IANUS, AEDES
* (templum, Tac.):
a temple in the forum Holitorium, built
by C. Duilius after the victory at Mylae (Tac.
Ann. ii. 49). Its position
is defined as
ad theatrum Marcelli (Fast. Allif. et Vail. ad xvi Kal. Sept.,
CIL is. p. 217, 240; Fast. Amit. ad xv Kal. Nov., CILi.2 p.245, 325, 332),
iuxta theatrum Marcelli (Serv.
Aen. vii. 607, which is an interpolation),
1
and
extra portam Carmentalem (Fest. 285). The day of dedication was
the Portunalia, 17th August (see Fast. Allif. et Vallens.; and for the
significance of the fact, Pais, Fasti Triumphales Capitolini, ii. 474-478).
The restoration of this temple was begun by Augustus and completed
by Tiberius in 17 A.D. (Tac. loc. cit.), but the dedication day of the restored
structure was 8th October (Fast. Amit.). According to Pliny (
NH
xxxvi. 28) Augustus dedicated in this temple a statue to Janus which
was brought from Egypt, the work either of Scopas or Praxiteles. It
was probably the
῾Ερμῆς δικέφαλοςof the former (WR 106; Jahr. d.
Inst.
1890, 148-149). The statement is made (Fest. 285) that the senate was
forbidden to meet in this temple because their decree that the Fabii
should go forth to the siege of Veii was made in aede Iani; but this is
probably apocryphal, for there is no evidence of an earlier temple of
Janus in Rome in which a meeting of the senate could have been held.
The structure of Duilius, however, was probably on the site of an earlier
shrine (HJ 508;
Rosch. ii. 26;
Gilb. i. 260-265;
iii. 380;
Jord. i. 2.347).
Under the present church of S. Nicola in Carcere are the ruins of three
temples, standing side by side with the same orientation and facing the
forum Holitorium. The architectural fragments are of travertine, tufa
and peperino (all of which were covered with stucco), except some of
marble of the later restorations, and belong to the period of the republic.
The central and largest is Ionic, that on the north is next in size and also
Ionic, while that on the south is smallest and Doric. The second, on the
north, is generally assumed to be the temple of Janus. It is dated by
Frank to about 90 B.C. It is hexastyle, peripteral except at the back, and
six of its columns, 0.70 metre in diameter, are still standing, built into
the wall of the church. The temple in the middle is assigned to Spes,
and the smallest to Iuno Sospita (HJ 507-514;
Mitt. 1906, 169-192;
LR 513-514; Delbrfick, Die drei Tempel am Forum Holitorium, Rome,
1903; for divergent views see ZA 238-248; TF 126-130). It may be
remarked, in regard to the latter's theory, that the order of the last two
temples should be reversed, and that, while it may require some explanation that the temple of Janus was not also damaged by the fire of 213, it
is even more difficult to suppose that the central temple was fitted in the
space between two smaller temples already in existence. In pursuance
of this theory, Frank assigns the southern temple in its present form
to a restoration of 31 B.C. The central temple he dates about 90 B.C.
See Gott. Gel.
Anz. 1903, 556;
1904, 56 ; Delbrick, Hellenistische
Bauten, ii. 43; RE
Suppl. iii. 1183; and cf.
PORTA CARMENTALIS.
For restorations, see D'Esp.
Mon. ii. 128-129.
It should be noted that the name of the church (in Carcere) was only
changed to in Carcere Tulliano in the fourteenth century, owing to an
erroneous identification. The career was really that of Byzantine times
(
LPD i. 515, n. 13;
ii. 295, n. 12).
