In the Words of a Spartan

Dramatic deadpan - Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, sent the Spartans a message: "If I enter Sparta I will level it to the ground." The Spartans replied, "If." At the Battle of Thermopylae, dramatized in 300, the Persians demanded the Spartans surrender their weapons. The reply was "Molon labe," ("Come and take them.") After the battle of Cyzicus, the Spartans sent the following message home: "Mindaurus (the Spartan admiral) dead, ships lost, men starving.Don't know what to do.