An apocryphal but amusing tale:

Alexander the Great sent to Sparta a demand for their surrender:  “If we conquer you by force, then we will slay your men, rape your women, enslave your children, seize your treasures, burn your city...” (etc., etc.)

The Laconic reply:  “If.”

(Alexander physically destroyed Thebes, killed the Theban men, and enslaved the Theban women and children as a punishment for their rebellion against him.  He left Sparta alone—probably because he didn’t want it, rather than from fear of conflict; at that point in history, Sparta was in decline.  I am guessing that the above story imaginatively plays off of that, and King Leonidas’ famous “μολὼν λαβέ” (‘come and get them’) in reply to the Persians’ demand that the Spartans surrender their weapons.  A more amusing bit of the actual history:  Phryne the courtesan later offered to rebuild the city walls for the surviving Thebans; her offer was rejected, but that gives a measure of how wealthy she was.)


So good to see that WO is just chock full of love, peace, happiness, and all those other hippie things.