ABSTRACT
Over many decades I have labored under a fascination with the god Janus. Janus is an unusual Roman god, a rootless orphan, lacking a pedigree, finding no parallel, in the Greek pantheon. Fanciful to be sure, rampant speculation might say the Romans conjured him up out of haughty patriotism: “see, we were beholden to you Greeks for your past achievements, but past is past. We, not you, represent the future.” Janus, head bifurcated, gazing simultaneously to the right and left, taking in both past and future in a single sweep seems to impishly claim to enjoy two very disjointed worlds. Drawing upon the past he foretells the future. He is ancient; he is modern.
