Martia Dementia 2024

To the victor—whoever finishes with the best bracket—belong the spoils. Before getting to the prizes, here is how the competition will work. Please read through the process carefully. For reference, we are providing a PDF of the bracket that you can use with your classes, but be sure to submit your final choices via the online system.

The Bracket

When you access the online Martia Dementia bracket, click the “Submit your bracket!” button to start making your selections. You will be prompted to enter your name and email address; we need this information so that we can track and notify the winners of the competition once Martia Dementia is completed. After signing up, you will be asked to predict a winner for each game in the bracket. 

If you would like to view your prediction bracket, simply click on the link to “View My Prediction.” We recommend saving a copy of your bracket at this point so that you can keep track of how you are doing as the competition progresses. With our online submission system, you can also easily share your prediction bracket via email or social media—a great way to show off how you’re doing, or earn some pity points if your bracket is going poorly. 

We are also providing a PDF copy of the bracket here (for reference only) in case you would like to print a copy of the bracket and fill one in with your class. However, we are not accepting scanned brackets, so make sure that you also submit the bracket online.

Brackets will be accepted through Wednesday, March 20.

The Survey

We cannot stress enough the importance of voting. When the survey goes live, cast your votes! Get your friends to vote for your picks. Teachers, get your students to stuff the survey with favorable votes!

Victori Spolia

Stay Connected

Remember, brackets close March 20, and the first round of voting will begin March 21.     

Bracket and Other Resources

• Access the online bracket
• Access a printable bracket (for reference only) 
• Access a description of all Martia Dementia 2024 figures

Voting Schedule

• Round 1: March 21–22
• Round 2: March 23–26
• Round 3 (Sweet 16): March 28–29
• Quarterfinals (Elite 8): March 30–April 2
• Semifinals (Final 4): April 3–5
• Final (Championship): April 6–9

Cerberus Wins: Martia Dementia 2023 Recap

Martia Dementia 2023 brought back some popular players—mythical monsters—to face off against an array of ancient deities. Medusa, Medea’s dragons, and many more steeled themselves to fight the likes of Sterquilinus (Roman god of dung!), triple-bodied Hecate, and esoteric Etruscan god of the underworld, Lur. Among the divine challengers, a few emerged as early fan favorites. Sol Invictus, said to be “unconquered,” trounced the competitive field until succumbing to the goddess of victory herself, Nike. Hypnos and Thanatos, working as a pair, put in a good showing as well. Meanwhile, monsters dominated from the beginning: from the giant automaton Talos to the hundred-handed Hecatoncheires, these creatures proved their mettle.

Magistra Farkas's winning class.

In the end, the literal underdog of the competition—Cerberus, three-headed canine resident of the underworld—reigned victorious. Beating out several gods (Flora, Veiovis, Asclepius), Cerberus defeated mother of monsters Echidna before handily dispensing with Nike, a true upset. In the finals, Cerberus finished off Talos to run away with the championship win.

Once again, thank you to all participants, who helped make this year’s contest a resounding success. Have strong feelings about this year’s winners? Hope to see a particular ancient figure featured in next year’s contest? Tweet @BCPublishers what and who you would like to see and include the hashtag #MartiaDementia or give feedback in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!

Winner Derek Sanders and some of his students.

Martia Dementia 2023

See the downloadable, printable PDF of the Roman Calendar here, showcasing artwork and imagery associated with twelve of this year’s Martia Dementia participants. For a variety of mythical monster activities, scroll to the bottom of our Distance Learning page to find an online matching game, printable templates to create a Guess Who?–style board game, and more.

To the victor—whoever finishes with the best bracket—belong the spoils. Before getting to the prizes, here is how the competition will work. Please read through the process carefully. For reference, we are providing a PDF of the bracket that you can use with your classes, but be sure to submit your final choices via the online system.

The Bracket

Starting today, complete and submit a bracket to be eligible for wondrous prizes. Please access and submit your bracket online via the following link: Martia Dementia 2023 Bracket. You can also find the bracket at the bottom of this blog post.

When you access the online Martia Dementia bracket, click the “Submit your bracket!” button to start making your selections. You will be prompted to enter your name and email address; we need this information so that we can track and notify the winners of the competition once Martia Dementia is completed. After signing up, you will be asked to predict a winner for each game in the bracket.  

For each round, you view a set of contestants that will "face off" against one another. Predict and select your winner for each "contest" in the bracket.

At the bottom of this post, you will find a link to a PDF showing short descriptions of each of this year’s Martia Dementia participants. You can access the same descriptions by clicking on the photo of a given figure in the bracket.

Clicking on a god or monster will bring up a short description.

We are also providing a PDF copy of the bracket here (for reference only) in case you would like to print a copy of the bracket and fill one in with your class. However, we are not accepting scanned brackets, so make sure that you also submit the bracket online.

Brackets will be accepted through Wednesday, March 15 (the Ides of March!).

The Survey

A voting survey will be made available on Thursday, March 16, where you can vote for your picks. Whichever figures have the most votes by the time the survey closes will advance through the round. Actively participating in the survey betters your chances at winning. We will announce via social media when voting for each round has opened.

We cannot stress enough the importance of voting. When the survey goes live, cast your votes! Get your friends to vote for your picks. Teachers, get your students to stuff the survey with favorable votes!

Victori Spolia

This competition is not solely for bringing glory to your favorite ancient writer or bird. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers is offering book prizes for the brackets that most closely resemble the final results; a $100 book credit will be awarded to the first-place participant, a $50 credit to the second-place participant, and a $25 credit to the third-place participant. Feeling like you no longer stand a chance? Do not give up! There will also be a $25 credit for having the most abysmal bracket! 

Stay Connected

Be sure to bookmark this post and check back here to access the link to the voting bracket. Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates as the competition progresses.

Remember, brackets close March 15, and the first round of voting will begin March 16.                                   

Bracket and Other Resources

Access the online bracket

Access a printable bracket (for reference only) 

Access a description of all Martia Dementia 2023 figures

Voting Schedule:

·         Round 1: March 16–17

·         Round 2: March 18–21

·         Round 3 (Sweet 16): March 23–24

·         Quarterfinals (Elite 8): March 25–28

·         Semifinals (Final 4): March 30–31

·         Final (Championship): April 1–4

Note that each round of voting will open at 7:30 a.m. central time and close at 4:00 p.m. central time on the designated days. 

Poisonous Ducks Win: Martia Dementia 2022 Recap

Martia Dementia 2022 featured a fierce competition, pitting humans against avian foes. Our ancient author field covered writers from Athens to Rome and beyond, some quite archaic (Homer, Sappho), and some relatively more modern (Perpetua, Augustine). Whether poets, historians, playwrights, or philosophers, these writers wielded their all-mighty pens—styli?—against mythological winged creatures, ominous raptors, domestic fowl of note, and more.

The championship was hotly contested by the sacred chickens of Rome and the poisonous ducks of Pontus.

Round one saw the advancement of Homer, easily defeating the eagle of Zeus, then later the ossifragus, the bonebreaker bird. While comic Plautus and saintly poet Aelia Eudocia fell out of the competition early on, Menander rallied against the ostrich, known to the ancients as the sparrow-camel. Apollonius of Rhodes failed in his foray against the famed harpies, whom he had described attacking the Argonauts in his own epic. Meanwhile, Seneca the Younger could not repel the sacred chickens of Rome, who proved blessed by the gods. Roman poets Vergil, Lucretius, and Ovid did quite well, however, as did several historians and the mathematician and scientist Perpetua.

Poets continued to hold their own against birds large and small: Homer was able to overtake the sirens, the bird-women of the Odyssey, before matching up with (and winning against) Catullus. Vergil, who handily beat last year’s champion, the phoenix, continued into round three—where the powerful pulli, the sacred chickens, were too formidable. Of all the authors, Ovid came the closest to winning the contest, but in the semifinals, he succumbed to King Mithridates’s poisonous ducks. The final battle in the championship round was bird vs. bird, as the sacred chickens of Rome fought the poisonous ducks of Pontus beak and nail. While Rome famously defeated Pontus, the same was not true of each respective state’s representative birds. The poisonous ducks brought down the sacred chickens, reigning victorious in Martia Dementia 2022! If you'd like to see the full bracket results, you can access them here.

Thank you to all who participated this year in Martia Dementia. Our top scorer was Charlie White of Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth, TX. Second place goes to Alek Balassa of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, IL. Rounding out the top three: Magistra Farkas’s Latin 2 class at Belmont High School in Belmont, MA. Congrats to these astute winners, who all selected their bracket matches with care and great forethought. In contrast, Ava Stumpf of New Trier Township High School achieved the most abysmal bracket, barely progressing past the first round of voting.

Once again, thank you to all participants, who helped make this year’s contest a resounding success. Have strong feelings about this year’s winners? Hope to see a particular ancient figure featured in next year’s contest? Tweet @BCPublishers what and who you would like to see and include the hashtag #MartiaDementia or give feedback in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!

Martia Dementia 2022

The snows have fled, now the grass returns to the fields
    and the leaves to the trees. (Horace, 4.7.1–2)

As we emerge from the cold, snowy days of winter, we not only encounter the greenery and renewal that springtime heralds: we also embark on our yearly Martia Dementia celebrations, now in their eighth year! In 2021, the best military commanders of the ancient world met their match in competition with birds. Shockingly, the birds emerged triumphant, and the immortal phoenix took (and perhaps burned to ashes) the laurel wreath. This year, the birds are back and ready to flaunt their fearlessness. Their challengers? Ancient Greek and Roman writers, in part inspired by our newest Explore Latin reader on theater and comedy! In Explore Latin: Lūdī Scaenicī by Christopher Bungard, information is presented about playwrights and poets like Menander, Livius Andronicus, Ennius, Plautus, and Terence. These authors, and many more, will now have to prove their Martia Dementia mettle. 

To the victor—whoever finishes with the best bracket—belong the spoils. Before getting to the prizes, here is how the competition will work. Please read through the process carefully: this year we will continue to use an online bracket and voting system. For reference, we are providing a PDF of the bracket that you can use with your classes, but be sure to submit your final choices via the online system.

The Bracket

Starting today, complete and submit a bracket to be eligible for wondrous prizes. Please access and submit your bracket online via the following link: Martia Dementia 2022 Bracket. 

If you would like to view your prediction bracket, simply click on the link to “View My Prediction.” We recommend saving a copy of your bracket at this point so that you can keep track of how you are doing as the competition progresses. With our online submission system, you can also easily share your prediction bracket via email or social media—a great way to show off how you’re doing, or earn some pity points if your bracket is going poorly. 

We are also providing a PDF copy of the bracket here (for reference only) in case you would like to print a copy of the bracket and fill one in with your class. However, we are not accepting scanned brackets this year, so make sure that you also submit the bracket online.

Brackets will be accepted through March 16.

The Survey

A voting survey will be made available on March 17, where you can vote for your picks. Whichever figures have the most votes by the time the survey closes will advance through the round. Actively participating in the survey betters your chances at winning. We will announce via social media when voting for each round has opened.

We cannot stress enough the importance of voting. When the survey goes live, cast your votes! Get your friends to vote for your picks. Teachers, get your students to stuff the survey with favorable votes!

Victori Spolia

This competition is not solely for bringing glory to your favorite ancient writer or bird. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers is offering book prizes for the brackets that most closely resemble the final results; a $100 book credit will be awarded to the first-place participant, a $50 credit to the second-place participant, and a $25 credit to the third-place participant. Feeling like you no longer stand a chance? Do not give up! There will also be a $25 credit for having the most abysmal bracket! 

Stay Connected

Be sure to bookmark this post and check back here to access the link to the voting bracket. Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates as the competition progresses.

Remember, brackets close March 16, and the first round of voting will begin March 17.

Bracket and Other Resources

Access the online bracket
Access a printable bracket (for reference only) 
Access a description of all Martia Dementia 2022 figures

Access a short explainer on submitting a bracket

Voting Schedule

• Round 1: March 17–18
• Round 2: March 19–22
• Round 3 (Sweet 16): March 24–25
• Quarterfinals (Elite 8): March 26–29
• Semifinals (Final 4): March 31–April 1
• Final (Championship): April 4–6

Note that each round of voting will open at 7:30 a.m. central time and close at 4:00 p.m. central time on the designated days.