Intermediate Certamen Questions

Give the second person plural, present tense, active voice, subjunctive mood of "dono"

donetis

Make "donetis" pasive.

donemini

Make "donemini" pluperfect.

donati/ae/a essetis

What maiden recieved the gift of prophecy from Apollo and was punished by the curse of never being believed?

Cassandra

Who recieved from Apollo the gift of prophecy and years of life as numerous as the grains of sand? She also denied him favors and did not receive eternal youth to go along with her eternal life.

(Cumaean) Sibyl

Who also did not receive the gift of eternal youth to go along with his immortality and withered away, becoming a grasshopper?

Tithonus

It was a winged creature named Chrysomallos, but in another version, it carried Phrixus and his girl Helle across a straight while bore her name. What is this sought after item hanging from a tree and guarded by a dragon, the object of the argonaut's quest?

The Golden Ram/ Fleece

What kingdom was the possessor of the Golden Fleece?

Colchis

Name one of the three tasks to be completed by Jason to retrieve the Fleece.

Yoke the Bulls of Mars, Sow Dragon's Teeth, Kill the Dragon guarding the Fleece

Listen carefully to the following paragraph, which I will read twice, and answer in English the questions about it. "Hieme orienti, Caesar in Britanniam proficisci contendit quod Britannici auxilia Gallis dederunt. Qua decause volebat in insula perspicere genus hominum, cognoscere loca, mores, leges."

When did Caesar go to Britain?

In the beginning of winter.

Listen carefully to the following paragraph, which I will read twice, and answer in English the questions about it. "Hieme orienti, Caesar in Britanniam proficisci contendit quod Britannici auxilia Gallis dederunt. Qua decause volebat in insula perspicere genus hominum, cognoscere loca, mores, leges."

What had the Britains recently done for the Gauls?

Given them aid

What did Caesar want to learn about in Britain?

Their places, customs, and laws

Other than Rome, what was the largest city in the empire?

Alexandria

What Latin verb meaning "build" has its root at the noun "aedes"?

Aedificio, Aedificare

What does "aedes mean in the plural?

House

What public office in Rome took its name from "aedes"?

Aedilis/ aedile

Translate this sentence into English" Nuntius domino dixit coquum optimum mori.

The messenger told the master that (his) best cook was dying.

Translate this sentence into English: Dominus Exclamavit se flocci non facere.

The master exclaimed that he didn't care.

Translate this sentence into English: Coquus sperat dominum brevi tempore moriturum esse.

The cook hopes the master will die in a short time.

What was the Latin name for the courtyard ourside the front door of a "domus" where clients awaited their patron for their orning "salutatio"?

Vestibulum

What was the name for the slave who watched the doorway?

Ostiarius/ Ianitor

What was the Latin term for the curtain which separated the vestibulum from the atrium?

Velum

What Italian goddess was the beloved of the god Vertumnus?

Pamona

Who convinced Pamona to marry Vertumnus, and in what disquise was he or she?

Vertumnus as an old woman

In what work of Roman literature do we find this story?

Metamorphoses (by Ovid)

Give the Latin and English for the abbreviation: cf.

Confer- compare

Give the Latin and the English for the abbreviation: vs.

vide supra- see above

Give the Latin and the English for the abbreviation: vs.

versus- against

Which princess did Athena arrange to do the family laundry at the shore, so that she would find the shipwrecked Odysseus and lead him back to the palace?

Nausicaa

What king was the father of Nausicaa?

Alcinous

Who was the wife of Alcinous?

Arete

What are all of the following: fabae, brassicae, lactuca, betae, carotae?

Vegetables (if a student should answer "foods," ask him/her to be more specific)

Say in Latin, "I drink milk."

Lac bibo

Say in Latin, "I eat eggs."

Ova edo

In Rome, what book might have been called "Senex et Mare"?

The Old Man and the Sea

Identify this book: "Ager Animalis"

Animal Farm

Identify this book: "Deminutio Ruinaque Imperi Romani."

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Whose abiding fear of Carthage led him to end every speech "censeo Carthaginem delendam esse"?

Cato the Elder

Cato the Elder died the year the 3rd Punic War began. What year was this?

149 BC

Besides hating Carthage, what other people did Cato hate, forbidding their philosophers and rhetoriticians to live in Rome?

The Greeks

What U.S. state derives its name from the Latin word for flower?

Florida

What U.S. state derives its name from the Latin word for "woods"?

Pennsylvania

What U.S. state derives its name from the Latin word for "mountain"?

Montana or Vermont

What movie might the Romans have called "Liberi Minoris Dei"?

Children of a Lesser God

What movie might be advertised in Rome as "Tres Amici"?

The Three Amigos

Identify this movie: "Color Pecuniae"

The Color of Money

Teachers in ancient Rome generally came from what class of people?

slaves/freedmen (Greek)

What did "discipuli Romani" write on?

Wax tablers/Tabellae ceratae

How were girls educated?

By their mothers

After the fall of Troy, Aeneas eventually sailed to Buthrotum. What Trojan was king there?

Helenus

At Buthrotum, who was Helenus' queen?

Andromache

Who was Andromache's first husband?

Hector

In Roman art, what are paintings created directly upon walls called?

Frescoes

Translate into Latin: We will arrive in three days.

Tribus diebus as veniemus/perveniemus

Translate into Latin: They arrived on the fourth day.

Quarto die advenerunt/pervenerunt

The Colosseum as called the Ampitheatrum Flavianum because its construction was begun by a Flavian emperor and finished by his son. Name these two emperors.

Vespesian and Titus

The show at the dedication of the Colosseum in 80 AD ended in a mock naval battle. What was such a spectacle called?

Naumachia

What was the name for the 80 entrances to the colosseum?

Vomitoria

According to one account, who became the immortal gatekeeper of Olympus after his mortal flesh was burned away?

Heracles/Hercules

What daughter of Hera became the immortal companion of Hercules?

Hebe

Whom did Hercules persuade Hebe to make young again to that he could defend the children of Hercules from Eurytheus' attack?

Iolaus

What form of the proper noun "Mercurius" agrees with the adjective form "celeri?"

Mercurio

What form of the proper noun "Iuno" agrees with the adjective form "superbam?"

Iunonem

What form of the proper noun "Iuppiter" agrees with the adjective form "saevi?"

Iovis

What did gladiators traditionally say in Latin to the sponsor of the games?

Nos morituri te salatamus

What does this mean in English?

We (who are) about to die salute you

What type of participle is "morituri"?

Future Active Participle

Which of the following Latin numerals answres the question "In which order": bis, secundus, bini, duo, duplex

secundus

Which one of these answer the question "How many at a time"?

bini

Which one answers the question "How often"?

bis

What modern day country did the Romans call Helvetia?

Switzerland

What modern day country did the Romans cal Lusitania?

Portugal

What modern day country did the Romans call Hibernia?

Ireland

When you are recognized by the spotter, follow this direction:

"Dic mihi Anglicae nomen scholae tuae."

Student tells moderator the name of his/her school

When you are recognized by the spotter, follow this direction:

"Dic mihi praenomina sociorum omnium sedentium tecum."

Student tells moderator the First-names of all the teammates.

"Monstrate mihi titulos vestros."

Students show moderator their nametags

This phrase has come to symbolize crossing the point of no return, and that is exactly what Caesar was doing when he entered Italy at the head of his army. What is this three word phrase Caesar uttered as he crossed the Rubicon.

Alea Iacta Est.

What description of an authentic product literally translates, "in good faith?"

bona fide

What Latin expression describes an essential element in something, without which, it would not be the same?

sine qua non

Who gained immortality after initially being persecuted by Aphrodite?

Psyche

Whom did Athena deny the gift of immortality because he ruthlessly devoured the brains of his enemy?

Tydeus

Which of the dioscuri was born an immortal?

Pollux

Who of the following was not on the expedition of the Argo: Jason, Orpheus, Idmon, Diomedes?

Diomedes

Who of the following did not fight at Troy: Patroclus, Sarpedon, Philoctetes, Phoneix?

Philoctetes

Who of the following did not take part in the Calydonian boar hunt: Meleager, Atalanta, Theseus, Peleus?

Theseus

Apollo was the god of prophecy, but who was the Titaness of prophecy?

Themis

Some say the Delphic oracle originally belonged t Thetis. What other early goddess is said to have held it instead?

Gaia/ Ge

What did Apollo do to compensate the goddess for killing the Python and taking over Delphi?

He established the Pythian Games.

Who, in 221 BC at the age of twenty-six, was elected in Spain as general of the Carthaginian army?

Hannibal

What town in Spain, the only one in alliance with Rome, had Carthage attacked, thus starting the Second Punic War?

Saguntum

When Hannibal left to cross the Alps into Italy, who did he leave in command to defend Spain?

Hasdrubal (His brother)

Differentiate in meaning between "nos, vox, nox".

We/us, voice, and night

Differentiate in meaning mong "pro, per, post".

For/on behalf of; through; and after/behind

Differentiate in meaning among "casa, causa, casus".

House; reason/cause; and chance/misfortune/fall

In the sentence "Who is your friend?" give the Latin word for "Who".

Quis

In the following sentence "What man did you see?". give the latin words for "what".

Quem

In the sentence "With whom did you come?" give the Latin word for "with whom".

Quocum/quibiscum

What Latin phrase is commonly used in English to mean "on the face of it?"

prima facie

What Latin phrase is commonly used in English to mean "this for that?"

quid pro quo

What Latin phrase is commonly used in English to mean "masterpiece?"

magnum opus