Temple of Janus

• The Temple of Janus was located in the Forum Romanum, Rome.
• It was considered to have been built by King Numa (715-673 BCE).

 The Closing of the Gates of Janus

• The closing of the Gates of Janus, the doors to the Temple of Janus in the Forum Romanum, was a very rare event.
• The doors were open in times of War and closed in times of Peace.
• Before Augustus, they had only been closed twice, once under King Numa Pompilius 715-673 BCE and once under Titus Manlius Torquatus in 235 BCE.
• Augustus closed them three times, in 29 BCE after the Death of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, in 25 BCE and probably in 13 BCE.
• Nero closed them in 66 CE, and Vespasian closed them in 70 CE.
• Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius probably also each closed them once.