Molon Labe - Grammar

Grammar

The first word, μολών molōn, is the aorist active participle (masculine, nominative, singular) of the Greek verb βλώσκω blōskō "to come", meaning "having come". The form λαβέ labe is the aorist active imperative (second person singular) of the verb λαμβάνω lambanō, translated "take ".

The two words function together in a grammatical structure not present in English called the circumstantial participle. Where English would put two main verbs in two independent clauses joined by a conjunction: "come and take", a strategy sometimes called paratactic, ancient Greek, which is far richer in participles, subordinates one to the other, a strategy called hypotactic: "coming, take". The first action is turned into an adjective. In this structure, the participle gives some circumstance (the coming) attendant on the main verb (the taking).

The aorist participle is used to signify completed action, called the perfective aspect. That is, the action of the participle occurs before that of the main verb. Thus the Greek provides a nuance not seen in English translation, making clear that the coming must precede the taking (i.e. "having come, take").