Ecce Romani, or: How I Learned that the Greeks are Rome's Mafia
In high school, it's amazing how much time you have to contemplate really stupid things. We read Ecce Romani as our Latin text, and about 3/5 into the story, the Senator father Cornelius is called to Rome to serve. Naturally, the family goes with him, as well as the Greek slave/tutor, Eucleides. All goes smoothly along the Via Appia until their carriage's wheel breaks. Sun is setting, and there may not be enough time to repair the wheel and be on their way.
Fearing wolves, sleeping through the night in the carriage is verboten. There is an inn close by, but Aurelia believes that inns are dens of filth, and refuses to stay in an inn. Eucleides refutes her opinion, declaring, "I know the owner of that inn. He is a good man, and a Greek."
At this point, my friends and I begin to contemplate why Eucleides would elaborate that the owner was Greek. Was it not sufficient to simply be a good man? We believed that it was heavily implied that being a Greek meant something above and beyond the obvious. In our 15- and 16-year-old minds, it was clear that there were mob connections. Veritas!