#molon labe

[mouflonthoughts]

tramp stamp that says Molon Labe

[obbopworld]

[victusinveritas]

It's like a pinata with a gun inside.

Note: come and take it also applies to the truck.

[pfdr75]

[rh35211]

That's the famous "ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ" - 'Molon Labe' - of Thermopylae fame. Literally it's 'In coming, take', but is usually translated more fluently as "Come and take them". King Leonidas is supposed to have said this to the emissary of Xerxes at Thermopylae, when the emissary asked the Spartans to surrender their weapons.

Thermopylae hot gates

Molōn (ΜΟΛΩΝ): "Having come".

Verb: The aorist active participle (masculine, nominative, singular) of the verb blōskō (βλώσκω), meaning "to come" or "to go".

Function: It gives the circumstance or precondition of the main verb. Grammatically, the phrase means, "Having come, then take".

Labe (ΛΑΒΕ): "Take!" or "Seize!".

Verb: The aorist active imperative (second person, singular) of the verb lambánō (λαμβάνω), meaning "to take" or "to seize".

[thordios]

(via Come And Get Them Molon Labe GIF - Come And Get Them Molon Labe - Discover & Share GIFs)

Supposedly, King Leonidas I of Sparta said this in response to Xerxes I, who demanded that the Spartans surrender their weapons. So the usual idiomatic translation into English is "Come and get them!"

However, this saying comes to us from the writings of the historian Plutarch, and Leonidas spoke Doric rather than the classical Greek of Plutarch. So even if Leonidas actually said anything like this, it wouldn't have been in those words.

[theenlightenedoutlaw]

[rafaaruela]

• Molon Labe •