Veturius Mamurius
A mythical personage, said in Roman legend to have been the armourer who made the eleven
ancilia exactly like the one that was sent from heaven in the reign of
Numa (
Numa, 13). His praises formed one of the chief subjects of the songs of
the Salii. The name is really equivalent to Mars Vetus—the ancient Mars. This
“Old Mars” was represented by a man clothed in skins who was driven out of
the city (
Lyd. iv. 36) to symbolize the old season of wintry
darkness driven out before the new spring year. Similar ceremonies to represent the driving
out of winter have been observed in the folklore of other countries. See
Salii.