is viewed as a legend which reveals a successful and favorable interaction Numa had with Jupiter. Ancile as Pignora Imperii Maurus Servius Honoratus, an early 4th century grammarian, regards the ancile as one of the seven pignora imperii of the Roman empire in his In Vergilii Aeneidem commentarii (‘Commentary on Virgil’s Aeneid’). Alongside the ancile, Servius lists the other six pignora: the stone of the Mother of the Gods, the terracotta chariot of the Veientines, the ashes of Orestes, the sceptre of Priam, the veil of Iliona, and the palladium. Livy mentions the ancilia as a passing reference again in book 5 of Ab Urbe Condita, but does not directly assign the label of pignus imperii to the ancilia. He only assigns this label to the Palladium and the eternal flame of Vesta. References Roman mythology Religious objects Mythological shields