1999 Ad Fontes Certamen
Level III - Round Three

1. The first 5 emperors of Rome constitute the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Which one of these emperors, as a prelude to his planned invasion of Britain, marched his army to the northern shores of Gaul and then ordered his troops to collect seashells, which he called the spoils of the conquered ocean? Caligula.

Bonus 1:Caligula was eventually assassinated in 41 A.D. and succeed by Claudius. What relation was Claudius to Caligula? His uncle.

2. Which of the following does not belong and why: cubiculum, peristylum, tablinum, lectus, culina. Lectus because it is not a room in a house.

Bonus: Define these words (repeat twice if necessary). Bedroom, courtyard (portico), study, bed, kitchen.

3. I am of the most frequently portrayed figures in Western literature, king of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Anticleia, and father of Telemachus. Odysseus.

Bonus:Odysseus traveled for 10 years before reaching home, but almost 9 of those years were spent on the island of this nymph. Calypso.

4. What year is this? Julius Caesar is deified. Octavian vows a temple to Mars Ultor. Brutus and Cassius commit suicide after their defeat by Antony and Octavian at the Battle of Philippi. 41 B.C.

Bonus:After Philippi, the triumvirs divided the empire between them. Octavian took the West, Antony the East. Who was the third member of the Triumvirate and what did he receive? Lepidus / Africa.

5. Translate this sentence: Vidimus viros domo currentes. We saw (or see) men running from the house.

Bonus:If we wanted to say "We saw the men who had been killed" and only wanted to use one word for "who had been killed", what word would we use? necatos, occisos, caesos, etc.

6. I was born in Athens and grew up to become a great craftsman, trained by Athena herself. When I killed my apprentice Talus, I was exiled from Athen and took refuge with King Minos in Crete, where I built for him a great maze in the basement of the palace. Daedalus.

Bonus:After my son Icarus died, I flew to this city, where I dedicated my wings to Apollo. Cumae.

7. What figure of the Late Republic had a short but disgraceful career in politics, thoroughly plundering a province as its governor, before settling down to write histories in his garden? Sallust.

Bonus:What was Sallust's full name? Gaius Sallustius Crispus.

8. What emperor of the Late Empire managed to reconquer a large portion of the Western Empire, including Italy, north Africa, and the coast of Spain? Justinian.

Bonus:What barbaric tribe had established itself in north Africa after the German invasions, where it's kingdom remained for a 100 years before being destroyed by Justinian's armies? The Vandals.

9. Translate the verb in the indirect speech clause of this sentence: I know he is saling to Greece. Navigare.

Bonus:Now in this one: I knew he would sail to Greece. Navigaturum (esse).

10. What do these adjectives have in common: solus, totus, neuter. They have -ius in the genitive singular and -i in the dative singular.

Bonus:Give me three other adjectives that behave in the same way: Nullus, alius, ullus, unus, alter, uter.

11. Who was the father of Deicoon, Creontidas, and Thersimachus? Hercules.

Bonus:Who was their mother? Megara.

12. Hannibal defeated the Romans many times during the Second Punic War, but he wiped out two entire consular armies at that battle in the summer of 216 B.C. Cannae

Bonus: In what region of Italy did this battle take place? Apulia.

13. What rhetorical device is seen in the following sentence: Nihil agis, nihil moliris, nihil cogitas, quod non ego non modo audiam, sed etiam videam planeque sentiam. Anaphora.

Bonus:What rhetorical device is seen here: quae me cumque vocant terrae. Tmesis (for quaecumque me vocant terrae).

14. What Roman historian wrote the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty? Tacitus.

Bonus:What historian‹an eyewitness to the events‹told the history of Justinian's reign? Procopius.

15. The law still has many old rules, stated in elegant Latin. What is the basic principle that says res ipsa loquitur? The thing speaks (for) itself.

Bonus: We know what modus operandi means - a person's "method of operation". But what part of speech is operandi? Gerund.

16. Distingiush in meaning between fasces and faces. Bundle of rods / torches.

Bonus.Now distinguish between laetus and laevus. Happy / left, awkward, ill-omened, etc.

17. We know that deponent verbs have no active forms. Or do we? Give me the grammatical name of an active form of a deponent verb. Present participle, future participle, future active infinitive.

Bonus: Give me the other two.

18. We talked earlier about those winds placed in a bag for Odysseus by Aeolus. Why did Odysseus' men open that bag? They thought treasure (gold) was in it.

Bonus:Where did this take place on the journey home? Within sight of Ithaca.

19. The motto of the U.S. is, of course, e plurbis unum. The motto of Saskatchewan is similar: Multis e gentibus vires. Translate that motto. From many peoples, strength.

Bonus:Paris has a nice motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur. It is tossed about but doesn't sink.

20. What Roman poet revived Sapphic metere with several of his famous love poems. Catullus.

Bonus: Catallus called her Lesbia, but to what more ancient woman did Cicero compare her in his Pro Caelio? Medea.