Page "Janus" Paragraph 65

The rites of the Salii marked the springtime beginning of the war season in March and its closing in October.

The structure of the patrician sodalitas, made up by the two groups of the Salii Palatini, who were consecrated to Mars and whose institution was traditionally ascribed to Numa ( with headquarter on the Palatine ), and the Salii Collini or Agonales, consecrated to Quirinus and whose foundation was ascribed to Tullus Hostilius, ( with headquarter on the Quirinal ) reflects in its division the dialectic symbolic role they played in the rites of the opening and closing of the military season.

So does the legend of their foundation itself: the peace-loving king Numa instituted the Salii of Mars Gradivus, foreseeing the future wars of the Romans while the warmonger king Tullus, in a battle during a longstanding war with the Sabines, swore to found a second group of Salii should he obtain victory.

The paradox of the pacifist king serving Mars and passage to war and of the warmonger king serving Quirinus to achieve peace under the expected conditions highlights the dialectic nature of the cooperation between the two gods, inherent to their own function.

Because of the working of the talismans of the sovereign god they guaranteed alternatively force and victory, fecundity and plenty.

It is noteworthy that the two groups of Salii did not split their competences so that one group only opened the way to war and the other to peace: they worked together both at the opening and the conclusion of the military season, marking the passage of power from one god to the other.

Thus the Salii enacted the dialectic nature present in the warring and peaceful aspect of the Roman people, particularly the iuvenes.

This dialectic was reflected materially by the location of the temple of Mars outside the pomerium and of the temple of Quirinus inside it.

The annual dialectic rhythm of the rites of the Salii of March and October was also further reflected within the rites of each month and spatially by their repeated crossing of the pomerial line.

The rites of March started on the fist with the ceremony of the ancilia movere, developed through the month on the 14th with Equirria in the Campus Martius ( and the rite of Mamurius Veturius marking the expulsion of the old year ), the 17th with the Agonium Martiale, the 19th with the Quinquatrus in the Comitium ( which correspond symmetrically with the Armilustrium of October 19 ), on the 23rd with the Tubilustrium and they terminated at the end of the month with the rite of the ancilia condere.

Only after this month long set of rites was accomplished was it fas to undertake military campaigns.

While Janus sometimes is named belliger and sometimes pacificus in accord with his general function of beginner, he is mentioned as Janus Quirinus in relation to the closing of the rites of March at the end of the month together with Pax, Salus and Concordia: This feature is a reflection of the aspect of Janus Quirinus which stresses the quirinal function of bringing peace back and the hope of soldiers for a victorious return.