2001 Ad Fontes Certamen
Level II - Round Two

1. What degree of adjective would be used to express that something is very short? Superlative.

Bonus: Translate into Latin: The story is very short. Fabula brevissima est.

2. What famous avian equine was said to have sprung from the blood of Medusa? Pegasus.

Bonus: What god was reputed to have sired Pegasus? Poseidon / Neptune.

3. Which of the following fruits did the Romans not grow: apples, cherries, grapes, oranges, pears, peaches? Oranges.

Bonus: Give the Roman names of two of the other fruits above. malum, cerasum, uva, pirum, persicum.

4. Even while denying the rumor, Julius Caesar divorced his wife Pompeia after it was said that a man had disturbed the rites of the Bona Dea (a festival only for women) in order to be with her. Who was this man? (Publius) Clodius Pulcher.

Bonus: What reason did Caesar give for divorcing Pompeia? That Caesar's wife must be above suspicion (or something like that).

5. "The story is very short" is a statement of fact and uses a verb in the indicative mood. If Marcus said that the story was very short, however, what would be different about the verb "was"? It would be an infinitive.

Bonus: Translate the sentence. Marcus dixit fabulam brevissimam esse.

6. This god began stealing on the very day he was born. After taking cattle from Apollo, he killed a tortoise and created the lyre. Who was this swift footed son of Zeus who soon became a messenger of the gods? Hermes / Mercury.

Bonus: What is the name for the winged staff that Hermes often carries? Caduceus.

7. In a Roman household, what was the special duty of a ianitor? Doorkeeper.

Bonus: What was the job of the paedogogus? To escort children to and from school

8. Rome's first major aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, was constructed under the supervision of what blind censor? Appius Claudius (Caecus).

Bonus: Spell AQUEDUCT

9. We heard earlier that Bellerophon rode on Pegasus to kill the Chimera. What did the Chimera look like? Head of a lion, body of a goat, tail of a serpent/dragon.

Bonus: Describe the hybrid sphinx that terrorized the Thebans until Oedipus caused her death. Human head, body of a lion (possibly with wings).

10. What mood is used when action is seen as hypothetical, potential, or unreal? Subjunctive

Bonus: Name the tenses of the subjunctive. Present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect

11. Name one of the two possible uses of the subjunctive in the following sentence: Let us encourage one another to answer quickly. Hortatory or indirect command.

Bonus: Name the other.

12. Which emperor spent a number of years of his step-father's reign on the island of Rhodes because of disaffection? After he had been emperor for a number of years, he chose a voluntary exile on the island of Capri. Tiberius.

Bonus: Who succeeded Tiberius? Caligula/Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus.

13. Give the present active imperatives (singular and plural) of fero. fer, ferte.

Bonus: Give the four principal parts of that verb. fero, ferre, tuli, latum.

14. Who am I? I was the king of Mycenae and was living contentedly until I had to go off to war. That was the beginning of my troubles. When I tried to set sail from Aulis, Artemis who was angry at me for a rash boast, would not let the wind stop blowing. She required the sacrifice of my daughter before she would let us sail. I agreed. After ten years at Troy, I finally got my brother's wife back for him, but when I returned home, I was killed by my own wife. Agamemnon.

Bonus: Who were Agamemnon daughter and wife referred to above? Iphegenia and Clytemnestra.


15. From what material were most togas and tunics made? Wool.

Bonus: What was the toga pulla? A toga of dark wool for those in mourning.

16. Translate the participle in the following sentence into Latin: The wounded general was being carried off the field. Vulneratus.

Bonus: Translate the participle in this sentence: We saw an unusual animal sitting under the tree. Sedens.

17. What mood of the verb occurs in this very question? Indicative

Bonus: Knowing that the Romans used the word modus, modi for mood, tell me how to say "what mood" in Latin. Qui modus.

18. Put the following four people in chronological order of their deaths: Cicero, Tiberius, Augustus, Julius Caesar Julius Caesar, Cicero, Augustus, Tiberius.

Bonus: In what year did Augustus die? 14 A.D.

19. What mortal woman hanged herself after Athena destroyed her weaving in a fit of rage? Arachne.

Bonus: What had made Athena so angry about the tapestry? It depicted the crimes of the gods.

20. Romans told time by using sundials and seasonal hours. How long was a seasonal hour? 1/12 of the daylight.

Bonus: Romans used clepsydrae to tell time at night. What were these? Water clocks.