Caesar Wins: A Recap of Martia Dementia 2017

Hades got the victory over Athena and like, about half of the participants ripped their brackets in half. Cicero felled last year's champion Homer in the second round and finalist Augustus exited in the third. The door seemed wide open at this point but Zeus, ruler of the skies, and Caesar, ruler of everything on earth, proved most determined to advance to the finals. Advance they did, but int he end there could be only one, and that one was Caesar who, with a 431–54 victory, made history by becoming the third winner of Martia Dementia! Much like previous years, many narratives came out of the bracket as voting created conflict between these authors, philosophers, political figures, and gods, and there was plenty of opportunity for tothers. Who could have predicted Mark Antony and Caesar would meet once again? These narratives and the success of Martia Dementia happened all thanks to our participants.

Social Media and Editorial Assistant Connor

Hart can't seem to find what it takes to predict the

winning bracket. Maybe next year!

This was the third and by far the most successful year of Martia Dementia. I would like to thank all the teachers, professors, friends, students, and anyone I may have left out for their participation. I would also like to take time to acknowledge and congratulate the following for their success in this year's competition. First, to Thomas Howard of St. Ignatius College Prep-Chicago, IL. Thomas correctly picked all but fifteen picks in this year's Martia Dementia, including finalist and second-place competitor Zeus! Congratulations, Thomas! Second, to Michael Niebling, a student at Brophy College Preparatory School in Phoenix, AZ. He also managed to get only fifteen picks wrong and correctly guessed the finalist, and winner, Caesar! Congratulations, Michael! Lastly, to Ian Lobo, also a student at Brophy College Prep. Ian not only managed to correctly pick both finalists and the winner of Martia Dementia but he also managed, somehow, to make only fifteen incorrect picks in the process. This was enough to secure him the first place in our contest. Congratulations, Ian!

Still disappointed in how your brackets turned out? Want to prepare for a better outing next year? Ian let us know what it took to make his bracket a winning one:

When the dust settled, this is how the Martia Dementia

2017 bracket looked like, with Caesar as the victor.

Well, I wouldn’t call my picks much of a strategy but more like educated guesses. My main way of choosing was who is more known by the people entering this contest, because I felt as if  people would choose who they knew the most, as well as if the person they chose was good or bad. For the ones I didn’t know of, like Hesiod, a quick Google search provided me with the answer. As whether my strategy changed, not really but I just asked friends to just pick Caesar because he needs to win!

Looking forward to next year’s Martia Dementia? Already counting down the days? Want to see an author, politician, philosopher, or deity who did not make it into this year’s bracket? Tweet @BCPublishers what and whom you would like to see and include the hash tag #MartiaDementia, or give feedback in the comments below. Did you have questions or comments about how this year’s competition went? Were you able to find ways to incorporate Martia Dementia into the classroom, or do you have ideas of how you might next year? Comment below—I would love to hear from you!