Talk:Xanthias

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Xanthias trades jokes about the master-servant relationship with a nice maid who likes him. This explains why their "pickup lines" almost lead to kissing, only to be interrupted by the final poetry contest.

Someone in the manuscript history replaced the maid with Aeacus, which makes no sense at all, despite many classical reviewers then try to find meaning. Here's one translation - the joke is domestic servants getting aroused by gossiping about their masters:

 Slave:
   Rumours?  Ahhhh!  When I do that sort of thing, I'm... I'm... I'm in sexual ecstasy!  Pure orgasmic sensation!
 Xanthias:
   Oh, Phoebus Apollo! Give me your right hand! And now let us kiss each other!

Replacing "Slave" with "Aeacus" here wouldn't even work if Xanthias weren't straight; other scenes establish he is. And Aeacus is the guy who was whipping him, two scenes back...