12/02/2020
WHERE DOES MOLON LABE COME FROM?
The expression molon labe comes from an account of the historic Battle of Thermopylae between Xerxes I, king of Persia, and Leonidas I, king of the Greek city-state Sparta, in 480 b.c.
According to the Greek biographer Plutarch in a collection of Spartan sayings, Xerxes demanded the Greeks surrender their weapons. Defiantly, Leonidas answered: “Molon labe,” roughly translating to “Come and take them.” While the Spartan leader staged a brave and noble resistance, Xerxes ultimately overpowered him. After the rest of his army retreated, Leonidas remained with 300 men, all of whom Xerxes slaughtered.
Since then, several modern fighters have notably referenced molon labe. During the American Revolution, American Colonel John McIntosh, refusing to surrender Fort Morris in Georgia, provoked the British commander: “Come and take it!” Texians, as they were called then, displayed “Come and take it” on its flag during the 19th-century Texas Revolution.
The Greek First Army Corps and the United States Special Operations Command Central both feature molon labe as their mottos. A statue commemorating Leonidas erected in Thermopylae in 1955 bears an inscription of molon labe in Greek script. Michigan State University athletic teams, whose mascot is the Spartan warrior, have also featured molon labe on their uniforms.
While molon labe has historically expressed daring in the face of overwhelming opposition, it has evolved to voice bold opposition to perceived oppression. During gun-control efforts starting in the early 21st century, molon labe spread among hardline US gun-rights advocates, some of whom believed the government was trying to restrict their Second Amendment rights to bear arms, and even confiscate their guns. As the Firing Line, an online fi****ms forum, explained their use of molon labe: “We have adopted this defiant utterance as a battle cry in our war against oppression.”
https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/molon-labe/
