The Arch of Janus (?)
a double arch of considerable magnitude, believed to be that of the four-headed Janus, the appearance of the structure involuntarily recalling the celebrated sanctuary of that god in the Forum, with which, however, it must not be confounded. There is no authority for calling it the Arch of Janus; we do not know what it was called by the Romans. In the sides of the piers which support the arch are twelve niches, apparently intended for the reception of statues. In one of these is a doorway leading up a narrow staircase to a chamber in the interior of the building, probably used as a place for business.
This singular building, which in its present condition has a somewhat quaint appearance, has evidently been intended for a place of sale. Being erected over the spot where the two roads intersecting the cattle-market met, it seems to have marked the central point of the traffic carried on in this place.
It is of white marble, old material re-used, and probably of the time of Constantine. Domitian erected several arches to Janus, but this is not good enough for his time.
S. Russell Forbes, Rambles in Rome (Edinburgh: T. Nelson and Sons, 1882), p. 191.
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The god Janus was not four-headed, but rather had two faces, one facing forward and one facing backward. The designation 'quadrifrons' means four fronts. The reference to there being "no authority for calling it the Arch of Janus" relates to the notion that janus can merely mean a doorway, an opening, or a passage, and not necessarily a reference to the Roman deity.
Janus an old Italian deity. He was represented with a face on the front and another on the back of his head. The month of January was sacred to him, as were all other beginnings. The myth makes him a king of Latium or Etruria, where he hospitably received Saturn when expelled by Jupiter from Crete. He had a small temple in the Forum, with two doors opposite to each other, which in time of war stood open and in time of peace were shut; the temple was twice closed on this account, in the time of Numa, and the first Punic war, and after the battle of Actium. With reference to his temple, the deity was called Janus Geminus or Janus Quirinus.
The tetrapylon marks an intersection, and perhaps even provided shelter for business transactions.
The structure comprises recycled marble, and, if the Arch of Janus is from the time of Constantine, the re-use of older marble for new construction would not be unprecedented -- the Arch of Constantine in Rome also comprises recycled marbles, most notable sculptural reliefs from the dismantled Arch of Trajan.
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