Certainly! Here is a list of famous laconic sayings attributed to the Spartans:
- “If” – King Leonidas’s response to the Persian demand to lay down their arms at Thermopylae: “Come and take them.”
- “With it or on it” – Spartan mothers to their sons about their shields, meaning come back with your shield in victory or on it as a corpse.
- “We are but warriors, so we should be obedient to the law” – A Spartan’s response when asked why they did not engage in long speeches.
- “The walls of Sparta are its young men, and its borders the points of their spears” – King Agesilaus in response to someone who wondered why Sparta had no walls.
- “Then we shall fight in the shade” – Dienekes, a Spartan soldier, when told that the Persian arrows would block out the sun.
- “Come and take them” – King Leonidas at Thermopylae in response to the Persian demand to surrender their weapons.
- “Because we fight close to the enemy” – A Spartan’s response when asked why their swords were so short.
- “Eat well, for tonight we dine in Hades” – Leonidas’s words to his men before the Battle of Thermopylae.
- “Spartan women are the only ones who give birth to real men” – Gorgo, Queen of Sparta, when asked why Spartan women could speak so freely.
- “Return with your shield, or upon it” – Another version of the saying about returning from battle either victorious or dead.
These sayings exemplify the Spartan ethos of brevity, courage, and duty.