151 



Palatine, Janus suddenly poured forth from his sanctuary such a hot 

 torrent, that the Sabines were driven back in dismay. The ancients 

 required a visible sign of the presence of their gods. Thus the Ephe- 

 sians, when their town was surrounded by the besieging army of Croesus, 

 connected the town wall by a rope with the temple of their protecting 

 goddess Athene, thinking thus to place her into immediate contact with 

 the danger.* With a similar notion the Romans left the Sanctuary of 

 Janus open in war, to enable the god freely to communicate with the 

 combatants. 



Then was Janus also a god of war? Undoubtedly he was. The 

 chief god of a warlike nation must necessarily have a martial character, 

 whatever functions and qualities may be ascribed to him besides. Thus 

 it was, that even a goddess, like Athene, was represented with helmet, 

 shield, and spear, and fabled in Homer to overcome fierce Mars himself, 

 in personal combat, though she is pre-eminently a goddess of peace, the 

 inventress of the art of spinning and weaving, the patroness of science 

 and learning, nay, the creator of the olive tree itself. It is therefore 

 quite natural, that at the time when Janus, the Latin sun-god, was still 

 worshipped as the chief national deity, he should also be the god of war, 

 in proof of which we find him called Janus Quirinus. Nor is anything 

 else indicated by the fact of his protecting the gates of the city. As 

 the private dwelling house is watched over by Janus, and protected 

 against foes and depredators, so the same god was supposed to repel the 

 attacks of foreign enemies on the whole community by watching over the 

 safety of the city gates, and rushing out of them in time of need to meet 

 the foes in the field. 



FIFTH MEETING. 



Royal Institution. — December 13, 1852. 



J. B. YATES, Esq., F.S.A., &c., Vice-President, in the chair. 



Mr. William Ferguson was elected an ordinary Member. 



The Secretary read a letter from the Rev. Dr. Hume, Hon. Secretary 

 of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, dated Dec. 10, 



• Herod. I. 26. 



