Expertlatin
Η ΤΑΝ Η ΕΠΙ ΤΑΣ (Ḕ tā̀n ḕ epì tâs): "Come back with your shield, or on it." This ancient Greek phrase, we're told by no less an authority than Plutarch, was an admonition given to Spartan warriors who were headed into battle.
- What is the Greek word shield?
- What does ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶσ mean?
- Is either with shield or on shield Greek?
- What is Latin with your shield or on it?
What is the Greek word shield?
An aspis (Ancient Greek: ἀσπίς, plural aspides, ἀσπίδες), or porpax shield, sometimes mistakenly referred to as a hoplon (Greek: ὅπλον) (a term actually referring to the whole equipment of a hoplite), was the heavy wooden shield used by the infantry in various periods of ancient Greece.
What does ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶσ mean?
ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς (pronounced Ḕ tā̀n ḕ epì tâs) is Greek. It means:"Either with it your shield, or on it" Meaning "either you will win the battle, or you will die and then be carried back home on your shield".
Is either with shield or on shield Greek?
The inscription on the wall is a Greek phrase, meaning, “With it [your shield], or on it." According to ancient Spartan tradition, a warrior was never without his shield -- either returning home from battle alive, carrying his shield, or dead, carried upon it by his comrades.
What is Latin with your shield or on it?
Aut cum scuto aut in scuto.
Either with shield or on shield. This is actually a Latin version of an earlier Greek phrase. In Sparta, mothers were said to tell their war-bred children to either come back carrying their shield or on it.
