This paper examines a specific dimension of the multiform cult of Janus, with particular attention to its Roman topography and the problematic evidence for his cult places. While his sanctuary in the Forum Romanum is well known—its doors famously standing open in times of war and closed when peace prevailed—the broader spatial logic of Janus’ worship remains elusive. Central to this investigation is the striking paradox of the Janiculum: a hill intimately associated with Janus yet lacking any securely attested sanctuary dedicated to the deity whose name it bears. Janus, traditionally conceived as the god of doors, thresholds, and other spatial limina, also operated as a cosmic divinity of beginnings, presiding over the cyclical transitions of years, months, and days. His primary theological identification, as transmitted by Macrobius in the Saturnalia, was with the sun (Macr. 1.9.9: Ianum quidam solem demonstrari volunt). The paper argues that a hypothesized cult site on the Janiculum—or, at the very least, the god’s enduring association with this hill—may be illuminated by the summit’s distinctive position as a privileged vantage point for observing solar movements, sunrises and sunsets, and annual cycles of the seasons.
Ria Berg is the Director of the Finnish Institute in Rome, a position she has held since 2021. She is also a docent (adjunct professor) of classical archaeology at the University of Helsinki. Her research focuses on the material culture of women in the ancient Roman world, with particular attention to domestic contexts and gendered uses of space. Berg earned her PhD in classical archaeology at the University of Helsinki, where her dissertation examined female-associated objects—most notably bronze and silver mirrors—found in Pompeian house-floor contexts sealed by the eruption of 79 AD. Her work integrates archaeological evidence with social-historical approaches to illuminate women’s lived experiences in antiquity. As director, she directs a research group, which analyses the presence of Nature in ancient Roman cities, concentrating on a case study of one Pompeian house, the domus of A. Trebius Valens and its interrelations with the environment.
This lecture is part of the City of Rome programme, an intensive eight-week residential course directed by Dr. Christopher Siwicki, designed for postgraduates from selected British partner universities. The programme is aimed at students at the Master’s or early Doctoral level studying classical archaeology, art history, ancient history, and the transformation of antiquity in the Middle Ages and modern period.
See the full programme of City of Rome here.
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