History · entry 38 of 52

January is named after a Roman god said to face both ways at once.

The longer version

Roman months were named partly after gods whose festivals fell in them, and Janus presided over doorways, gates and beginnings. He was shown with two faces looking opposite ways, which made him a fitting figure for a month that looks back at the old year and forward to the new one.

The calendar originally began in March, when campaigning and farming restarted, and the two faces of Janus suit that position at the turning point. Later the start of the year was moved to January, and the name survived even after the religion around it disappeared, carried through languages that took the Roman calendar over.

Where this entry sits

This set looks at ancient civilizations, old inventions, trade routes, calendars, and the ordinary objects people once used every day. Nothing here is advice or opinion, just short notes about how daily life used to be organised long ago. The full list sits on the History page, where every entry is listed in order.

← Entry 37 Entry 39 →

More From History

Eight more entries

Leap years exist because a year runs slightly longer than three hundred sixty-five days.

Weeks of seven days were used in ancient Babylon and later adopted widely elsewhere.

Calendars were first used to track farming seasons rather than birthdays or holidays.

Water clocks measured time by letting water drip steadily from one vessel to another.

Sundials tell the time by shadow, so they fail at night or on cloudy days.

Merchants relied on letters of credit long before paper money became common in Europe.

Caravans crossed deserts with camels able to travel days without drinking water.

Spices were once so valuable in Europe that they served as payment and collateral.

Read

Try Another Subject

Three collections