[Destro]

Aramaic I can see--but Latin? Mel made a historical and biased error on his part. Latin was almost never used by the Romans in the eastern provinces and most Romans spoke Greek better than they did Latin. When Pilot talked to Jesus he talked to him in Greek (or to his Aramaic translator in Greek).

[friendly]

As I recall the only Latin in the film is spoken by the Romans under Pontius Pilate. Independent sources identify him as a Roman who spoke and wrote in Latin. Gibson is on an mission to be as absolutely accurate as possible.

[ffusco]

"Latin was almost never used by the Romans in the eastern provinces." Correct those people of the Hellenic sphere of influence spoke Greek, but as a part of the empire, they were not Romans. They were Roman subjects and Romanization never took hold there.

Also it was legal to conduct any civic matter or legislation in Greek or Latin, as The Romans had turned Greece into a vast university system.


"Most Romans spoke Greek better than they did Latin".
The half -a-dozen Romance languages that exist seem to contradict that.

[maro]

"Most Romans"? Perhaps the very elite, who had tutors, but the average legionary spoke lingua latina. That's why the French and Spanish and Roumanians speak Romance languages, not a Greek patois. "INRI" is a Latin abbreviation, by the way.

[TradicalRC]

Curious then, that Pilate wrote the inscriptions on the Cross in Hebrew, Latin and Greek.

[Rytwyng]

Latin was almost never used by the Romans in the eastern provinces and most Romans spoke Greek better than they did Latin.

CENTURION: What's this, then? 'Romanes Eunt Domus'? 'People called Romanes they go the house'?
BRIAN: It-- it says, 'Romans, go home'.
CENTURION: No, it doesn't. What's Latin for 'Roman'? Come on!
BRIAN: Aah!
CENTURION: Come on!
BRIAN: 'R-- Romanus'?
CENTURION: Goes like...?
BRIAN: 'Annus'?
CENTURION: Vocative plural of 'annus' is...?
BRIAN: Eh. 'Anni'?
CENTURION: 'Romani'. 'Eunt'? What is 'eunt'?
BRIAN: 'Go'. Let--
CENTURION: Conjugate the verb 'to go'.
BRIAN: Uh. 'Ire'. Uh, 'eo'. 'Is'. 'It'. 'Imus'. 'Itis'. 'Eunt'.
CENTURION: So 'eunt' is...?
BRIAN: Ah, huh, third person plural, uh, present indicative. Uh, 'they go'.
CENTURION: But 'Romans, go home' is an order, so you must use the...?
BRIAN: The... imperative!
CENTURION: Which is...?
BRIAN: Umm! Oh. Oh. Um, 'i'. 'I'!
CENTURION: How many Romans?
BRIAN: Ah! 'I'-- Plural. Plural. 'Ite'. 'Ite'.
CENTURION: 'Ite'.
BRIAN: Ah. Eh.
CENTURION: 'Domus'?
BRIAN: Eh.
CENTURION: Nominative?
BRIAN: Oh.
CENTURION: 'Go home'? This is motion towards. Isn't it, boy?
BRIAN: Ah. Ah, dative, sir! Ahh! No, not dative! Not the dative, sir! No! Ah! Oh, the... accusative! Accusative! Ah! 'Domum', sir! 'Ad domum'! Ah! Oooh! Ah!
CENTURION: Except that 'domus' takes the...?
BRIAN: The locative, sir!
CENTURION: Which is...?!
BRIAN: 'Domum'.
CENTURION: 'Domum'.
BRIAN: Aaah! Ah.
CENTURION: 'Um'. Understand?
BRIAN: Yes, sir.
CENTURION: Now, write it out a hundred times.
BRIAN: Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Hail Caesar, sir.
CENTURION: Hail Caesar. If it's not done by sunrise, I'll cut your balls off.
BRIAN: Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Hail Caesar and everything, sir! Oh. Mmm!