Premier Certamen League 2021 (PCL 2) - Preliminary Round 1

Moderator says: “I will read one test question for no points. This question is definitely not reflective of the difficulty or style of the round. Topics in test questions may appear later in the tournament.”

0. What woman, the protagonist of the 2021 historical drama series Domina, was Augustus’s 3rd wife?

LIVIA (DRUSILLA)

B1: Whose murder, the “first crime” of Tiberius’s reign, may have been instigated by Livia?

(M.) AGRIPPA POSTUMUS

B2: How old was Livia when she died?

85 / 86 (YEARS OLD)

Moderator says: “Subsequent questions will count for points. Good luck and have fun!”

1. What man’s statue on Mount Helicon entranced stone and bronze animals, just as he outsung the Sirens on the Argo and charmed Cerberus to save Eurydice?

ORPHEUS

B1: Also on Mount Helicon was what spring, created by Pegasus to please the Muses?

HIPPOCRENE

B2: According to Callimachus, what favorite nymph of Athena was bathing with the goddess on Mount Helicon when her son by Everes saw them?

CHARICLO

2. What meaning is shared by the phrase in cassum and the adverbs nēquīquam and frūstrā?

IN VAIN // TO NO AVAIL // WITHOUT PURPOSE // USELESSLY

B1: What is the meaning of the prepositional phrase in vicem, often spelled as one word?

IN TURN // RECIPROCALLY // MUTUALLY

B2: What adjective, a negation of the perfect participle of reor, means “useless” or “vain”?

IRRITUS / INRITUS [BECAUSE RATUS HAS A SHORT A, IT BECOMES -RITUS in compounds]

3. What author’s feud over inheritance with Herennius Rufinus, the father-in-law of his friend Pontianus, led to charges of seducing Pudentilla with magic, which he refutes in his Apologia?

(L.) APULEIUS

B1: The Apologia preserves 11 lines of what minor work of Ennius, sometimes considered the first hexameter poem?

HĒDYPHAGĒTICA

B2: Apuleius’s main work, the Metamorphōsēs, is structured around a quest to find what kind of plant, which Lucius needs in order to be restored to human form?

ROSE

4. I shall now show a visual depicting a partial family tree. The answer will be the man distinguished by a red highlight
and a fancy symbol. You will have 15 seconds to examine the visual before the question.
[Scorekeeper should share their screen to show the visual: Round 1 Visual]
What emperor executed figure F, scalded figure D in a hot bath, then divided most of the empire among figures G, H, and I upon his death in 337 A.D.?

CONSTANTINE {I / THE GREAT}

B1: Name any three of figures A, B, C, and D, noting that figure A also had a son who usurped the rank of Augustus starting in 306.

ANY THREE OF: A – MAXIMIAN; B – HELENA; C – THEODORA; D – FAUSTA

B2: Because this is only a partial family tree, and because figure J married twice, figure K could be one of two people. If E represents Julius Constantius, then K was a short-lived Caesar. If E represents Flavius Dalmatius, then K was a short-lived Rēx Rēgum. Name either.

(FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS CONSTANTIUS) GALLUS or (FLAVIUS) HANNIBALIANUS

5. Incommodī, commodī, and iūdicantis are Latin names for uses of what case, whose original usage is sometimes thought to be direction, as in the Vergilian line “It clāmor caelō”?

DATIVE (CASE)

B1: What use of the dative is exemplified by ullī in Vergil’s sentence “Īnfert sē saeptus nebulā per mediōs, miscetque virīs, neque cernitur ūllī”?

(DATIVE OF) AGENT

B2: Besides the dative gerund, name one of the specific verbal noun forms that may have originally been considered a dative form.

ABLATIVE SUPINE or PRESENT PASSIVE INFINITIVE

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6. What enemy of Rome is depicted receiving a marvelous shield, parting with his wife Imilce, and getting whisked away by Minerva on a cloud in a 17-book Flavian epic by Silius Italicus?

HANNIBAL

B1: What late-Republican author provides an unusually balanced picture of Hannibal in his Dē Excellentibus Ducibus Exterārum Gentium, part of the Dē Virīs Illūstribus?

CORNELIUS NEPOS

B2: What early annalist was captured during the Second Punic War and may have known Hannibal personally?

(L.) CINCIUS ALIMENTUS

7. Though Alcibiades descended from his fortress to tell the Athenians to move, where were Philocles and Conon defeated by Lysander in 405 B.C., leading to the end of the Second Peloponnesian War?

(BATTLE OF) AEGOSPOTAMI

B1: When Lysander subsequently established the Thirty Tyrants, what relative of Plato quickly became the most brutal of them all, condemning the more moderate Theramenes to death?

CRITIAS

B2: Alcibiades had retreated to that fortress after his helmsman Antiochus lost 22 ships at what battle?

(BATTLE OF) NOTIUM / NOTION

8. Note to players: there will be an extra clue. Say in Latin, using the verb texō: “If only I had woven prettier clothing!” Keep in mind that texō’s third principal part, like fremō or gemō, ends in -uī.

UTINAM {PULCHRIŌREM VESTEM / VESTĪTUM // PULCHRIŌRĒS VESTĒS} TEXUISSEM!

B1: What single verb form can replace utinam in “Utinam hoc fīat,” without changing anything else, to preserve basically the same meaning?

VELIM [GRUDGINGLY ACCEPT “VOLŌ”; DO NOT ACCEPT “VELLEM”]

B2: Given that ut can mean “how,” and -nam is the same particle as in quīnam or ubinam, what would the original meaning of “Utinam hoc fīat” have been, and what independent use of the subjunctive did it exemplify?

DELIBERATIVE – HOW, PRAY TELL, {IS THIS TO // CAN THIS // MIGHT THIS} HAPPEN?
[ACCEPT ANY OTHER EMPHATIC “HOW,” LIKE “HOW ON EARTH...”; PROMPT ON A PLAIN “HOW”]

9. Complete the following analogy, which has several clues if necessary: [blank] is to bōs as cētē is to cētus and spēs is to spēs.

BOVĒS

B1: Now complete the following slightly more complicated analogy: [blank] : balneae :: hērōa : hērōs.

BALNEĀS [THE ANALOGY IS ACC. -> NOM., NO CHANGE IN NUMBER]

B2: Now complete the following analogy, which might not be what you think it is: [blank] : suum :: tū : tīs.

SUĒS [FROM SŪS, “PIG”; THE ANALOGY IS NOM. -> GEN.]

10. What woman commits suicide in Book 12 of the Aeneid, coming to her senses after a snake thrown into her chest by Alecto had caused her to demand that Turnus be the husband of her daughter Lavinia?

AMATA

B1: When the Trojans land in Italy, who first speaks to Latinus, mirroring the role he plays with Dido in Book 1?

ILIONEUS

B2: After visiting Amata, Alecto assumes the form of what old woman to talk to Turnus?

CALYBE

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11. What city, where invaders slew all the men and took their women in 289 B.C., faced pressure from the new Sicilian ruler Hiero and sent appeals to both Rome and Carthage, starting the First Punic War?

MESSANA

B1: What two consuls of 256 B.C. won a victory at Cape Ecnomus while imitating the African invasion of the Mamertines’ former employer, Agathocles?

(M. ATILIUS) REGULUS and (L. MANLIUS) VULSO (LONGUS)

B2: Later in the First Punic War, what mountain city near Drepana, featuring a famous temple of Aphrodite, was seized by Iunius Pullus shortly after the double defeat at Drepana and Cape Passaro?

(MT.) ERYX

12. With what letter of the alphabet do the ancient names of Chaves,(“"SHA - ves"”) Rottweil, Strasbourg, Rimini, and Bath begin?

A

B1: Give the ancient names of any three of those cities — Chaves, Rottweil, Strasbourg, Rimini, and Bath.

ANY THREE OF: CHAVES – AQUAE FLAVIAE; ROTTWEIL – ARAE FLAVIAE; STRASBOURG – {ARGENTORATE / ARGENTORATUM}; RIMINI – ARIMINUM; BATH – AQUAE SULIS

B2: What modern-day city was first named Cenabum, then had its name changed to something starting with A, though its modern name starts with O?

ORLÉANS [THROUGH “AURELIANUM”]

13. What two similar-sounding English words, one derived from a word for “to till” and another derived from a word for “to hide,” both have meanings that can refer to secret mystical or spiritual practices?

CULT and OCCULT [ACCEPT IN EITHER ORDER]

B1: What two similar-sounding English nouns, one derived from rabiēs and the other from ultrā, both refer to anger?

{RAGE / ENRAGE(D)} and OUTRAGE(D) [DO NOT ACCEPT “RAGE and ENRAGE”]

B2: What two similar-sounding English words, both of which can mean “to stop,” are derived respectively from cēdō and sedeō?

CEASE and SURCEASE

14. Theories including an Amazonian goddess worshipped by the Hellenes, a giant whose skin was flayed, and a childhood friend of Athena have all been proposed as the origin of what famous epithet?

PALLAS

B1: On the Acropolis, Athena was worshipped under what epithet meaning “Champion,” which was also the name of a young son of Aeson?

PROMACHUS

B2: What epithet of Athena was explained by the locals at Alalcomenae with a story about her being reared by the town’s eponymous founder?

TRITOGENEIA / TRITONIS

15. Whose style, characterized as “naked and straightforward” by Cicero, was clumsily imitated by unlearned soldiers in three anonymous continuations of his work, but was better matched by Hirtius’s 8th book of the Dē Bellō Gallicō?

(C. JULIUS) CAESAR

B1: Which of the continuations in the Corpus Caesariānum, the first chronologically, is less bad than the rest, and could have been written by Hirtius as well?

BELLUM ALEXANDRĪNUM

B2: What native of Teate, the recipient of a propempticon from Cinna, described Caesar’s work as “put together somewhat carelessly and without strict regard for truth”?

(C.) ASINIUS POLLIO

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16. Knowing that the second word is an imperative, provide the Latin for the abbreviation qq.v., the plural of q.v.

QUAE VIDĒ [DO NOT ACCEPT “QUAE VIDĒTE” OR “QUOD VIDĒTE”]

B1: The initial disclaimer was necessary because, besides “quod vidē,” q.v. can also stand for what other phrase?

QUANTUM VĪS

B2: What two similar-sounding verb forms can be the l. in n.l., meaning either “it is not allowed” or “it is not clear”?

LICET and LIQUET

17. Description acceptable. What loosely-defined group stood upon pieces of a sacrificed horse and took an oath imposed on them by Tyndareus, unable to foresee that this very promise would result in the Trojan War?

SUITORS OF HELEN [PROMPT ON “SUITORS”]

B1: What brother of Tyndareus also had to deal with suitors for his daughter, forcing them to run a footrace to win her hand?

ICARIUS

B2: What other brother of Tyndareus usurped the throne of Sparta and was later murdered by Heracles?

HIPPOCOON

18. What type of food was jokingly termed the “food of the gods” by Nero, since Halotus’s insertion of a few drops of poison into it at Agrippina the Younger’s behest had caused Claudius to die and become a god?

MUSHROOM(S)

B1: This poison was produced by a Gallic woman named Locusta, who may also have provided the poison to kill what man, likewise a member of the imperial family, in 55 A.D.?

(TI. CLAUDIUS CAESAR) BRITANNICUS

B2: When the poisoned mushrooms didn’t seem to be enough, what doctor used a feather to drop a second dose of poison down Claudius’s throat?

(C. STERTINIUS) XENOPHON

19. What Greek author’s poetry, characterized by leaps from imposing openings to mythological narrations to moral instruction, praises the Sicilian king Hiero and other rulers while celebrating their athleticism at the four great games?

PINDAR(OS)

B1: Name the four great games Pindar wrote odes about.

OLYMPIAN; PYTHIAN; NEMEAN; ISTHMIAN

B2: What poet was the first to compose epinician odes, including one for the Thessalian ruler Scopas, and wrote a moving description of Danae afloat on the waves at night?

SIMONIDES

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20. When recognized by the spotter, please perform the following command: Multum lacrimāns, sociīs tuīs dīc Anglicē tē sequēns imperātum facere nōn posse.

PLAYER SHOULD CRY (A LOT) AND TELL TEAMMATES “I CAN’T PERFORM THE FOLLOWING COMMAND”

B1: Now, everyone except the person who answered the toss-up, perform the following command: Cōnsōlāminī sodālem, dīcentēs Anglicē “Nōn nostrā interest utrum vincāmus, modo utrum certāmine fruāmur.”

PLAYERS SHOULD CONSOLE THEIR TEAMMATE, SAYING “IT DOESN’T MATTER TO US WHETHER WE WIN, ONLY WHETHER WE ENJOY THE COMPETITION”

B2: Now, everyone perform the following command: Recūsāte diūtius moderātōris iussīs parēre atque, cēterōs lūsōrēs hortātī ut idem faciant, discēdite.

PLAYERS SHOULD REFUSE TO OBEY THE MODERATOR’S COMMANDS ANY LONGER AND LEAVE, ENCOURAGING THE OTHER PLAYERS TO DO SAME

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[SOURCES]

N.B.: “Hadas” refers to either the Latin Lit. or the Greek Lit. sourcebook, but “Greek Hadas” or “Latin Hadas” will be explicitly stated if it is not clear in context. The same applies to “Adkins” for Roman/Greek Life. “Chronicle” refers either to Matyszak’s Chronicle of the Roman Republic or Scarre’s Chronicle of the Roman Emperors, depending on whether the question is about the Republic or the Empire.

1 TU: Statue – March p. 360; Sirens & Cerberus – March p. 358 (Tripp pp. 435, 157) / B1: Tripp p. 305 / B2: March p. 122 (Callimachus, Baths of Pallas 57-133; cf. Tripp p. 547, which only mentions that Tiresias saw Athena bathing) 

2 TU: Lodge pp. 33, 113, 76 / B1: Lodge p. 183 / B2: Lodge p. 95 (cf. A&G §267 a. Note 2 for the behavior of a in compounds) 

3 TU: Conte p. 557 / B1: Conte p. 76 / B2: Conte p. 560 

4 Visual: Heich. pp. 420-421, 431, 433; Chronicle pp. 207, 221, 225; no source but Heich.2 (p. 460) mentions that Gallus and Julian are sons of Julius Constantius; for Constantina’s marriage to Hannibalianus before she married Gallus, see Amm. 14.1; the unlabeled figures are Constantius Chlorus, Minervina, and Julian or Dalmatius the Younger / TU: Heich. pp. 429-431 / B1: Heich. p. 421 for the additional clue about Maximian / B2: Heich. p. 433; Chronicle p. 221 

5 TU: A&G §376 footnote, §378 footnote, §360 / B1: A&G §375 a. (Aen. 1.439-440) / B2: A&G §508 (contra §155 c. footnote, which says the abl. supine was originally locative), §451 with footnote 

6 TU: Hadas p. 269 / B1: Conte pp. 221-222 / B2: Conte p. 69 

7 TU: Pomeroy p. 317 / B1: Pomeroy pp. 321-322 / B2: Pomeroy p. 316 

8 B1: A&G §442 b. / B2: A&G §442 a. Note 1 (cf. §444, §333 a.) 

9 TU: cētē – A&G §48 a. Note / B1: hērōa – A&G §82 / B2: tīs – A&G §143 a. Note  

10 TU: Aen. 12.593-603, 7.341-372 (cf. Tripp p. 23) / B1: Aen. 7.212ff., 1.520ff. / B2: Aen. 7.419ff.  

11 TU: Heich. p. 94 (cf. C&S p. 117) / B1: C&S p. 118 / B2: C&S p. 119 

12 TU & B1: Adkins p. 131 (some also in Heich. and C&S) / B2: Adkins p. 132 (for Aurelianum, cf. Heich. p. 521) 

13 TU: Schaeffer s.vv. colō, cēlō (sources vary as to whether occulō is a derivative or a cognate of cēlō, but both words mean “to hide”) / B1 & B2: Schaeffer s.vv. the words mentioned in the questions 

14 TU: Tripp pp. 117-118, 442 / B1: Tripp pp. 118, 499 / B2: Tripp p. 33 

15 TU & B1: Hadas pp. 91, 94 / B2: Conte p. 142, Hadas p. 93 (cf. Conte p. 231) 

16 TU & B1: Stone p. 162 / B2: Stone p. 160 

17 TU: Tripp p. 264, 593 / B1: Tripp p. 314 / B2: Tripp p. 305 

18 TU: Chronicle p. 49 & Heich. p. 311 / B1: Heich. p. 313 (for Locusta’s involvement, Suet. Nero 33) / B2: Chronicle p. 49 

19 TU: Hadas p. 61 & Dihle p. 69 / B1: Hadas p. 60 / B2: Dihle p. 66 & Hadas p. 57 

20 TU & B1 & B2: Various sections of A&G or L&S for the grammar present in the commands