Discustoms

Question 1

Provide the Latin term for the item that was given to a pūpa on her diēs lūstricus along with a praenōmen to welcome her to the family and protect her from evil magic.

Answer 1

BULLA (AUREA) / CREPUNDIA / LŪNULA(E)

Question 2

How long was the period of prīmōrdia between birth and the diēs lūstricus?

Answer 2

SEVEN / EIGHT / NINE DAYS

Question 3

What did the paterfamiliās do during the susceptiō on the day of a child’s birth?

Answer 3

ACCEPT / REJECT / RECOGNIZE / LIFT UP THE NEWBORN (WELCOMING IT INTO THE FAMILY OR REJECTING IT)

Question 4

Ranging from simple geometric patterns of black and white tesserae to vibrant mythological scenes made of colored marble, what art form was used as a common floor decoration throughout the Roman world?

Answer 4

MOSAIC

Question 5

What type of person did the Romans call a pictrix?

Answer 5

PAINTER

Question 6

What type of person did the Romans call a luctātor?

Answer 6

WRESTLER

Question 7

What Latin word did the Romans use to refer to a dancer?

Answer 7

SALTĀTOR / SALTĀTRĪX

Question 8

In Augustus’ time, the financial burdens incurred from burials were lessened because of the creation of what structures, which allowed families to store their urns in one place and whose name derives from the Latin word for “dove”?

Answer 8

COLUMBĀRIUM/A

Question 9

Before the introduction of columbāria, what hill in ancient Rome housed the mass graves of the plebeians known as puticulī?

Answer 9

ESQUILINE HILL

Question 10

What was the Latin term for the sacred boundary of Rome, within which no one was allowed to be buried?

Answer 10

POMERIUM

Question 11

Which of the following nouns does not belong by definition: soccus, calceus, amictus, caliga, mulleus, solea?

Answer 11

AMICTUS

Question 12

The image contains modern approximations in construction and purpose for the 5 types of Roman footwear from the toss-up: soccus, calceus, caliga, mulleus, solea. Match two of the images with the most appropriate Latin term.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y-MlhPjV0WcV_B0_7FaY7fDWgAg0_ibOuA6cNtMCdyw/edit

Answer 12

A - caliga; B - mulleus; C - soccus; D - calceus; E - solea

Question 13

How many people would typically fit on a single lectus in a Roman trīclīnium?

Answer 13

THREE

Question 14

For what type of person was the lowest seat on the middle couch reserved to conveniently speak with the host and receive urgent messages?

Answer 14

CONSUL / MOST HONORED GUEST

Question 15

What was the term for the later style of curved couch that fit with a round table, much like the Greek letter after which it was named?

Answer 15

SIGMA

Question 16

Broken pottery, old bricks, volcanic ash, lime, and cement, when mixed together, created what building material that Romans used to construct walls?

Answer 16

CONCRETE / OPUS CAEMENTĪCIUM

Question 17

What was the distinguishing feature of walls built using the opus rēticulātum technique?

Answer 17

(CONCRETE CORE FACED WITH SQUARE STONES IN A)
DIAGONAL / NET-SHAPED (PATTERN)

Question 18

What style of wall was constructed from large squared stones held together by their own weight instead of using concrete or mortar?

Answer 18

OPUS QUADRĀTUM / ASHLAR (BLOCK / MASONRY)

Question 19

What suffix is added to forms of the nouns ops, signum, lūx, and aquila to indicate someone is carrying those things?

Answer 19

-(I)FER

Question 20

Using a different suffix with the same meaning, what Latin word means one who bears defensive military gear, such as a shield?

Answer 20

ARMIGER

Question 21

What December festival was celebrated in a prominent official’s house where drinking, game playing, and music were enjoyed exclusively by women?

Answer 21

BONA DEA

Question 22

What May festival involved rising at midnight, walking barefoot through the house, and spitting out nine black beans in order to appease the spirits of the deceased?

Answer 22

LEMŪRIA

Question 22

What April festival involved cleaning out sheep pens, fumigating them with smoke, and then jumping through a bonfire to purify the flocks?

Answer 22

PARĪLIA / PALĪLIA

Question 23

Augustus limited the number of mūnera which municipal magistrates outside the city of Rome could celebrate to how many per year?

Answer 23

ONE

Question 24

In 27 AD Tiberius forbade any private citizen to hold a mūnus if that citizen was worth fewer than how many sesterces?

Answer 24

400,000

Question 25

What two ancient institutions were abolished by the emperor Theodosius I?

Answer 25

VESTAL VIRGINS (380) AND OLYMPIC GAMES (393)

Question 26

When had the Olympic Games first been held, according to tradition?

Answer 26

776 BC

Question 27

What was the penalty for insulting a Vestal Virgin?

Answer 27

BEING BEATEN TO DEATH

Question 28

You are meeting with a Latin-speaking architect about a new house. What specific part of the house is the architect discussing with you when she mentions imbricēs?

Answer 28

THE ROOF(-TILES) / CEILING / TECTUM

Question 29

The architect next mentions opus caementicium and opus quadratum. What specific part of the house is the architect discussing when she mentions these terms?

Answer 29

THE WALL(S) / MURĪ / PARIETĒS

Question 30

The house is finished and it is finally time to move in! The movers come up to you and ask where to place the arca which is filled with the money of the paterfamiliās. Give the Latin name for the room in which the arca would traditionally be placed.

Answer 30

TABLĪNUM

Question 31

Latin names, even more than our own, usually had some connection to common nouns, and their owners, as we are, were subject to good-natured or bad-natured puns. What was the meaning of the common noun scipiō?

Answer 31

CANE, WALKING STICK

Question 32

Whose name came from the noun meaning 'chickpea'?

Answer 32

CICERO'S

Question 33

What do we call that which the Romans called the Vergiliae?

Answer 33

THE PLEIADES

Question 34

Give the Latin term for the optional fee that patrons would pay to fashionable schools that didn’t charge explicit fees?

Answer 34

HONORARIUM

Question 35

Along with holidays like Saturnalia and religious festivals, what days would students habitually get off from school?

Answer 35

NUNDINAE / MARKET DAYS

Question 36

What was the Latin term for the gallery attached to a public building in which school was often held?

Answer 36

PERGULA

Question 37

Regulations generally prevent animal abuse in films or stage productions in the modern world, but that was not the case for the Romans. What event in ancient Rome occurred in amphitheaters and involved the hunting and killing of wild animals?

Answer 37

VĒNĀTIŌ

Question 38

What name is given to individuals who voluntarily or involuntarily fought animals in a vēnātiō?

Answer 38

BESTIĀRIĪ / VENATORES

Question 39

Gladiators, too, were sometimes forced to fight to the death for entertainment. What name is given to the feast on the eve of gladiatorial combat, held for those who would fight in the arena on the next day?

Answer 39

CĒNA LĪBERA

Question 40

Respondē Latīnē: Ex quō frūctū vēnit amurca?

Answer 40

(EX) OLĪVĪS

Question 41

Respondē aut Latīnē aut Anglīcē: Quāle vīnum in Italiā antīquā optimum et pretiōsissimum habēbātur?

Answer 41

(VĪNUM) FALERNUM / FALERNIAN WINE OR (VĪNUM) CAECUBUM / CAECUBAN WINE

Question 42

Respondē Latīnē: Quid nōminātur tempus dormiendī post prandium?

Answer 42

MERĪDIĀTIŌ

Question 43

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15MYnABZiz5jOPIrRBNEx90c-uTg-6OVk/edit?tab=t.0 Did you know that you have rights? Provided is a list of questions you may or may not have as a Roman of the late Republic. Looking at the laws on the right hand side of the page, please provide the letter corresponding to the law which would best answer the legal question on the left labeled 1.

Answer 43

D

Question 44

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15MYnABZiz5jOPIrRBNEx90c-uTg-6OVk/edit?tab=t.0 Now, please provide the letter corresponding to the law which would best answer the legal question labeled as 2.

Answer 44

E

Question 45

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15MYnABZiz5jOPIrRBNEx90c-uTg-6OVk/edit?tab=t.0 Finally, please identify the letter corresponding to the law which would not directly answer any of the questions on the left.

Answer 45

B

Question 46

Dīc numerīs Rōmānīs septuaginta.

Answer 46

LXX

Question 47

Dīc numerīs Rōmānīs sēdecim et vigintī septem

Answer 47

XLIII / XVI ET XXVII

Question 48

Dīc numerīs Rōmānīs numerum minimum quī nequeat dīvidī aliīs numerīs nīsī eōdem et ūnō.

Answer 48

II

Question 49

Respondē aut Anglicē aut Latīnē: Ubi Rōmānī dēsultōrēs, venetōs, bīgās, et spīnam vidērent?

Answer 49

CIRCUS

Question 50

Respondē Latīnē: Ubi Rōmānī ōllās, titulōs, columbārium, et sarcophagōs vidērent?

Answer 50

(IN) SEPULCRŌ / TUMULŌ

Question 51

Respondē Latīnē: Ubi Rōmānī molam, catīllum, frūmentum, et pistōrem invenīrent?

Answer 51

(IN) PISTRĪNĀ

Question 52

The Latin terms amphorae, dōlia, mustum, and ūvae all relate to the manufacturing of what important product for the ancient Romans?

Answer 52

WINE

Question 53

What was mustum?

Answer 53

GRAPE JUICE / UNFERMENTED JUICE

Question 54

What was the name for the drink made from mixing wine and honey?

Answer 54

(VĪNUM) MULSUM

Question 55

Responde Latinē: quis in familiā Rōmānā est soror mātris tuae?

Answer 55

MĀTERTERA

Question 56

Responde Latinē: quis in familiā Rōmānā est soror patris tuī?

Answer 56

AMITA

Question 57

Responde Latinē: quis in familiā Rōmānā est pater aviae tuae?

Answer 57

PROAVUS

Question 58

By what name were specialized gladiators who fought from chariots known?

Answer 58

ESSEDĀRIUS / ESSEDĀRIĪ

Question 59

The Romans often staged elaborate hunting sequences as part of gladiatorial shows. By what name were the gladiators who participated in these mock hunts known?

Answer 59

VĒNĀTOR(ĒS) / BĒSTIĀRIUS / BĒSTIĀRIĪ

Question 60

Name the type of performance in which the Romans flooded the floor of the stadium and pitched mock naval battles.

Answer 60

NAUMACHIA

Question 61

Where in a wealthy patron’s house would his clients gather to receive their sportula?

Answer 61

VESTIBULUM / ĀTRIUM

Question 62

What was the Latin term for the entrance doorway, not the door, of the house through which one entered into the vestibulum courtyard?

Answer 62

ŌSTIUM (NOT IANUA or FORĒS, that’s the door itself)

Question 63

What important part of a confarreātiō began in the vestibulum?

Answer 63

DĒDUCTIŌ

Question 64

What type of wall facing was formed by arranging the square side of pyramid-shaped blocks in a net-like pattern?

Answer 64

OPUS RĒTICULĀTUM

Question 65

Of what specific type of limestone were these blocks typically made?

Answer 65

TUFA

Question 66

What is the Latin term for a wall constructed of squared stone blocks laid in parallel rows?

Answer 66

OPUS QUADRĀTUM

Question 67

What Latin term was used for the folding-chair with curved ivory legs used by senators?

Answer 67

SELLA CŪRŪLIS

Question 68

What term describes a solid, straight, high-back chair with arms?

Answer 68

SOLIUM

Question 69

What type of relatively comfortable chair lacked arms, possessed a curved back, and was originally only used by women?

Answer 69

CATHEDRA

Question 70

What was the term for the trustworthy slave that accompanied the boy of a rich family to school?

Answer 70

PAEDAGŌGUS / PEDISEQUUS / COMES / CUSTŌS / MONITOR / RĒCTOR

Question 71

What type of slave accompanied his master and prompted him if he forgot the name of someone who greeted him?

Answer 71

NŌMENCLĀTOR

Question 72

What type of slave operated similarly to a butler and was responsible for doing the buying, keeping the accounts, and supervising the house and furniture?

Answer 72

ĀTRIĒNSIS

Question 73

The Romans had a different system of reckoning dates than we do today. Express today’s date, July 27, as the Romans would, in Latin.

Answer 73

(ANTE DIEM) SEXTUM KALENDĀS AUGUSTĀS

Question 74

Now express the traditional date without the year of the foundation of Rome as the Romans might have.

Answer 74

(ANTE DIEM) ŪNDECIMUM KALENDĀS MĀIĀS (April 21)

Question 75

Finally, express the date without the year of US Independence Day as the Romans might have.

Answer 75

(ANTE DIEM) QUĀRTUM NŌNĀS IŪLIĀS (July 4)

Question 76

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1eWjhVQnvF606EGPfc5kCpU3fFAS4xUvf Identify the type of wagon shown in letter B.

Answer 76

CARRUCA / RAEDA

Question 77

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1eWjhVQnvF606EGPfc5kCpU3fFAS4xUvf Give the letter that corresponds to a summum dorsum.

Answer 77

B

Question 78

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1eWjhVQnvF606EGPfc5kCpU3fFAS4xUvf Give the letter that corresponds to the umbo.

Answer 78

C

Question 79

Nūcleus, rūdus, dorsum, statūmen are all associated with what facet of Roman life?

Answer 79

ROADS

Question 80

What law of the late fourth century BC increased the number of pontificēs from five to nine and opened the Roman priesthood to plebeians?

Answer 80

LĒX OGULNIA

Question 81

Which law of 215 BC, championed by Cato the Elder, forbade Roman women to wear multicolored garments or possess more than half an ounce of gold?

Answer 81

LĒX OPPIA

Question 82

Which law, passed in either 326 BC or 313 BC, abolished the contractual form of debt-bondage known as nexum?

Answer 82

LĒX POETELIA / PAPĪRIA

Question 83

What is the Latin term for the grave-pits into which the bodies of the friendless poor were unceremoniously dumped?

Answer 83

PUTICULĪ

Question 84

On what hill were the puticulī?

Answer 84

ESQUILINE

Question 85

During the reign of Augustus, who converted this area into a garden?

Answer 85

MAECENAS