Janus

Okay, I just took a closer look at Folkestone, to see if there is a Janus connection.

Historically, there is evidence of settlement going back to the Mesolithic - the Middle Stone Age. There was also a Roman settlement, with a villa. I think it is the villa that has had to have a lot of emergency excavations, because it is on a cliff edge, and now steadily falling into the sea. But it never was a major settlement, as this map of the historical landscape of Kent will attest:



So, I think that the linking of janus and Folkestone is more to do with the Channel Tunnel, as opposed to a historical link - that I can find, at any rate.

Janus and Utopia

'Janus' is used a lot in the commercial world in both company and product names, Janus Henderson Investors and Janus the open source webserver for example. I don't think that investigating this aspect will yield much relevant material.

What does look interesting the use of the name in a conspiracy thriller UK TV series called Utopia, which was broadcast in 2013/14. It was adapted for US TV in 2020. I have never heard of it until yesterday.

This stands out:

“Janus is the top-secret project at the heart of the Network's machinations. It is a serum developed initially by Philip Carvel. Its purpose is to sterilize 90-95% of the human population in order to prevent the destruction of the Earth's environment and the descent of humanity into wars over food shortages. It is split into two parts to avoid detection: a protein called GCHN1 which is added to all industrially farmed corn, and an amino acid put into the vaccine for Russian flu.“

utopiatv.fandom.com/wiki/Janus

Maybe it is this that has been giving people ideas. Perhaps it was the current pandemic that triggered the US remake.

More information can be found here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(British_TV_series)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(2020_TV_series)

Sherlock Holmes and Janus

The 2010 TV series has a reference to Janus. It is the symbolic name of a sinister organisation:

“Janus Cars is a local rental car agency in London which is seen in "The Great Game". It is part of the Ian Monkford puzzle given to Sherlock to solve by Jim Moriarty.

The clue is in the name, that of the Roman god of doorways, with two faces. Sherlock deduces that the company is a front and that they can arrange for people to disappear.”

bakerstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Janus_Cars

Not a very good picture, but the sign on the wall shows the logo:

Prince Charles and the Janus portrait

Prince Charles is in the news in connection with cash for favours yet again.

This portrait, which was painted by artist Tom Wood in 1989, has two shadowy background figures looking in opposite directions.

Two-faced and double-dealing, or looking towards the past and the future? He won't have much of a future if the Republicans get their way!

Janus Head by Peter Burke

This giant sculpture was displayed by the Cass Sculpture Foundation at Chichester, which is also in Sussex:

Janus and the Golden Key

There are some posts about golden keys in the Sussex thread; they have many connections.

Janus is often depicted holding a key or two; there are several associated symbolic meanings, including door unlocking:

The Janus Key

The Janus Key is the name of a London psychedelic pop band.

Their logo includes a golden key:

Janus and a black sun

Nigredo is an album by the Italian black metal band Janus:

Janus from 1550

This depiction of Janus holding a key and a vine comes from 16th century Germany:

Janus skull and crown found

The stolen skull and crown that were hidden inside the Janus artwork were also found. The skull had been chained down, so the thieves must have cut it out.

Janus locomotives

The Yorkshire Engine Company made a line of locomotives called Janus. They were symmetrical, with two 'faces'.

They came in many colours, and models are available for collectors.

Just two of the many available images:

Another Michael Collins with a Janus connection

Michael Collins is also the name of a contemporary Irish author. He has something to say about his encounter with Janus:

“Some time ago, I was walking along a corridor of statuary in the Vatican museums. I noticed a rather strange statue. It was a bust with two heads. Each was joined at the back and the faces pointed in opposite directions.

I recognised the double- faced statue as a representation of the Roman god Janus. According to ancient tradition, Janus was counted among the more popular god, the patron of doors and gates.

That might seem a rather mundane task for a Roman god. However, when you think that these were the days before security beams, smoke alarms, and intruder detectors, it was an important duty.”

www.linkedin.com/pulse/double-faced-god-vatican-michael-collins

So what did Janus do to alert people that there was an intruder?

The Vatican Janus:

Johnny Depp and a Janus connection

Johnny Depp starred in The Tourist (2010), a film in which he discusses Janus with another character who has a necklace with the Roman god on:

“It's the um... the Roman god, Janus. My mother gave it to me when I was little. She wanted to teach me that people have two sides. A good side, a bad side, a past, a future. And that we must embrace both in someone we love. And I tried... “

The Janus coin on the necklace:

Masonic Janus and the two keys

The Masonic Forum of Light has a lot of background information about Janus, including the two keys associated with him.

Here is a short extract:

“Janus commonly carries two keys; these are the keys of the two solstitial doors, Janua Coeli and Janua Inferni, corresponding respectively to the winter solstice and the summer solstice, …

Janus was considered the god of initiation, his two keys, one of gold and the other of silver, were those of the ‘greater mysteries' and of the ‘lesser mysteries'; to use other equivalent terms, the silver key is that of the ‘Terrestrial Paradise; and the gold key that of the ‘Celestial Paradise'. These same keys were one of the attributes of the sovereign pontificate, to which the function of 'hierophant' was essentially attached. Like the barque, which was also a symbol of Janus,[13] they have. remained among the chief emblems of the papacy; and the Gospel words concerning the ‘power of the keys' are in perfect accord with the ancient traditions, all issuing from the great primordial tradition. In addition, there is a fairly direct connection between the meaning just indicated and the meaning of the gold key as spiritual power and the silver key as temporal power...”

staffs.proboards.com/thread/3886/aspects-symbolism-janus

This lodge has an interesting name: