Temple of Janus, Autun
About
A Romano-Celtic sanctuary rose northwest of Augustodunum around the turn of the 2nd century CE, built around a square cella ringed by a covered walkway. Two of its four cella walls still stand more than 20 meters tall today, an unusually complete survival for this style of temple. No inscription has ever confirmed which god the sanctuary actually honored, despite the popular but almost certainly wrong "Janus" label attached centuries later; whichever god it was, the building was already an established local landmark well before Trajan died in 117 CE.
What happened here
The building itself is a house for the god, and most people never go inside. Everything public happens on the steps and at the altar in front: an animal led up, examined, killed cleanly, its organs read, the meat divided and eaten. The priest covers his head and a flute player keeps up a noise so no ill-omened word is heard. Worshippers leave what they can afford — a terracotta figure, a coin, a model of the body part they want healed — and the accumulated clutter is periodically cleared and buried on site. On festival days the doors are opened and the cult statue is dressed, garlanded, and sometimes carried out through the streets. The temple also holds money, which is why towns keep their treasury in one.
Sources
Nearby
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