Molon labe, lit.
"come and take", is a classical expression of defiance reportedly spoken by King Leonidas
I in response to the Persian army's demand that the Greeks surrender their weapons at
the Battle of Thermopylae.
It is an exemplary use of a laconic phrase.
Grammar The first word, μολών molōn, is the
aorist active participle of the Greek verb βλώσκω blōskō "to come", meaning "having
come".
The root is evidently ΜΟΛ, so that βλώ-σκ-ω is apparently a contraction for μολώ-σκ-ω.
The form λαβέ labe is the aorist active imperative of the verb λαμβάνω lambanō,
translated as "you take" with an emphasis since it is in the imperative form.
That is to say: it is better represented in English as "Take!".
The two words function together in a grammatical structure called the circumstantial participle.
Where English would put two main verbs in two independent clauses joined by a conjunction:
"come and take", a strategy sometimes called paratactic, Ancient Greek, which is far richer
in participles, subordinates one to the other, a strategy called hypotactic: "coming, take".
The first action is expressed with a participle with adverbial force.
In this structure, the participle gives some circumstance attendant on the main verb.
The aorist participle may be used where the action is completed, called the perfective
aspect.
That is: the action of the participle occurs before that of the main verb.
Thus the Greek provides a nuance not seen in English translation, making clear that
the coming must precede the taking.
The latter λαβέ is in second person singular, and therefore is not being spoken to a large
group of people, but rather to an individual.
King Leonidas I of Sparta spoke directly to Xerxes I personally, and not to the Persians
en masse.
While English normally requires an explicit object in a transitive imperative construction,
Ancient Greek does not; the object them is understood from context.
History The phrase was reportedly the defiant response
of King Leonidas I of Sparta to Xerxes I of Persia when Xerxes demanded that the Greeks
lay down their arms and surrender.
This was at the onset of the Battle of Thermopylae.
Instead, the Greeks held Thermopylae for three days.
Although the Greek contingent was defeated, they inflicted serious damage on the Persian
army.
Most importantly, this delayed the Persians' progress to Athens, providing sufficient time
for the city's evacuation to the island of Salamis.
Though a tactical defeat, Thermopylae served as a strategic and moral victory, inspiring
the Greek forces to crush the Persians at the Battle of Salamis later the same year
and the Battle of Plataea one year later.
The source for this quotation is Plutarch, Apophthegmata Laconica, 51.11.
This work by Plutarch is included among the Moralia, a collection of works attributed
to him but outside the collection of his most famous works, the Parallel Lives.
Modern usage
Molon labe has been repeated by many later generals and politicians in order to express
an army's or nation's determination not to surrender.
The motto ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ is on the emblem of the Greek First Army Corps, and is also
the motto of United States Special Operations Command Central.
The expression "Come and take it" was a slogan in the Texas Revolution.
Molon labe has been used once again in Greek history, on 3 March 1957 during a battle in
Cyprus between members of the EOKA organization and the British Army.
After someone had betrayed his location, the British forces surrounded the secret hideout
of the second-in-command of EOKA, Grigoris Afxentiou, near the Machairas Monastery.
Inside the hideout were Afxentiou and four of his followers.
Realizing he was outnumbered, Afxentiou ordered them to surrender themselves whilst he barricaded
himself for a fight to the death.
The British asked Afxentiou to come out and surrender.
He replied with the phrase Molon labe, imitating the ancient Spartans.
Unable to get him out, and after sustaining casualties, the British set fire to the hideout,
and he was burnt alive.
The British buried his body in the yard of the central jail of Lefkosia, where it lies
today.
In the United States of America, both the original Greek phrase and its English translation
are often heard from pro Second Amendment activists as a defense of the right to keep
and bear arms.
It began to appear on web sites in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In the Second Amendment or firearms freedom context, the phrase expresses the notion that
the person uttering the phrase is a strong believer in these ideals and will not surrender
their firearms to anyone, especially to governmental authority.
Challenge coins similar to those used by military service members have been created with the
Molon Labe text and firearm images.
In college football, the Michigan State Spartans football team wore alternate jerseys featuring
the phrase in their 2011 rivalry game with the Michigan Wolverines.
See also From my cold, dead hands
Anthony McAuliffe They shall not pass
References