THE CERTAMEN QUESTIONS DATABASE http://www.speakeasy.org/~bwduncan THESE QUESTIONS WRITTEN BY: ROUND I,II,III, FINALS: GAIUS STERN ROUND III: MATT DAVIS, MIRAMONTE HIGH SCHOOL EVENT: MIRAMONTE SATURNALIA CERTAMEN LOCATION: ORINDA, CA LEVEL: I DIFFICULTY RATING: *** DATE: DECEMBER 15, 2001 # OF QUESTIONS: 60 NOTE: ALL QUESTIONS WERE REFORMATTED (AND SOME MODIFIED) BY BRADFORD DUNCAN. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ROUND I 1. Welcome to the Miramonte Saturnalia Certamen. Since this certamen is all about inversion, let's start by asking what gender is the noun poeta? MASCULINE B1. Why do you expect poeta to be feminine? it is FIRST DECLENSION B2. Name another first declension masculine noun which means pirate. PIRATA 2. We will continue our cross-dressing theme for a moment. What Greek god persuaded the Theban king Pentheus to dress up as a woman in order to spy on the Bacchic revels? DIONYSUS B1. While Pentheus was in women's clothing, his own mother saw him. What did she do? KILL HIM B2. In fact, Agave did not recognize Pentheus as a human, so the cross- dressing was not much of an issue. However she did think he was what sort of animal? LION 3. Of Rome's kings, which one introduced the college of Vestal Virgins to Rome in part of his program to establish religion and peace? NUMA Pompilius B1. Numa also built a famous temple in Rome. To what two-faced god was this temple consecrated? JANUS B2. What did it mean when the Gates of the temple of Janus were open? ROME WAS AT WAR 4. Luckilly, Magister Davis' name is easily recognized in Latin. What declension should you use for Davis? THIRD B1. Since the students, discipuli, at Miramonte are Mr. Davis' students, what case would you use to say this in Latin? GENITIVE or DATIVE see n1. B2. Now translate the phrase "Magister Davis' students" into Latin. DISCIPULI MAGISTRI DAVIS 5. Aside from senators on festival days, who else in Rome wore the toga praetexta? BOYS, GIRLS, CONSULS, PRAETORS, CENSORS, CURULE AEDILES see n2. B1. Freeborn boys wore a bulla around their neck. Why? GOOD LUCK CHARM (TO WARD OFF EVIL eye or FASCINATIO) B2. When did a boy receive his bulla? DAY HE WAS NAMED (NAME DAY, DIES NOMINUM, NOMINALIA, DAY OF PURIFICATION, DIES LUSTRICUS, 10 DAYS OLD) 6. What is the first person plural, present tense of the Latin verb to be? SUMUS B1. Make sumus imperfect. ERAMUS B2. Now make eramus future. ERIMUS 7. Perhaps you did know that Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was born on December 15th, 37 AD. By what name do we better know this infamous emperor, who preferred to train as an artist than to rule well? NERO Claudius Caesar B1. What infamous crime did Nero commit in relation to Agrippina? MATRICIDE B2. For what calamity in AD 66 was Nero unjustly blamed, although he did seize the opportunity to rebuild Rome to his liking in the aftermath? great FIRE 8. When a young man saw this goddess bathing, he paid a terrible penalty. Who turned the lad into a stag, upon which hunting dogs ran him down? ARTEMIS (DIANA) B1. Who was the unfortunate man? ACTAEON B2. Athena was less harsh. When Teiresias caught her bathing, she also punished him, but not with death. What did she do? BLINDED HIM (although she then gave him "inner sight," i.e., prophecy) 9. The state of California has a Greek motto. What is this motto? EUREKA! B1. What does Eureka mean? I HAVE FOUND it B2. What Greek scientist ran through the streets of Syracuse shouting "Eureka! Eureka!" after he discovered the concept of buoyancy? ARCHIMEDES 10. When you see a Latin verb ending in -nt what must be the subject? THEY (3rd pl) B1. How do you say in Latin they watch? SPECTANT (OBSERVANT, VIGILANT) B2. How do you say "They remain"? MANENT 11. What leading Roman historian set down a 143 volume history of the city Ab Urbe Condita, from the founding of the city to his lifetime in 9 BC? LIVY B1. Tacitus picks up sometime after Livy leaves off, with the accession of what emperor in AD 14? TIBERIUS Julius Caesar B2. Livy and Tacitus both wrote in Latin. What language was used by the Roman historian Cassius Dio? GREEK 12. What type of fruit was thrown among the goddesses at Thetis' wedding to Peleus to incite the discord that caused the Trojan War? APPLE B1. Who threw the apple to get even for not receiving a wedding invitation? ERIS (STRIFE) B2. Who were the final three contenders for the apple? ATHENA, APHRODITE, HERA (MINERVA, VENUS, JUNO) 13. What film was released in Latin as "Vita Ut Domus" or "Vita Velut Domus" when in premiered in the Vatican? LIFE AS A HOUSE B1. Another movie was titled Vir Qui Aberat. What is that in English? THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE B2. A third movie was Eques Niger. What is that in English? BLACK KNIGHT 14. What word in chemistry, obviously from Latin, describes a system where the pressure and volumes are equalized and therefore in a even balance? EQUILIBRIUM B1. What chemistry term means having a high vapor pressure and therefore it can easily evaporate? VOLATILE B2. Also in chemistry, but from Greek, what do we call two compounds with the same composition and molar mass, but different structures? ISOMERS 15. What terrific opponent of Rome destroyed two consular armies on 2 August 216 BC when he encircled the Romans and closed the ring on them, killing 80,000 or more? HANNIBAL Barca B1. What war was Hannibal fighting? SECOND PUNIC (CARTHAGINIAN) B2. What was this terrible defeat which cost Rome a consul, a former consul, a magister equitum, and 80 senators among the dead? CANNAE ROUND II 1. Magister Gaius Stern is from Maryland and he was born in July. Therefore he likes eating canceres. What in English are canceres? CRABS B1. A famous Roman mosaic shows all sorts of marine life. What type of animal are pisces? FISH B2. Both cancer and pisces are in the zodiac. What is the meaning of Greek stem -zo(on) in Zodiac? ANIMAL 2. Since we started on animals, tell me what sort of animal Heracles spent a whole year tracking on his 3rd labor? a STAG or a HIND (a red female DEER or DOE) B1. Just when Heracles caught the hind, its patron goddess showed up to stop him and brought along her brother for reinforcements. Who was the patron goddess? ARTEMIS B2. Apollo and Heracles began to wrestle over the rights to the hind. What other goddess arrived in time to prevent the two from beating each other up? ATHENA 3. What preposition does Latin use to show separation? A (AB) B1. What case does ab take? ABLATIVE B2. What is the second meaning of a,ab besides "from"? BY 4. Afghanistan has been in the news this year. What Greek conqueror actually fought his way through Afghanistan, which he knew as Bactria, in 327 BC? ALEXANDER THE GREAT B1. Alexander also married a Bactrian princess. What was her name? ROXANE B2. What passage through the Himalayas did Alexander cross? HINDU KUSH 5. What trigonometric term from Latin means "They touch"? TANGENT B1. What is the Latin, military meaning of the math term arc? BOW B2. The maximum height of a sine wave has a name that derives directly from Latin. What is this math term which in Latin means breadth, size? AMPLITUDE 6. December was not always the 12th month of the Roman year. As its name implies, it was once what number month? TENTH B1. Back then, what was the 1st month of the Roman year? MARCH B2. Consuls did not the enter office on 1 March, but on what later day? IDES (15th of March) 7. What hero grew up on the island of Seriphos because he had been set adrift as a baby by his fearful grandfather? PERSEUS B1. Who was the mother of Perseus who was set adrift with him by king Acrisius? DANAE B2. Why did Acrisius fear the baby Perseus? A PROPHECY SAID HIS GRANDSON WOULD KILL HIM 8. If you see a Latin noun end in -em, what must its case and number be? ACCUSATIVE SINGULAR B1. What do you know about the gender of such a noun? CANNOT BE NEUTER B2. What ending would a 3rd declension adjective with two terminations have in the neuter accusative singular? -E 9. When he defeated the enemy in 458 BC on Mt. Algidus, he made them walk under the yoke. Who was this patriotic elderly Roman patrician who left his plow in the field to come to Rome's rescue in its moment of need? Lucius Quinctius CINCINNATUS B1. What did Cincinnatus do to the humiliated enemy after they had walked under the yoke? NOTHING (let them go home) B2. What office did Cincinnatus hold for 15 days when he did this? DICTATOR (MAGISTER POPULI) 10. What is the primary use of the dative case with transitive verbs? INDIRECT OBJECT B1. What does it mean if a verb is transitive? TAKES A DIRECT OBJECT B2. Express the dative word in Latin in "I gave my sharp sword to the boy." PUERO 11. What monster ate human beings, especially Athenians, and lived in the Labyrinth? ASTERIUS (the MINOTAUR) B1. Who finally slew the Minotaur? THESEUS B2. How did Theseus find his way out of the Labyrinth? ball of YARN given to him by Ariadne 12. From what Latin adjective and meaning is our word magnificent derived? MAGNUS,-a,-um meaning GREAT (LARGE, MIGHTY) B1. Our word abbreviation comes from what Latin adjective and meaning? BREVIS,-e meaning SHORT (BRIEF, SMALL, LITTLE, NARROW, SHALLOW, LOW) B2. Our word miserable comes from what Latin adjective and meaning? MISER,-a,-um or MISERABILIS,-e meaning WRETCHED (UNFORTUNATE, MISERABLE, PITIABLE, LAMENTABLE) 13. What was the function of a cubiculum in a Roman house? BEDROOM B1. What use was the Roman room tablinum? STUDY (OFFICE) B2. What room served as the main reception room and central chamber? ATRIUM 14. What office did Julius enter in 59 BC with Bibulus as his uncooperative partner? CONSULship B1. The next time Julius was consul in 48 BC, his partner was the more cooperative Publius Servilius Vatia. By then, what was Bibulus doing? fighting the CIVIL WAR against Julius B2. Julius obeyed the 10 year gap between his 1st and 2nd consulships. How long did he wait the third time, ignoring the full legal term as Pompey had? A FULL YEAR (he sat out 47, but was consul III in 46) 15. What is the meaning of the medical Latin expression "nihil per os"? DON'T EAT (NOTHING BY MOUTH) B1. What does medical Latin's "ter in die" mean? THREE TIMES A DAY B2. What does medical Latin's "post op" mean? a recovery ward AFTER THE WORK (surgery) ROUND III 1. For third declension nouns, what case does the locative resemble? DATIVE or ABLATIVE B1. What case does the locative of first and second declension singular nouns resemble? GENITIVE B2. Say in Latin "In Athens." ATHENIS 2. What Roman prince committed the crime which caused the overthrow of the kings? SEXTUS TARQUINius B1. Whom did Sextus Tarquin rape? LUCRETIA B2. What made Sextus Tarquin decide to rape Lucretia? SHE alone of the officers' wives HAD PROVED VIRTUOUS, which flamed his lust for her 3. Seneca wrote under the later Julio-Claudians, after the Augustan Era. By what colorful name is this era of Latin literature known? SILVER Age B1. In the Consolatio ad Marcia to a friend whose son had died, whose example does Seneca commend, that of Livia, Octavia, Julia, or Messalina? LIVIA (she celebrated the memory of her lost Drusus) B2. What English word is derived from this type of philosophical word, and how do you define it? CONSOLATION (to console) comfort over grief 4. Most authors say he was the second son of Priam, but he was long forgotten because he was exposed at birth. Who returned to Troy and reestablished his birthright before taking a cruise to Sparta? PARIS B1. Where had Paris grown up, raised by shepherds? MT. IDA B2. When Paris came to Troy, he abandoned his first wife. Some say she bore him a son. Who was this nymph? OENONE 5. What is the Latin verb and meaning at the base of our word dormitory? DORMIO,-ire meaning to SLEEP B1. What is the Latin noun and meaning at the base of our word insomnia? SOMNIUM meaning DREAM B2. What is the Latin verb and meaning at the base of our word excite? exCITARE meaning to ROUSE (STIR, AWAKEN) 6. In Tacitus Silver Latin, the suffix -as marks the accusative plural in the first declension, but what case and number does it mark in the archaic word materfamilias? GENITIVE SINGULAR B1. Another archaism was the combination NC. How do you render into archaic Latin the word "messenger"? NUNCTIUS B2. Now render and contract into archaic Latin the genitive plural for gods which in Classical Latin is superorum. SUPERUM 7. In Iliad 6, Glaucus exchanges xenia or bonds of guest-friendship with what Achaean hero whose father Tydeus was friends with Glaucus' ancestors? DIOMEDES B1. What hero and ancestor of Glaucus fought the Chimera? BELLEROPHON (HIPPONOUS) B2. How did Zeus dull Glaucus wits when he and Diomedes swapped gifts? Glaucus gave GOLD armor worth 100 oxen for Diomedes BRONZE worth just 11 oxen 8. Which new man, a brilliant general, defeated an army of Germans at the battle of Aquae Sextae in 102 BC long before he and Sulla became enemies? Gaius MARIUS B1. Marius' rise to fame came partly from his talent, partly from his connections. Into what patrician family had he married? JULII B2. How many consulships did Marius hold? SEVEN 9. What is the full form of the Latin verb "navigate"? PLURAL IMPERATIVE B1. Change navigate to the singular. NAVIGA! B2. Give the Latin form of navigo,-are that means "y'all do sail." NAVIGATIS 10. If a Roman woman has virtue of univiratus, how many times was she married? ONCE B1. Where did a Roman wife wear her wedding ring? FOURTH FINGER OF LEFT HAND B2. Why did Romans wear wedding rings on this finger? they thought a NERVE RAN FROM THE 4TH FINGER directly TO THE HEART 11. When Pyrrhus attacked the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BC, he used what hithero unknown form of living, ancient tank which broke the Roman lines of battle? ELEPHANTS B1. Pyrrhus also used 16 foot spears in what infantry formation? PHALANX B2. When the Saturnalia came, what did Pyrrhus do with his Roman POWs? SENT THEM TO ROME on promise that they return (they did) 12. When a nominative third declension noun ends in -er or -or, what gender is it most likely to be? MASCULINE B1. Give an obvious exception to the above rule. MATER or SOROR or UXOR B2. What neuter -r noun means journey? ITER 13. What object was the subject of a quest by Peleus, Telamon, Castor, and Jason? GOLDEN FLEECE B1. In what land did King Aeetes hold the Golden Fleece? COLCHIS B2. What Colchian princess helped Jason secure the Fleece? MEDEA 14. What is the legal Latin translation for amicus curiae? FRIEND OF THE COURT B1. What is the meaning of the legal Latin expression nolo contendere? I DO NOT WISH TO CONTEST IT B2. What does the Latin legal term de jure mean? BY LAW (RIGHTFUL, LEGITIMATE) 15. As Dido kills herself in the Aeneid, what does she ask the gods to ensure between the Trojans and Tyrians? ETERNAL HATRED B1. Furthermore, though she concedes that Aeneas will reach Italy, what does she ask the gods to send him? WARFARE or THE DEATHS OF HIS FRIENDS B2. Who was the avenger of Dido's prayers--centuries later? HANNIBAL FINALS 1. What word in English can be expressed by any of the following in Latin: quod, ob, propter? BECAUSE B1. Ob and propter both take what case? ACCUSATIVE B2. Using quod, say in Latin "Seneca wrote because he loved mankind." SENECA SCRIPSIT QUOD HOMINES AMAVIT 2. This young lover of Venus was handsome, but he liked hunting. He was killed by a god disguised as a boar. Name him. ADONIS B1. What hero captured the Erymanthian Boar? HERACLES B2. What hero killed the Calydonian Boar? MELEAGER 3. Earlier we asked about the guest-friendship ties of Glaucus and Diomedes. In Greek this is Xenia. From what Latin word for xenia is our word hospitality derived? HOSPIS B1. What is the Latin for a guest-friend? HOSPES B2. What Order of Knighthood derived their names from hospis? HOSPITALLERS 4. Who was the Roman emperor who entrusted Varus to colonize Germania in 6 AD, and then had a near nervous breakdown when he learned of Varus disaster? AUGUSTUS B1. Tiberius had nominated Varus to be governor because he and Varus married the Vipsania sisters. Who was their father-in-law, by this time deceased? AGRIPPA B2. How did Quinctillius Varus die when the Germans ambushed his army? SUICIDE 5. What was the name for the individual who attended a Roman magistrate and represented that magistrate's capital power with the ax and rods? LICTOR B1. What was the name for the ax and bundle of rods? FASCES B2. How many lictors attended the consul? TWELVE 6. Using an irregular imperative, tell Marcus to speak. DIC, MARCE! B1. Now tell Marcus and Sextus to speak. DICITE, MARCE ET SEXTE! B2. Now using another irregular imperative, say "do it!" FAC! 7. What dreadful woman had the power to turn people to stone with her gaze? MEDUSA or STHENO or EURYALE B1. Who swallowed a stone, thinking it was his son Zeus? CRONUS B2. What woman was turned to stone by he gods after the loss of all 12 of her children? NIOBE 8. What term in science can refer to the range of light waves or, more specifically, a characteristic pattern of wavelengths emitted by atoms or molecules? SPECTRUM B1. Also from Latin, what is the movement of a gas through a hole whose size is small compared to the mean free path of the molecules? EFFUSION B2. From your knowledge of Latin, where are the cardiac muscles? the HEART 9. What preposition in Latin governs the Dative? NONE B1. What case does circum take? ACCUSATIVE B2. What about post? ACCUSATIVE 10. What emperor from AD 98 to 117 expanded the Empire to its greatest size when he conquered Dacia and Mesopotamia? Marcus Ulpius TRAJANus B1. What tall monument in Rome near Piazza Venezia which records Trajan's conquest of Dacia? COLUMN OF TRAJAN B2. What successor to Trajan built a wall across Britain and reduced the Empires size to make it more manageable? HADRIAN 11. What is the meaning of the Latin idiom longe et late? FAR AND WIDE B1. What is the meaning of the Latin idiom iter facere? TO make a JOURNEY B2. What about castra ponere? TO PITCH CAMP 12. What god was the father of Polyphemus, and therefore punished Odysseus with storms and hardship during the voyage home? POSEIDON B1. What had Odysseus done to Polyphemus? BLINDED HIM B2. What Trojan hero did Poseidon once save from Achilles during the Trojan War to make sure fate was not undone? AENEAS 13. From what Latin words and meaning is our word submarine derived? SUB meaning UNDER; MARE meaning SEA (or MARINUS,-a,-um meaning OF THE SEA) B1. What Latin root and meaning gives us nautical? NAUTA meaning SAILOR B2. What Latin root and meaning gives us aquatic? AQUA meaning WATER 14. What common household object's name comes from the Latin for feather? PEN (from penna,-ae) B1. What household object's name comes from Latin for torn or cut? SCISSORS (from scissus,-a,-um) B2. Vas, vasis is a neuter 3rd declension noun. How did a Roman use a vas? PUT FLOWERS IN IT see n3. 15. Why did most Roman houses in the city lack a kitchen? IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE to run an oven B1. Evidently burglary was a problem back then, also. Roman houses sometimes had a tile which said cave canem. What does this mean? BEWARE OF the DOG B2. Most Romans in the city lived in appartment complexes, even Sulla in his leaner days. What were these apartment buildings called? INSULAE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- n1. The sentence could also be rendered using the dative of possession, Discipuli Miramonte (locative) sunt magistro Davi. n2. There are conflicting reports as to exactly who wore the toga praetexta. Most agree it was worn by boys prior to assuming the toga virilis at puberty, and by girls before assuming the stola and palla upon marriage. According to Lewis & Short, it was worn by the higher magistrates in Rome. According to other sources, it was worn by the curule magistrates. n3. There are many other possible correct answers to this question. According to Lewis & Short, a vas is a vessel, dish, utensil or implement of any kind (e.g., agricultural or hunting implements). Bradford Duncan