#26: Janus

This week the Cru bring you terrifying tales of pagan temples; the enthusiastic embellishments of old men; platitudes turned on their heads; and an archaeological dig that promises to be so much more. From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Janus. The ancient Roman deity who kept the gate of heaven; hence the guardian of gates and doors. He was represented with two faces, one in front and one behind, and the doors of his temple in Rome were thrown open in times of war and closed in times of peace. The name is used allusively both with reference to the double-facedness and to war. Stories begin around the 12:30 mark.Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!  Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do. Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.