Molon labe spiked on Google Trends in January 2013, when Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced the later-defeated bill to ban assault weapons, one month after such guns were used to massacre 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. As the Firing Line, an online firearms forum, explained their use of molon labe: “We have adopted this defiant utterance as a battle cry in our war against 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. While molon labe has historically expressed daring in the face of overwhelming opposition, it has evolved to voice bold opposition to perceived oppression. Michigan State University athletic teams, whose mascot is the Spartan warrior, have also featured molon labe on their uniforms. A statue commemorating Leonidas erected in Thermopylae in 1955 bears an inscription of molon labe in Greek script. The Greek First Army Corps and the United States Special Operations Command Central both feature molon labe as their mottos. 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. While the Spartan leader staged a brave and noble resistance, Xerxes ultimately overpowered him. Defiantly, Leonidas answered: Molon labe, roughly translating to Come and take them. Since then, several modern fighters have notably referenced molon labe. According to the Greek biographer Plutarch in a collection of Spartan sayings, Xerxes demanded the Greeks surrender their weapons. After the rest of his army retreated, Leonidas remained with 300 men, remembered in the comic and film 300, all of whom Xerxes slaughtered. 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. 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.Īccording to the Greek biographer Plutarch in a collection of Spartan sayings, Xerxes demanded the Greeks surrender their weapons.
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