2nd ANNUAL CAPITAL CERTAMEN FEBRUARY 2002
Sponsored by the Maryland Senior Classical League
LEVEL III & IV
1. What is the nomen of the author of poems to Lesbia? VALERIUS
A. What is his praenomen? GAIUS
B. In what city was Gaius Valerius Catullus born? VERONA
2. What are the small stones or pieces of glass called from which mosaics are made? TESSERAE
A. After what mythological characters are mosaics named? THE MUSES
B. Who was the muse of epic poetry? CALLIOPE
3. Translate this sentence into Latin: he hated me. ODERAT ME
A. Try this one: He will hate me. ODERIT ME
B. And this one: He carried it away today. (Using aufero) ABSTULIT HODIE
4. We are all familiar with the famous Latin phrase, seize the day. Please make both words in this phrase plural. CARPITE DIES
A. Now make the phrase Beware of the dog plural. CAVETE CANES
B. Do the same for That is. EA SUNT
5. What wildly popular series of books would the ancient Romans have called: Figulus Pilosus?
A. Professor Severus Snape is Harrys least favorite teacher. What is the meaning of Professor
Snapes first name? GRAVE, STRICT, STERN, (or similar)
B. One of the passwords to the Gryffindor tower is Caput Draconis. Please translate this
phrase. HEAD OF A DRAGON
6. Who was the first Etruscan king of Rome? (LUCIUS) TARQUINIUS PRISCUS
A. Who was his wife? TANAQUIL
B. With what special power is Tanaquil generally associated? PROPHECY
7. What structures might one find lining the Via Appia outside of the city walls? TOMBS
A. What did the Romans call the line that demarcated the sacred boundaries of the city? POMERIUM
B. What road, lined with temples, ran through the Forum Romanum? VIA SACRA
8. The paint for frescoes was applied on top of what white substance? PLASTER
A. What Pompeiian house includes brilliantly colored frescoes depicting unidentifiable
religious practices? VILLA OF THE MYSTERIES
B. One Pompeiian fresco depicts a figure with an extremely large phallus. This figure is
so proud of his phallus that he is weighing it. Who is he? PRIAPUS
9. In Latin, instruct Marcus to speak! MARCE, DIC
A. Now instruct Cornelius to do it! CORNELI, FAC
B. Now tell Marcella to lead! MARCELLA, DUC
10. Give the 1st person singular present active subjunctive form of esse. SIM
A. Make sim imperfect. ESSEM
B. Make essem indicative. ERAM
11. What rhetorical device is evident in the sentence, Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.?
A. The repetition of the p sound could indicate what other rhetorical device?
B. What is the repetition of vowel sounds known as? ASSONANCE
12. Imagine that you are a diehard Certamen player from a powerhouse Certamen school. You live, breathe, and eat Certamen. You practice Certamen for 3-hours a day after school. You only date fellow Certamen players. You cry like a baby when you lose Certamen matches. You want to be married in your Latin teachers room, so that your Certamen trophies will surround you. To what goddess would you undoubtedly have prayed prior to this competition, in order to ensure that you will be victorious? NIKE
A. Say in Latin, I cry like a baby when I am conquered in Certamen.
FLEO UT INFANS CUM VINCAR IN CERTAMINE
B. Say in Latin, I wish to be married in my Latin teachers classroom.
VOLO IUNGERI IN CAMERA MAGISTRI/MAGISTRAE LINGUAE LATINAE
13. There is a painting by Goya in the Museo del Prado in Madrid that depicts a Roman god consuming a headless, bloody child. This painting shares its name with what god? SATURN
A. Which child survived the filial cannibalism of Saturn? JUPITER
B. How did he survive Saturn? HIS MOTHER WRAPPED A ROCK IN BLANKETS AND
GAVE THE ROCK TO SATURN, WHO ATE IT THINKING THAT IT WAS JUPITER
14. In what meter is Vergils Aeneid written? DACTYLIC HEXAMETER
A. In what meter is much of Catullus poetry, including the poem that begins with the word
B. Please parse the word vivamus. 1st PLURAL PRESENT ACTIVE SUBJUNCTIVE
15. Catullus uses the word Vivamus in his fifth poem. What type of subjunctive does this word employ?
A. Say in Latin, May yall hear me. ME AUDIATIS
B. Now say in Latin, Let me love! AMEM
16. Name the mythological hottie who fell in love with his own reflection. NARCISSUS
A. Which nymph, clearly interested only in looks, pined away for this dude? ECHO
B. Into what kind of flower was Narcissus transformed? NARCISSUS
Now, in the spirit of Black History Month, these final questions will deal with famous Africans (or those who resided in Africa) who influenced the Romans.
17. Which Roman Emperor, who ruled from 193-211 AD, was from Africa? SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
A. What dynasty of emperors did Septimius Severus found? SEVERANS
B. What emperor, who built a complex of baths in Rome, succeeded Septimius Severus?
18. Who ignored Aeneas when he attempted to visit her in the Underworld? DIDO
A. Who was the sister of Dido? ANNA
B. What Latin phrase, recited by Cato, urged the demise of Carthage?
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST
19. Who received the agnomen Africanus for his defeat of Hannibal? (Publius Cornelius) SCIPIO
A. From what island in the Mediterranean did Scipio invade Africa? SICILY
B. In what battle did Scipio defeat the Carthaginian general Hannibal? ZAMA
20. What famous Egyptian queen did Marc Antony fancy? CLEOPATRA (VII)
A. In what city, famous for its library and lighthouse, was Cleopatra born? ALEXANDRIA
B. At what battle were Antony and Cleopatra defeated? ACTIUM