THE CERTAMEN QUESTIONS DATABASE http://www.speakeasy.org/~bwduncan/index.html THESE QUESTIONS WRITTEN BY: GAIUS STERN EVENT: MARCUS JUNIUS BRUTUS MEMORIAL CERTAMEN LOCATION: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY LEVEL: I DIFFICULTY RATING: *** DATE: OCTOBER 29, 2000 # OF QUESTIONS: 70 NOTE: GAIUS STERN IS A STUDENT OF ANCIENT HISTORY. AS WITH PREVIOUS CAL CERTAMINA, THE HISTORY QUESTIONS ARE OFTEN DIFFICULT BUT DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, AS MANY OF THEM WENT UNANSWERED IN COMPETITION. ALSO NOTE COMPETITION AT THIS LEVEL (AND LATIN II) USUALLY DOES NOT HAVE QUESTIONS ON GREEK OR LITERATURE. SOME QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN REWORDED OR CORRECTED AND ALL HAVE BEEN REFORMATTED BY BRADFORD DUNCAN. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ROUND I 1. Welcome to the Marcus Junius Brutus Memorial Certamen celebrating the death of a great Republican. Brutus commited suicide in 42 BC after his defeat in what battle? PHILIPPI B1. Whose ghost did Brutus see the night before the battle? JULIUS CAESAR's ghost B2. Actually there were two battles of Philippi. Brutus won the first engagement but one of his allies committed suicide because he thought they had lost. Who was this co-conspirator? C. CASSIUS Longinus 2. Many prefixes come from Latin or Greek. What Latin prefix used in math means "around"? CIRCUM B1. What case does "circum" take? ACCUSATIVE B2. What Greek word meaning "around" is also used in math? PERI 3. To the Greeks, Zeus was king of the gods. Who was his Roman counterpart? JUPITER (IUPPITER, JOVE) B1. Who was the wife of Jupiter? JUNO (do not accept Hera) B2. What son of Jupiter and Juno was not bloodthirtsy, even though he was the god of war? MARS (do not accept Ares) 4. What case in Latin is used for the indirect object? DATIVE B1. What is the dative singular of "woman"? FEMINAE B2. What is the dative singular of "man"? VIRO or HOMINI 5. Rome's fourth king, Ancus Marcius, was the grandson of what second king who had brought religious institutions to Rome? NUMA Pompilius B1. Numa is most famous for building a temple to what two-faced god? JANUS B2. What does it mean when the gates of the Temple of Janus were closed? ROME WAS AT PEACE 6. What Latin noun and its meaning is the root of our word "servant"? SERVUS,-I (SERVA,-AE) meaning SLAVE B1. The verb "servo" has many meanings. Its primary meaning is not "to serve" but what? TO PROTECT (GUARD, KEEP) 7. When a Roman gentleman hosted a dinner party, in what position unusual for us did the important guests eat their meal? RECLINING (lying on a couch) B1. What was the Latin for the couch on which guests lay? LECTUS B2. What did Romans call the "three couch dinner room"? TRICLINIUM 8. Some of the most dangerous monsters of myth could, without even touching a mortal, turn men to stone. Who were they? GORGONS (accept early buzz with MEDUSA) B1. How many Gorgons were there in all? THREE B2. Who slew the most famous of the Gorgons? PERSEUS 9. What is the masculine counterpart of the word "puellas"? PUEROS B1. What is the case and number of "pueros"? ACCUSATIVE PLURAL B2. Now make "pueros" singular. PUERUM 10. When Julius Caesar was assassinated, one man rule was replaced by three man rule. What was the name used for such a trio of politicians? TRIUMVIRATE B1. Which triumvirate was formed after Julius' murder? the SECOND B2. What two Latin words and their meanings can be deduced from "triumvirate"? TRES meaning THREE; VIR meaning MAN 11. The greatest Roman writer of all time wrote an epic poem about the arrival of the Trojans in Italy. Who was this author? P. VERGILius Maro B1. Which Trojan prince led his people to Italy? AENEAS B2. What Renaissance writer chose Vergil to be his guide through the Inferno in "The Divine Comedy"? DANTE Aligheri 12. What case does Latin usually use to show possession? GENITIVE B1. Say in Latin "the daughter of the farmer." PUELLA AGRICOLAE B2. Now say in Latin "the son of the slave." FILIUS SERVI 13. Who received a bagful of supernatural forces from king Aeolus to help him get back home to Ithaca? ODYSSEUS B1. What was in the bag? the WINDS B2. Why did Odysseus' men open the bag before getting home? THEY THOUGHT THERE WAS GOLD (MONEY) IN IT 14. Birds played a role in early Roman history. Who saw an omen of six vultures over the Aventine Hill? REMUS B1. What sort of birds rasied such a clamor with their cackling that they woke the Romans during a nightime attack of the Capitol by the Gauls in 389 BC? GEESE B2. What sacred birds were thrown overboard by the angry consul Claudius Pulcher in 249 BC when they failed to provide a good omen? CHICKENS 15. What movie was released in ancient Rome as "Tredecim Dies"? THIRTEEN DAYS B1. What movie was called "Optimus in Monstra"? BEST IN SHOW B2. What movie was called "Animi Persi"? LOST SOULS ROUND II 1. Welcome to round 2 of the Fifth Cal Certamen. What Roman praenomen literally means "fifth"? QUINTUS B1. What is the number 5 in Latin? QUINQUE B2. Now say in Latin "Fifth Cal Certamen" using the 3rd declension adjective "Californiense." QUINTUM CERTAMEN CALIFORNIENSE 2. The third great slave rebellion broke out in 73 BC when what Thracian escaped from Capua and led a band of rebel gladiators? SPARTACUS B1. Pompey got much of the credit, but Spartacus was defeated by what other future member of the First Triumvirate? M. Licinius Crassus B2. How did Crassus punish the captured survivors of Spartacus' army? all 6,000 of them were CRUCIFIED (prompt of DEATH) 3. When do you use the imperative mood in Latin? for COMMANDS (ORDERS) B1. In Latin, command one person to fight. PUGNA! B2. Now tell a group of people to fight. PUGNATE! 4. Eros once got even with Apollo by making him fall in love with a nymph who fled from him. Whom did Apollo pursue until her father intervened? DAPHNE B1. How did Daphne's father save her from Apollo? TURNED HER INTO A laurel TREE B2. Into what type of tree was Daphne transformed, from which Apollo took leaves and created crowns for victors at competitions? LAUREL 5. From what Latin verb and meaning is our word "sediment" derived? SEDEO,-ERE meaning TO SIT (SETTLE) B1. What does "sediment" mean? STUFF THAT SETTLES to the bottom B2. What does "sedentary" mean? characterized by or accustomed to SITTING; NON-MOVING 6. Differentiate the meanings of the Latin noun "liber" and the adjective "liber." noun means BOOK (for FREE CHILD); adjective means FREE B1. What is the accusative singular of "book"? LIBRUM B2. What is the nominative plural of "small children"? PARVI LIBERI 7. What evil emperor in "Gladiator" ended the line of benevolent Roman rulers who inherited by adoption? COMMODUS B1. Who was the last of the Five Good Emperors who failed to disinherit Commodus, with disastrous consequences? MARCUS AURELIUS B2. What great British historian of Roman history says Commodus' reign marked the start of Rome's decline? Edward GIBBON 8. What part of a Roman house shares its name with a part of the heart because both are central chambers? ATRIUM B1. What did Romans call the bedroom, a name leant to Dilbert's office because of its small size? CUBICULUM B2. What employee of a rich mansion admitted visitors at the door, although we think of the modern namesake as more of a custodian? JANITOR 9. What usage of the ablative case is found in the sentence "In Italia ambulo"? ablative of PLACE WHERE B1. Translate the sentence "In Italia ambulo." I WALK IN ITALY B2. Now change the Latin sentence to mean "I am walking into Italy." IN ITALIAM AMBULO 10. This Athenian fled Crete with his son Icarus, but only he survived and made it to Sicily. Who was this clever inventor? DAEDALUS B1. What did he create to escape Crete? WINGS B2. Icarus also had wings but perished. How? When he flew too close to the sun, the wax holding his wings together melted and HE FELL INTO THE SEA AND DROWNED 11. Since this certamen is named for Brutus, call him using the vocative case. BRUTE B1. What is the vocative case for his mother, Servilia? SERVILIA B2. Say in Latin, "Hey, boy!" o (heus) PUER! 12. Who sent Talthybius and Eurybiates to confiscate a prize from Peliades in Iliad I? AGAMEMNON B1. What is the better known name for Peliades? PELIADES B2. Peliades is Achilles' patronymic. What is Agamemnon's? ATREIDES 13. After Brutus murdered Julius, it was learned that Julius had adopted which grand-nephew to be his heir. He later became the first emperor. Gaius OCTAVIUS or OCTAVIAN (accept AUGUSTUS) B1. Upon adoption, what name did Octavius take? Gaius Julius CAESAR B2. What name did the Senate confer upon Octavian, by which the first emperor is best known? AUGUSTUS 14. In the Latin language, why is it often unneccessary for a subject to be included in a sentence? the VERB CAN INDICATE THE SUBJECT B1. Besides a noun, what other type of part of speech can be the subject of a sentence? PRONOUN or ADJECTIVE (used substantively) or INFINITIVE B2. In the one-word sentence "Laborant" what is the subject? THEY 15. What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet? OMEGA B1. Omega is a vowel. What vowel is omega in English? O B2. Greek has a second letter "o." What is it? OMICRON ROUND III 1. It is thought that before the battle of Philippi, Brutus read what great work of political philosophy by Plato that was dear to heart? REPUBLIC B1. Aulus Cremutius Cordus wrote a lost history which praised Brutus. Who wrote a biography of Brutus in "Parallel Lives" which survives? PLUTARCH B2. Brutus' step=son Calpurnius Bibulus also wrote a biography called "Memoirs of Brutus." Who was Bibulu's mother and Brutus' second wife, who also committed suicide? PORCIA 2. What type of government did the original Brutus overthrow in 509 BC owing to its criminal conduct? MONARCHY B1. Who committed the rape of Lucretai which sparked the revolution? SEXTUS Tarquin B2. Who was the last king, deposed for Sextus' crime? L. TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS (TARGUIN THE PROUD, TARQUIN II) 3. Without exception, what gender are all Latin words that end in -um in the nominative singular? NEUTER B1. Of what declension are all such words? SECOND B2. What case are words that end in -orum? GENITIVE 4. In mythology, what girl was almost sacrificed to a sea monster when her mother boasted the daughter was lovelier than the Nereids? ANDROMEDA B1. Who rescued Andromeda? PERSEUS B2. Who was the mother, who sits upside down in the heavens? CASSIOPEIA 5. Latin words often appear in science. What English adjective derived from two Latin words means "light can partially penetrate a surface"? TRANSLUCENT B1. What are the two Latin words and their meanings from which we derive "translucent"? TRANS meaning ACROSS; LUX, LUCIS meaning LIGHT B2. What English noun from a Latin verb meaning "to break" refers to "the process wherby light is deflected from a straight path"? REFRACTION 6. Which Roman gens, originally Sabine, used only a few praenomina including Appius, Tiberius and Gaius? the CLAUDIAN gens B1. What cognomen, exclusive to the Claudii means "handsome"? PULCHER B2. What other Sabine name used by the Claudii as a cognomen did Agrippina give to her son Nero when he was adopted by Claudius? NERO 7. What verb in English comes from an Athenian tradition to boot one individual who represented a possible threat to the democracy out of the city for 10 years? OSTRACIZE B1. "Ostracize" comes from a Greek noun, "ostrakon." What is an "ostrakon"? POT SHARD on which the name of the victim is written B2. One famous victim of ostracism was the mastermind behind the victory at Salamis. Who was he? THEMISTOCLES 8. Give a synonym in Latin for the preposition "e,ex." DE or AB (A) B1. How do you know when to use "ex" or when to use "e"? IF A VOWEL FOLLOWS, EX MUST BE USED B2. What is the vowel variant for the preposition "a"? 9. What mythological tutor oversaw the education of Jason, Achilles, and Heracles? CHEIRON B1. What kind of creature was Cheiron? CENTAUR B2. What other student of Cheiron was such a good physician he was able to raise the dead? ASCLEPIUS 10. A Roman learned to write by pressing a pointed stick onto a wax tablet. What did the Romans call this utensil which had an "eraser" on the other end? STILUS B1. Romans did not have paper as we do. They used what Egyptian product made from a plant? PAPYRUS B2. How many letter in the Latin alphabet did a Roman schoolboy have to learn, seeing as there were no lower case letters (yet)? 24 11. Coriolanus was driven into exile because he wished to abolish what new office in the Roman state reserved for plebeians? TRIBUNATE B1. As a result, Coriolanus led an army of Volscians against Rome. Who turned him away? VOLUMNIA and VETURIA (HIS MOTHER AND WIFE) B2. How did Gaius Marcius get his cognomen Coriolanus? HE single-handedly CAPTURED the town CORIOLI 12. What tense would be used in Latin for the English sentence "he kept on praising?" IMPERFECT B1. Say in Latin, "He kept on praising." LAUDABAT B2. Now change "laborabat" to the future tense. LAUDABIT 13. Who was the greatest Achaean hero during the Trojan War, though he once asked Zeus to help Troy? ACHILLES B1. When Achilles withdrew from battle, who was left as the Achaeans' strongest warrior? AIAS (AJAX) the GREATER B2. Who was the best friend of Achilles who also withdrew from the war but begged Achilles to lend him his armor at a crucial, and fatal, moment? PATROCLUS 14. How in Latin do you say "she will be"? ERIT B1. Change that to "you (singular) will be." ERIS B2. Greeks learning Latin may have found "eris" rather odd, because to them this is the name of the goddess of what? DISCORD 15. What goddess both hunted and protected wild animals? ARTEMIS (DIANA) B1. Who was her twin? APOLLO B2. Apollo and Artemis once wiped out the progeny of which Theban queen who had boasted her children were fairer than them? NIOBE 16. Using a preposition in Latin, say "with the good farmer." CUM AGRICOLA BONO B1. What is it not "agricolo"? AGRICOLA IS A FIRST DECLENSION NOUN B2. Using the preposition "ad," now saw "to the good farmer." AD AGRICOLAM BONUM 17. Homer wrote the most famous Greek epic, but Apollonius of Rhodes later wrote an what epic about a trip to Colchis by many Greek heroes? THE VOYAGE OF THE ARGO B1. Apollonius lived in what Greek city in Egypt, founded by a Macedonian conqueror? ALEXANDRIA B2. What dynasty which ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great patronized Apollonius and Callimachus? the PTOLEMIES 18. Several television shows first aired in ancient Rome before coming to America. What show first aired as "Rex Collis" and featured a bunch of bumpkins? KING OF THE HILL B1. What show did the Romans know as "Duo Viri Puellaque"? TWO GUYS AND A GIRL B2. What show did they call "Vigiles Caerulei Novi Eboraci"? NYPD BLUES 19. When the conspirators planned to assassinate Julius on the Ides of March and restore a free Republic, who insisted that the other consul be spared? BRUTUS B1. Who was the other consul? MARCUS ANTONIUS B2. What opportunity did Antony then use to turn Rome against Brutus and Cassius? he delivered Caesar's FUNERAL ORATION 20. Let's close with more scientific Latin and Greek. Which phylum of unicellular organisms derives its name from the Greek meaning "first living things" and often includes parasitic life forms? PROTOZOA(NS) B1. What genus of ciliate protozoans with an elogate body has a name that means "oblong," since it is derived from the Greek words for "along" and "length"? PARAMECIUM B2. What class of unicellular organisms derives its name from a Latin word for "whip," since they use a whip-shaped structure to move about? FLAGELLATES ROUND IV 1. The is the fourth and final preliminary round of competition. What mythological quartet included Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadymanthus? JUDGES of the UNDERWORLD B1. Sometimes a fourth judge is listed? Who was he? TRIPTOLEMUS see n1. B2. On what island did Minos rule as a just king while he lived? CRETE 2. In the sentence "I like to sail boats," what kind of verb is "to sail"? present active INFINITIVE B1. How would you express that infinitive in Latin? NAVIGARE B2. Of the four principle parts of a verb, which is the present infinitive? SECOND 3. The Battle of Asculum was won by an invading king from Epirus but at such a high cost that it benefitted him little. What name has been given to this and similar "empty" victories? PYRRHIC B1. Part of Pyrrhus' victory at Asculum comes from the fact that he used what hoplite formation of long spears fighting as a unit? PHALANX B2. In addition, Pyrrhus invaded with what animal, the living tank of the ancient world, hitherto unknown to the Romans? ELEPHANT 4. Gaius Stern is writing a dissertation on Prisoners of War. What English synonym for "prisoner" is derived from a Latin word of the same meaning? CAPTIVE B1. When a Roman army captured enemy prisoners, they often sold them "sub hasta." What did it mean if someone was sold "sub hasta"? they were SOLD INTO SLAVERY B2. What is a "hasta"? SPEAR 5. In the sentence "The daughter of the poet is a fine girl," what case is the word "girl"? NOMINATIVE B1. What grammatical construction is "girl"? PREDICATE NOMINATIVE B2. What type of verb is the intransitive verb "is"? LINKING (COPULATIVE) 6. What horrible host in mythology made a farce of his duties by both making a mockery of giving a gift and by eating his guests instead of feeding them? POLYPHEMUS B1. What guest, instead of being satisfied with the hospitality he received from Menelaus, abducted his host's wife and plundered the treasury as he left? PARIS B2. What old couple were the only ones in Phrygia to show Zeus and Hermes proper hospitality when the gods tested mankind? BAUCIS and PHILEMON 7. During the reign of Tullus Hostilius, Roman triplets of what name fought triplets from Rome's mother city in a duel for supremacy? HORIATII B1. What was the mother city of Rome, represented by the Curiatii triplets? CURIATII B2. What son of Aeneas founded Alba Longa? ASCANIUS 8. Latin terms occur in many fields of science, including anatomy. What leg bone has a name that in Latin means "flute"? TIBIA B1. What largest bone in the human body has a Latin name that means "thigh"? FEMUR B2. What arm bone has a Latin name meaning "ray"? RADIUS 9. What case do you associate with the object of transitive verbs? ACCUSATIVE B1. What does it mean if a verb is transitive? IT TAKES A DIRECT OBJECT B2. What is the term for verbs that do not take a direct object? INTRANSITIVE 10. Aphrodite gave her beauty and Athena taught her to weave, but Hermes gave her guile. Who was this first mortal woman of mythology? PANDORA B1. What does Pandora mean in Greek? ALL GIFTS B2. Who warned Pandora's husband not to accept Zeus' gift? PROMETHEUS 11. If you saw a person skulking along the roadside who had the letter F on his head, what was he most likely to be? FUGITIVUS (RUNAWAY SLAVE, repeat offender) B1. According to Pliny the Younger, if a slave killed his master, what mass punishment was inflicted? ALL THE SLAVES in the familia WERE EXECUTED (KILLED) B2. Many slaves earned their freedom. What word meaning "send under the hand" did Romans use to grant freedom? MANUMISSIO (MANUMIT) 12. The Simpsons were extremely popular all over ancient Italy. Which character and friend of Homer was named "Caupo" and ran a "taberna" for Barnicus and other locals? MOE B1. Another character called Maccius Plautus is the idol of Bartolomeus and his pals. By what name do we know him? CRUSTY THE CLOWN B2. In the Roman version, Homer does not work in a nuclear power plant but the "salinae" run by Crassus Dives. What are "salinae"? SALT MINES 13. What is the Latin ablative singular for "by means of a good sword"? GLADIO BONO B1. Now make "gladio bono" a fancified genitive singular. GLADI BONI B2. Now change "gladi boni" to the dative plural. GLADIIS BONIS 14. Against what city did Cato the Elder ever rail, urging war against it? CARTHAGE B1. What did Cato always say at the end of a speech? KARTHAGO DELENDA EST (CARTHAGE MUST BE DESTROYED) B2. Cato's wish came true at the conclusion of what war? THIRD PUNIC 15. What element of the periodic table has a Latin name derived from the Greek personification of the sun? HELIUM B1. What other element means "strange" in Greek? XENON B2. Which element was given a Greek name meaning "new" when it was discovered? NEON 16. What hero born in Troezen sailed from Athens to Crete to fight a monster that annually ate seven Athenian youths and seven maidens? THESEUS B1. What was this monster? MINOTAUR B2. Who was the father of Theseus who, because he thought Theseus was dead, threw himself into the sea which now bears his name? AEGEUS 17. Translate into Latin the indirect object in the sentence, "I gave hard cash to the good poets." POETIS BONIS B1. Now translate the indirect object "to the bad sons." FILIIS MALIS B2. Now make that "to the good daughters." FILIABUS BONIS 18. Titus had not long been emperor when what natural disaster struck southern Italy in 79 AD and buried several cities? Mt. VESUVIUS ERUPTED B1. What was the most famous city buried in that eruption? POMPEII B2. Name another town buried by the ash of Vesuvius. HERCULANEUM or STABIAE or OPLONTIS 19. What movie was first released in ancient Rome as "Paene Clara"? ALMOST FAMOUS B1. What movie did they know as "Vir Feminarum"? LADIES' MAN B2. What movie did they call "MEMENTOTE TITANOS"? REMEMBER THE TITANS 20. We are at the end, so lets ask something gruesome before it is too late. What horrible meal did Tantalys try to serve the gods? HUMAN FLESH (his own son, PELOPS) B1. What punishment was inflicted by the gods upon Tantalus in the Underworld for this crime? FOOD AND WATER JUST BEYOND HIS REACH B2. Supposedly Demeter munched on Pelop's shoulder in grief over what missing daughter she could not find? PERSEPHONE (do not accept Proserpina) EXTRA QUESTIONS TO SUBSTITUTE IN CASE OF ERROR 1. George Washington though of himself as what hero of ancient Rome who declined to exercise absolute power and resigned his dictatorship in 458 BC? L. Quinctius CINCINNATUS 2. Brutus never made it to the consulship. What was the highest office he attained? PRAETOR 3. If you see a Latin adjective ending in -x, what declension must it be? THIRD 4. What case does the preposition "ab" take? ABLATIVE 5. What common Latin expression still used today means "my fault"? MEA CULPA 6. What medical term meaning "immediately" is derived from Latin? STAT (from statim) 7. After she killed a giant, which goddess received the nickname Pallas? ATHENA 8. What son of Priam was the bulwark of the Trojan army? HECTOR 9. What genre of literature was written by Seneca, Aristotle and Plato? PHILOSOPHY 10. What lower part of this river in Europe was called "Istros" by Greeks and "Ister" in Latin but is known to us by the Latin word for the upper part of the river, which Wagner uses in the title of his classic waltz "The Blue ____." DANUBE (from Danubius) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- n1. According to Morford & Lenardon's Classical Mythology (6th edition, p. 244) and Pierre Grimal's Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Triptolemus was also called a judge of the dead (by Plato). Bradford Duncan