BY CHIURAZZI, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Janus; a Roman god, guardian of doors and gateways to dwellings, hence the two addorsed faces looking forward and back. The head of Janus surmounted the ancient Roman herm, a pillar marking the boundary of a property. He was also the god of Beginnings, invoked at the start of an enterprise, the beginning of a month or year (hence January), and therefore regarded as playing a part in the creation of the world.