Janus

Juturna joined herself to Janus, the god of beginnings and passages, and became his consort. Their union produced Fons. Juturna was a water nymph, and through her the child belonged to the waters that rose from the ground and flowed through the land. Janus remained joined to the waters through Juturna, although his own power lay in beginnings and passages. Fons carried the nature of both parents into his place among the Roman gods. His birth connected Janus with the springs and fountains that emerged across the land. Fons became the Roman god of springs and fountains. He watched over water as it issued from the earth, rose into the open air, and flowed away through the land. He also watched over fountains, where water gathered and poured out for those who came to them. The springs fell under his care when they rose from the ground, while the fountains fell under his care when their water gathered and flowed outward. Juturna remained the water nymph who shared Janus’s union. Janus remained the god whose power was linked with beginnings and passages. Fons became the child born from their union and took his own place as the divine guardian of flowing water. Through him, springs and fountains had a god who watched over their waters as they issued from the earth and poured through the land.

Saturn fled to Italy and sought refuge there. Janus received him as a guest instead of turning him away. He shared his kingdom with Saturn and gave him a place beside him. Saturn therefore entered the land under Janus’s protection, and the two gods ruled together. Their shared rule joined Janus’s kingdom to Saturn’s presence, without removing either god from his place. Janus remained the ruler who had received the stranger, while Saturn remained beside him as the guest who had found safety in Italy.

During Saturn’s stay, agriculture came to the land. Other useful arts came with it. The people gained knowledge that helped them work the soil and sustain themselves. Farming occupied much of their time, and the fertility of the land became linked with Saturn’s presence. The skills that supported life therefore belonged to the time when Saturn lived under Janus’s protection.

The land gained more than a refuge for the exiled god. It gained the practices that allowed people to cultivate it and draw sustenance from it. Saturn’s arrival became connected with the spread of agriculture and with the other arts that served daily life. Janus’s welcome and Saturn’s gifts remained joined in the same account. One god opened his kingdom to a stranger, and the other brought knowledge that helped the people live from the land. Saturn remained beside Janus, and agriculture and the other useful arts became part of Italy’s story.