Iago is a very interesting literary character. He’s the villain in Othello, he goes out of his way to make Othello miserable. But the thing is, he doesn’t seem to care. Iago is one of the few villains who is evil and knows it. He almost flaunts his unsavory characteristics while simultaneously being a very humorous character. Iago is manipulative, faking traits to get others to do his dirty work for him.
Janus is the roman god of beginnings and transitions. He is often depicted with two heads, one to the future, one to the past. Janus is commonly referred to as the “two faced god” in roman mythology. He is commonly associated with war and peace, along with travel. Unlike most roman gods, the greeks have no counterpart, making Janus exclusively roman.
These two characters are often compared, and it is clear why. Iago seems charming, mischievous, known to be honest and sincere. However, his true colours are terrible, vile, scheming, worrisome. His masks seem to be opaque as he shows Roderigo his true colours; yet Roderigo still believes Iago is not the bad guy. Perhaps Roderigo is blinded by love, but even the blind can see that this man has dangerous intentions. Janus is never fully trusted as the people could never determine whether he was on their side. This was true for most of their gods, but was exceedingly prevalent when discussing Janus. He was the god of both war and peace, whatever happened to the people didn’t affect him, he thrived either way.These two are similar for one main reason. They’re both two-faced. And good at it. Janus is expected to always have his own agenda, you’re never sure with Iago. Both are highly terrifying and highly effective. That is what makes both incredibly dangerous.
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