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EDICTVM DE LVDI APOLLINARES MMDCCLXI A.V.C.

Ex Officio Praetor Urbanus and Praetor Peregrinus Novæ Romæ

1. According to the Official Calendar of Nova Roma festivals, from July 6th to July 13th, the Ludi Apollinares will be celebrated. 2. The celebration will be held in honor of Apollo. The contests are organized by both Praetores and the Praetorian Cohors. 3. We, the Praetor Urbanus, the Praetor Peregrinus and our Cohors, have the honor to present the Ludi Apollinares program:

I July 6th:

• - Opening.
• - Religious Celebrations.

II July 7th to 12:

- History. - Photo, video, and historic contests.

II July 13th:

- Results and closing ceremony.

4 The Photo and Video Contest will consist of making a photo or video using one of the themes below (only original entries will be accepted):

a) Apollo. b) Open door lunch or dinner. (A tradition during the Ludi Apollinares was to have lunch or dinner with open doors).

5 The Certamen Historicum will be about the Punic Wars. The questions will be displayed in two groups: one group of 10 questions on Monday 7th June evening, a second group of 15 questions on the evening of Tuesday 8th. The answers are to be sent to: praetores.novaroma2008@gmail.com Before - Thursday 10th 20:30 Rome time for Monday set; - Friday 11th 20:30 Rome time for Tuesday set. You can note that you have one additional day to answer the second group of questions, which counts more questions.

6 There will be a single jury for both contests. The members of the jury will be Consul T. Iulius Sabinus, Censor K. Fabius Buteo Modianus, and Aedile Curulis P. Memmius Albucius.

7 The winners of the Photo and Video Contest and the Certamen Historicum, will be presented with the Corona Ludi Humanitas. Being this year, consecrated to Dea Concordia, the year of Nova Roma’s 10th anniversary, the Praetores will exceptionally use the same award as in the Aedilician Ludi, to reinforce the concept of unity of all Nova Romans.

This Edictum takes force immediately.

Given by our hands, a.d. III Non. Quin. ‡ M. Moravio T. Iulio cos. ‡ MMDCCLXI a.u.c.

M. CVRIATIVS COMPLVTENSIS PRÆTOR VRBANVS

M. IVLIVS SEVERVS PRÆTOR PEREGRINVS

To read about the history of the Ludi Apollinares click here

The Opening Ceremony

In a brief but emotive ceremony, presided over by the Prætores of Nova Roma, the Ludi Apollinares were declared open yesterday, pr. Non. Quint. M. Moravio T. Iulio cos. MMDCCLXI a.V.c (July 6th, 2008)

I, Marcus Curiatius Complutensis, Prætor Urbanus, for myself and on the behalf of my colleague Marcus Iulius Severus, Prætor Peregrinus kindly ask you, Quirites, to join us and our Consuls, Magistrates and our whole Senate, to pray, with the support of our Collegium Pontificum and other religious officers, to the Great Apollo.

Come, O God, kind patron, come! May you favor us in your presence. O Sol, whose light embraces the world, you orbit inexhaustible, forever returning, your face glowing on each day, your horses harnessed as a team to drive your chariot, with manes braided pleasantly they rise high, passing over rose-red clouds as you rein their frothing fires. Apollo, may every good fortune attend the Roman people, the Quirites. We beg and pray that you may increase the sovereign power and majesty of the Roman people, the Quirites, in war and peace; as you have always watched over us. Forever may you grant safety, victory and health to the Roman people, the Quirites. May you bestow your favor on the Roman people, the Quirites, and on the legions of the Roman people, the Quirites. May you preserve the health and welfare of the people of Rome, the Quirites, and may you always remain willingly favorable and propitious to the people of Rome, the Quirites. May you be honored forever, and become favorable and propitious to the Roman people, the Quirites. Become favorable and propitious. An offering we gladly give You, Phoebus, a box of fragrant incense.

And last, allow me as Prætor Urbanus, to gladly announce to all the citizens of our Res publica:

Quirites, I declare our Ludi Apollinares open!

The Certamen Historicum de bellis poenicis

Salvete Lusores and you all, Quirites!

I have been very glad to be honored having been asked by our Praetores, as aedilis curulis, to propose a 25 questions set. This honor has been underlined by the quality of the other members of the jury which has judged this contest under Pr. Severus' supervision : Censor Modianus and Consul Sabinus sat in it in the first ranks.

In this frame of these 25 questions, we jury chose to propose a various bunch of questions, to get out of the usual military ones. Happily, there is much and much to learn left on this passionating time of our Roman history. A good answer brought to all these 25 questions below could give 47 points, which we had decided to add one extra point to, for every date mentioned in Roman calendar, either instead or in complement with the classic christian calendar. This possibility has not been used by our competitors. A few questions asked more reflection: they have thus been better rewarded (4 or 3 points). The average ones have received 2 points, and the easiest, in our mind, have got 1 point.

Here you find beneath the correct version of this Ludi Apollinares Contest. For general complementary historical informations, please check the usual sources.

On behalf of the Apollinares Cert. Hist. Contest Jury,
Censor K. Fabius Buteo Modianus, Cos. T. Iulius Sabinus, and cur. aed. P. Memmius Albucius, all under the supervision of
Praetor M. Iulius Severus and collega Curiatus.

P. Memmius Albucius

Certamen poenicum first group of questions (1 to 10)

This is the first group of questions for the Certamen Historicum of the Ludi Apollinares MMDCCLXI:

1. How many Punic wars have been fought?

• Answer : 3 Punic wars : no problem for all the competitors.
  
• The correct answer has been rewarded with 1 point.

2. Which event has marked the approval of the treaty ending the First Punic War?

• Answer : This question has made all the candidates fall. Its subtility was in its title. One had to care about the word "approval". In ancient Rome, the treaties were negotiated by the consules or the praetores, sometimes with instructions by the Senate, but always submitted to an approval towards the people in a comitium. Here, the people refused first to approve the treaty and it was therefore decided to send ten delegates to study the question.
• The correct answer has been rewarded by 2 points.

3. How many Punic boats did the Roman fleet sink and capture during the last sea battle?

• Answer : No problem for all the lusores: 50 sunk and 70 captured.
• The correct answer has been rewarded by 2 points.

4. How many quinqueremes did Rome (no less than) and Carthage (around) loose during the First Punic War?

• Answer : No problem for all the lusores: Rome 700, Carthage 500.
  
• The correct answer has been rewarded with 2 points.

5. Who were both generals in chief who negotiated the treaty closing the First Punic War?

• Answer : This rather easy question has given problems to some lusores. They had to read "generals in chief", and so draw that there were just one on each side, Lutatius, the Roman consul, and Hamilcar Barca for Carthage.
• The correct answer has been rewarded by 1 point.

6. Probably a few months after the end of the First Punic War, Carthage had to fight another war. What is its name?

• Answer : No problem for all the lusores: Mercenaries' war. "Mercenary" (singular) has been accepted.
• The correct answer has been rewarded by 2 points.

7. A second treaty was signed between Carthage and Rome in 238 BC. What are its two main clauses?

• Answer : Various results on this question. Both clauses were :
  

- Carthage let Sardinia to Rome (also Corsica, but Sardinia was the most important one, for both fighters);
- the Punics give a new 1,200 talents indemnity to the Romans.

• The correct answer has been rewarded by 2 points.

8. How much Carthage accepted to give to Rome in war indemnities, before the beginning of the Second Punic War?

• Answer : Only one competitor gives the exact answer : 4,400 talents, specifying : "3,200 talents (241 BCE treaty) plus 1,200 talents (238 BCE treaty)".

• The correct answer has been rewarded by 3 points for both calculation and attention that ought to be given to the "before the beginning of the 2nd PW".

9. In which metal were counted these indemnities?

• Answer : Contrary to what we, modern cives, may think, gold was not that looked for in the antiquity. The Mediterranean economy, and thus Rome's one, which was not that preeminent in the 3rd century before christian era, would trade with silver. These indemnities were thus counted and payed in silver. Spain, that Carthage fought fiercely for, was rich in silver mines.

• The correct answer has been rewarded by 1 point.

10. At July 4th, 2008 rate (London 1 kg), how much the whole indemnity evoked in question 9 would be worth in the current currency
of the country where is Carthage (rounded at the closest 100,000 units)?

• Answer : The hardest thing here was first taking silver in account and not gold, then the calculation and its successive steps. Every competitor has well noted that Carthago is now in Tunisia, whose money is the tunisian "dinar", the word of this currency, common to several nowadays Arab countries, coming from our Roman "denarius". Without knowing the exact final amount, we had to tell ourselves that a small amount (for ex. several millions of dinars) or a huge amount (billions of billions) should probably be both wrong.
  The Mediterranean is, as a very interesting point, very steady on several centuries: the metal weight units, and their currency rate will remain steady on 300 years.
  A hundred years ago, before the Punic wars, Phoenicia and its colonies had yet adopted the Greek, called "Attic", talent. This talent has been recorded between 25.86 kilos minimum, and 26.20 maximum. In 189 BCE, in the treaty of Apamea, the Romans will specify to King Antiochos that the indemnity that he will have to pay Rome will be paid in Attic silver talents, each talent being equal to 80 Roman pounds, which puts the talent at 26 kilos, so the average weight of our above 'fork'.
  But for the PW, Polybios well specifies that Carthaginians have to pay in "Euboïc" talents. The Euboïc talent is close to the second Attic one (the older Attic being at 36 kg). The Euboïc weighs 25.92 kilos. At the end of the 2nd Punic War, the Euboïc will once again be used to calculate the indeminities of war.
  On the 4th July of 2008, the silver lingot in London metal stock exchange was at 581,61 U.S. dollars, which gives a 25,92 kilos talent at 15,075 usd. A global indemnity of 4,400 talents was thus equal to 66,331,457 usd, or, with a rate of 1.157 tunisian dinars for one dollar, 76,745,496 dinars.
  
• As it was probably the hardest question, it has been rewarded by 4 points. We have chosen to give at least an 1/2 point to those who have built their calculation on a wrong basis, for ex. taking gold instead of silver. We have just deprived the competitor which has given an amount around 96-98 millions dinars, of 0.5 points (difference btw Euboïc-Roman talent at 1.25), considering that his whole calculation was good and sharp.
  

Certamen poenicum second group of questions (11 to 25)

11. What is the relation between the generals in chief during the First and the Secod Punic Wars?

12. How old was the Carthaginian general in chief when the the Second Punic War begins?

13. The Second Punic War Carthaginian army has probably crossed the Rhône river not far towards a city where, later, were to stay popes. What is the name of this French city ?

14. The Second Punic War was a “war of brothers”: give the names of both generals. in chief's brothers.

15. Last June 2007, an internet publication, linked to Nova Roma issued an article on the battle of the Trebbia. What is the name of this publication?

16. What is the lexical and toponymic common point of the Punic victories won in Italy before 216 BC?

17. Give the average (Polybius, Livy) number of Romans who died in Cannae?

18. Several Mediterranean villages or cities still bear names formed around the punic root "mars/mers (for example, Mers-el-Kebir, Marsala, La Marsa, etc.). What does it mean?

19. How greater is the war indemnity that Carthage is forced to pay in 202 BC, compared to the First Punic War's one (rounded to 0.02)?

20. How died Sophonisbe?

21. One king “belonged” to Scipio triumph in 201-200 BC. Who was he ?

22. Hannibal honored a temple of Iuno Lacinia on Cape Lacinium, south of Crotone, during the Second Punic War. Before the Third Punic War, a Roman censor stole half its roof. Who was this censor and when did this happen?

23. He married his elder son to Scipio Aemilianus's sister. Who is he and when does he die?

24. Cádiz, as many Mediterranean important cities, was founded by Phoenicians (Punics). When, and what meant its Phoenician name, Gadir?

25. Another old trading renowned city was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC. What was its name?

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