that in Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' cooperates in the miracle and may have been confused with [[Venilia]], or perhaps the two might have been originally one.

:Janus has a direct link only to Venilia, with whom he fathered [[Canens (mythology)|Canens]].<ref>Ovid ''Metamorphoses'' XIV 334.</ref> The magic role of the wild olive tree (''oleaster'') is prominent in the description of the duel between [[Aeneas]] and [[Turnus]]<ref>Vergil ''Aeneis'' XII 766 ff.</ref> reflecting its religious significance and powers: it was sacred to sailors, also those who had shipwrecked as a protecting guide to the shore. It was probably venerated by a Prelatin culture in association with [[Faunus]].

:In the story of [[Venulus]] coming back from [[Apulia]] too one may see the religious connotation of the wild olive: the king discovers one into which a local shepherd had been turned for failing to respect the nymphs he had come across in a nearby cavern, apparently Venilia, who was the deity associated with the magic virtues of such tree.

:Gagé finds it remarkable that the characters related to Janus are in the ''Aeneis'' on the side of the [[Rutuli]]. In the poem Janus would be represented by [[Tiberinus (god)|Tiberinus]]. Olistene, the daughter of Janus with Camese, may reflect in her name that of the olive or ''oleaster'', or of Oreithyia.<ref>G. Radke ''Die Götter Altitaliens'' Münster 1965 s.v. Olistene, or Olistine: the name might also be related to adjective ''olitana'' meaning ''vetusta'' extremely old: cf. ''Corpus Glossariorum Latinorum'' IV 264.</ref> Camese may be reflected in [[Carmenta]]: Evander's mother is from [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]], comes to Latium as an exile migrant and has her two festivals in January: Camese's name at any rate does not look Latin.