Burrowed under the Latin courtyard garden beds are two unusual class pets.

Hannibal the ornate box turtle, named after the Carthaginian general, has lived in the courtyard for more than 12 years. A custodian donated the newest turtle to the Latin courtyard last summer.

“We have not yet named the second turtle, we’re having a naming contest,” Latin teacher Jason Lichte said.

Students from his Latin classes pitched names for their new addition. The top three names were creatively modified from those of heroes and emperors. The current choices are “Slow”dysseus, “Shell”igula and Markus”Slow”relius.

“Odysseus was one of the Greek heros of the Trojan War; it was his idea to build the Trojan Horse,” Lichte said. “Caligula was a Roman emperor, so we’d name him “Shell”igula. Markus Slowrelius after one of the five good emperors. He was also a philosopher emperor, one of the last great stoic philosophers.”

Lichte plans to let the student body decide on the final name. The Latin Club will run a school-wide election to determine the new turtle’s name.