Janus for January

 Iknow I blogged about the same topic, sharing the same image early this month. But I thought that, since we are now pass mid January, it was a nice opportunity to remind us that January is named after the Roman god Janus. He has two faces, one watching the past, the other the future. Since we are in the middle of the month, I can imagine him contemplating both times and well, wondering what the hell's going to happen next. If I was a believer, Janus would be the god I would pray to and make offering to these days.

The month of Janus

I found this picture in a book on Greek and Roman mythology which I liked a lot as a child. I learned from it that January is the month of the Roman god Janus, a two face god, with one face looking into the past and one face looking into the future. It is a mysterious god, as fairly little is known about him. He is a god of time, passage and transition and of course he gave his name to January. I blogged about him before, I thought today was a good time to blog about him again.

Janus

I share this picture which I found on the Facebook page of the British Museum. It is a coin whith the depiction of the Roman god Janus. With one face looking at the past and another looking at the future. January is of course named after the god, so it is fitting that I share it here today. You can find more about the coin here. I have nothing else to add, except that a visit to the British Museum is long overdue. I might add it to my new year's resolutions.

Janus in GoldenEye

Something struck me recently about January: it is named after the Roman God Janus. It is also the codename or nom de guerre of the main villain in the James Bond movie GoldenEye. The very first I watched in cinema (but I was a Bond fan before). So maybe, just maybe, GoldenEye should be my Bond movie to start January. Anyway, spoiler alert, you find below the scene where Janus' true identity is reveals and he meets 007. You will also find out how he got that name. I love these quiet moments in Bond movies, they are full of atmosphere. This one is still chilling and stands out very well after more than 25 years.