ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ! [mo’lon la’ve]
What does that mean?

I created the image with a Spartan helmet on the left of this page as a avatar on a number of message boards and a friend asked what the Greek letters 'ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ' meant.

I thought it might be a good time to explain it here on the blog, so...

In 480 B.C. the forces of the Persian Empire under King Xerxes, numbering in the hundreds of thousands of men(some have said closer to a million!), bridged the Hellespont and were marching on Greece.

King Leonidas of Sparta pleaded with Spartan leaders to go out to meet the threat, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Leonidas and his Thespian allies marched out alone. With 300 hand-picked troops, Leonidas and his small force marched to Thermopylae on the north coast of Greece.

Thermopylae was the best of three possible defensive areas in which Xerxes' invading army had to advance. This mountain gap along the coast was about 60 feet wide, and was the best location for a blocking action. The confines between mountains and sea were so narrow that the Persian multitudes and their cavalry would be at least partially neutralized.

When Leonidas was preparing to make his stand, a Persian envoy arrived. The envoy explained to Leonidas the futility of trying to resist the advance of the huge Persian army and demanded that the Spartans surrender and lay down their weapons.

Leonidas replied, "ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ ", or "Come And Get Them."

"Our archers are so numerous, that the flight of their arrows darkens the sun!", said the Persian envoy.

Dienekes, a Spartan warrior, then said "So much the better, for we shall fight them in the shade!"

After sending the Thespians back to warn the other Greeks, King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans held Thermopylae for three days and, although they were ultimately annihilated, they inflicted serious damage upon the Persian army, and most importantly delayed its progress to Athens, providing sufficient time for the city's evacuation to Salamis Island.

They were finally overrun after being betrayed by a traitor who showed the enemy another pass that allowed the invaders to approach from behind the defenders.

Though a clear defeat, Thermopylae served as a moral victory and inspired the troops at the Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Plataea, where the Greeks won their freedom and arguably saved the Western World.

Two memorials remain today at Thermopylae.
Upon the modern one, called the Leonidas Monument in honor of the Spartan king who fell there, is engraved his response to Xerxes' demand that the Spartans lay down their arms:
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ - 'Come and get them.'

The second monument is a plaque dedicated to those heroes at the site.
It reads: "Go tell the Spartans!"

Molon Labe has been repeated by many later generals and politicians in order to express an army's or nation's determination to not surrender without a battle.

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 (SOCCENT).

In our everyday world, both the original Greek phrase and its English translation are often heard from pro-gun activists as a defense of the right to keep and bear arms. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent defiance of Federal court orders by the New Orleans government to return seized weapons, the phrase has gained popularity.

For comparison, these elements happen to be present in the English phrase, "over my dead body", or the similar phrase that Charlton Heston uttered at a past NRA convention, “You can have my guns when you pry them from my cold dead hands!”

Molon Labe has been recently used in the feature film '300' , a stylized depiction of the events leading up to and including the Battle at Thermopylae.

But on a more personal note, my high school mascot was the Spartan. So, I've long held the legend of Leonidas and the 300 very close.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!