2000 Ad Fontes Certamen
Level III - Round Two

1. What is the present active infinitive of the verb sequor? Sequi.

Bonus:What is the present singular imperative of sequor, sequi. Sequere.

2. If a Roman had an agnomen ending in -ianus, which did that normally tell us about him? He was adopted.

Bonus: Who was the first emperor to be adopted by the previos emperor? Tiberius.

3. Which of the following is not masculine? Terror, amor, ultor, arbor? Arbor.

Bonus:And what is the meaning of ultor? Avenger.

4. What mythological creatures were wild and lustful, mostly of human shape but having the horns and hooves of a goat? Satyrs.

Bonus: Which god, with the appearance of a satry, played the syrinx, an instrument made of reeds? Pan.

5. Which of the following adjectives is not in the superlative degree: optimus, longissimus, primus, simillimus, facilis? Facilis.

Bonus: What is the comparitive degree of optimus? Melior.

6. What was the original name of the month of the year named in honor of Augustus? Sextilis.

Bonus:On what day of the month did the Ides of Sextilis fall? 13th.

7. What disorder does a somnambulist suffer from? Sleepwalking.

Bonus: If you defenestrated your computer, what would you be doing? Either throwing it out a window or removing the Windows operating system from it.

8. What do these year have in common? 390 B.C., 88 B.C., 410 A.D., 455 A.D.? They were years in which Rome was captured.

Bonus: In one of these years Rome was not captured by a foreign enemy, but by a Roman general. What year, what general? 88 B.C. / Sulla.

9. Dic Anglice nomen diei quem Romani appellabant dies Solis. Sunday.

Bonus: Dic Anglice nomen diei de nomine patris Iovis appellatum. Saturday.

10. The Romans had many forms of marriage, each giving rise to a slightly different relationship. What form of marriage would you be entering if you were eating little cakes made of spelt? Confarreatio.

Bonus: To what class in Rome was confarreatio limited? Patricians.

11. Listen to the following passage. I will read it twice. Then answer the question concerning that passage. Lucius et Claudia ex Italia proficiscentes omnes res suas secum ferunt: pauca vestimenta, paulum cibi nec multum pecuniae. Praeterea Lydia parvum librum fert, quem sub vestimentis occultat. What three things did Lucius and Claudia take with them from Italy? Clothes, food, money.

Bonus: What else did Claudia take with her and where did she carry it? A book hidden under her clothes.

12. Distinguish in meaning between fluo and flo. Flow / blow.

Bonus:Sometimes pronunciation makes all the difference. Distinguish in meaning between cecidi and cecïdi. I fell / I killed, cut down.

13. Who am I? I was very beautiful and suitors came from many cities to win my hand. Many paid for it with their life, for to win my hand they had to beat me in a foot race, and the penalty for losing was death. Finally I was beaten by a handsome young man, who tossed a golden apple to distract me. Atalanta.

Bonus. Who was the young man who beat Atalanta in the race? Hippomenes.

14. Who, and in what year deposed Romulus Augustulus deposed as Emperor of the Western Empire? Odoacer / 476 A.D.

Bonus:The Empire, of course, continued in the East for another 1,000 years. But it had its ups and downs. 16. What disastrous event occurred in 1204, from which the Empire never really recovered? Constantinople was captured by the Crusaders.

15. Give the adverbial form of the adjective gravis. Graviter.

Bonus:Now give me its noun form. Gravitas.

16. Off of what principal part of the verb does the future active participle form itself? 4th principal part.

Bonus:Almost all future active participles form regularly from 4th principal part of the verb, or from the third principal part of deponent verbs. But the deponent verb morior is irregular. What is its future active participle? Moriturus (-a, -um).

17. What poet of the Late Republic was known for a single, long poem, the fullest statement we have of the physical theory of the Greek philosopher Epicurus? Lucretius.

Bonus:What was the Latin title of his work? De rerum natura.

18. What deity was called "Soter" and what does that epithet mean? Zeus (not Juppiter) / savior, protector.

Bonus:What diety was called "Ennosigaeus" and what does that epithet mean? Poseidon / earth-shaker. 19. I can think of only one verb that has an irregular present participle. What verb is this and how is it irregular? Eo, ire / iens, euntis.

Bonus:This verb, course, has many compound forms, usually with a prepositional prefix. That being said, what is the meaning of redeuntes. Returning, going back.

20. Watch out - this is a double question. Who am I? I foolishly told the river god Asopus that his daughter had been abducted by Zeus. For this I was condemned to what punishment in the Underworld? Sisyphus / pushing a stone forever uphill.

Bonus:These unfortunate souls were condemned to carry water in leaky jars for eternity. Who were they and what crime had they committed? The Danaids who had murdered their husband on their wedding night.