Ancile

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An ancile (Latin, plural: ancilia ) was a smaller, oval bronze shield from antiquity that had an indentation on both sides that made it approximately take the shape of an 8. Ancilia were the common shield shape in Mycenaean times and probably belonged to the first centuries of the 1st millennium BC. For arming Italian warriors.

Illustration of an old shield from the Nordisk familjebok

In antiquity, according to the Roman philologist Varro ( De lingua Latina 7.43) , the word was derived from ambecisus , 'incision on both sides' ( amb- 'both' and accidere ' incision ') (cf. Ovid , Fasti 3.377: "because it is on each side is incised " ), which was ground down via ancisile (cf. anceps ' doppelköpfig ' from amb- and caput 'head') to ancile . In modern research, however, it is controversial whether this interpretation is actually true.

Ancilia in the Roman cult

Although the Ancilia were no longer used in warfare in historical times, they played an important role in Roman cults throughout ancient times . There were twelve ancilia in Rome, which were kept together with the holy lance of Mars, the god of war, in the Regia , the former residence of King Numa Pompilius and later the official seat of the Pontifex Maximus . From the earliest times they were considered pignora imperii ('pledges of rule') and thus as guarantors of the continued existence of Roman power.

On two feast days in March and October, the Ancilia were solemnly brought out by the twelve Salians , the priests of Mars, and led through the city in procession. The ceremony was called ancilia ferre or ancilia movere , which means 'to carry the shields' or 'move'. The priests, equipped with breastplates, helmets, short swords and lances, beat the shields with their weapons in time with the chant (see Plutarch , Life of Numa 13.7). According to another tradition, the ancilia were carried through the city by servants on scaffolding and displayed ( Dionysius of Halicarnassus , Roman antiquities 2.71.1), which does not have to contradict the first-mentioned message, since both statements may refer to different phases of the Procession. Following this ceremony, the ancilia were solemnly brought back to the regia and deposited there, which was called ancilia condere (dt. 'To put down / keep the shields'). The days of these ceremonies were considered dies religiosi , that is, days that were subject to a religious ban, which forbade, for example, to start a campaign, to get married or to do certain business.

The two procession dates in March and October apparently symbolize the beginning and end of the fertile season, but at the same time also mark the beginning and end of the time suitable for campaigns. In research it is therefore sometimes assumed that the terms ancilia movere (bringing out the shields) and ancilia condere (keeping the shields) originally did not refer to two components of a ceremony, but rather one of two different ceremonies:

  • Ancilia movere was the name of the ceremony in March, which symbolized the extraction of the weapons of war and thus indicated that the months of the campaigns had now begun.
  • Ancilia condere was the name given to the procession in October that marked the end of the fighting and the beginning of the winter break, during which the guns rested.

Due to the poor sources and the fact that there were apparently two identical ceremonies in historical times, it can of course no longer be decided whether this assumption corresponds to the actual circumstances.

At the beginning of each campaign, the general went to the regia and moved the Ancilia and the Holy Lance of Mars there in an unknown rite. He spoke the words: "Mars vigila" (Eng. 'Mars, be vigilant')!

If the shields and the lance moved by themselves, this was considered a prodigium , i.e. H. as a sign of the anger of the gods or as a harbinger of dire calamity.

two ancilia on the reverse of an ace by Antoninus Pius, Kampmann No. 35.179

The legendary divine origin of the Ancilia

Since the origin of the twelve holy shields was no longer known in historical times, various legends circulated about their supposed divine origin. According to the oldest evidence in the annals of the poet Ennius , King Numa received the Ancilia from his advisor or lover, the spring nymph Egeria (Ennius, Annalen 114). Later sources, however, report that in the eighth year of Numa's reign, the shields floated down from heaven as a divine gift during a plague epidemic. Accordingly, the historian Livy calls them 'heavenly weapons' ( caelestia arma : Livius, Ab urbe condita 1.20.4).

According to the most detailed form of the myth, which may not have arisen until Augustan times , only a single ancile floated down from heaven during a plague epidemic ( Ovid , Fasten 3.365-392; Plutarch , Leben des Numa 13.2-3). Numa Pompilius recognized this as a divine gift that had been sent to the Romans threatened by the plague as a pledge of rule ( pignus imperii ). Fearing that the shield might be stolen, he had the blacksmith Mamurius Veturius make eleven identical copies to make it more difficult for thieves to find the original. He handed the twelve Ancilia over to the care of the priestly college of the Salians of Mars that had been created for this purpose .

Others

It is not known since when the Ancilia were seen as pledges of rule. But since they are referred to as such by all detailed sources and the cult associated with them is always traced back to King Numa, this idea can actually be assumed to be very old. Nevertheless, images of the Ancilia can only be found on coins from the year 17 BC. BC, whose motif was probably chosen in connection with the Augustan restoration of ancient cults.

In poetic works, every shield is occasionally referred to as “Ancile” when the language is to have a solemn, sublime, ancient sound or when events from ancient times are spoken of (e.g. Virgil , Aeneid 7.188; Lukan , Pharsalia 9.480). Otherwise, the word in ancient sources refers exclusively to the twelve holy shields wielded by the Salians.

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