h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just being a pedant, a placebo is not "the suggestion of a cure rather than any medical benefits". In fact placebo treatment can have health benefits, it just isnt a "real" medical procedure or drug. In the case with the electric eels, we would now see this as treating the placebo effect, i.e. giving an intervention we know shouldn't work, but does because people believe it works so feel better.

For example much traditional african medicine (or witchdoctors) treats the placebo effect, where ritual etc makes the patient expell "bad spirits", or in other words, negative thinking. As a consequence they feel better about themselves and can result in real health benifits. (c.f. in western medicine people are now talking about visualisation as a means to clearing up ilness quicker)

So, In fact the Romans probably believed it worked, so wern't using it as a placebo but unwittingly were treating the placebo effect.(i think the article got this across but as I said at the begining I'm just being a pedant.