Prayer to Janus

In the Fasti Ovid talks to the gods directly and puts questions to them; this is one of the questions, and it is about ritual, not myth.

The fact to be explained was common knowledge: in Roman sacrifice Janus is named first, whoever the offering is for. Ovid asks why — and gets the god's answer in the lines below: through me, the keeper of thresholds, you gain access to whatever deity you wish.

That is, Janus is not older or stronger than the rest; he is the entrance. A prayer does not arrive without him for the same reason that a guest does not get into a house except by the door. Roman religion explains his precedence not by hierarchy but by floor plan.

Tura merumque, incense and unmixed wine, is the commonest of private offerings. The question is asked not about great sacrifices but about everyday household practice.

The card cites line 172; that is the second line of the couplet, and the first is given with it.