give them nothing, take from them everything → αὐτοῖς μηδὲν δόντες πάντα λάβετε

[Dee]

i am looking for a little help, i am wanting the phrase "give them nothing, take from them everything"
it is a quote from the movie 300. i have done a little research & know that sparta was the capital of  
laconia & the dialect was doric but I'm struggling to find a translation.  i have used many websites
to try & translate & have come up with many different looking results so confused, please help.

[billberg23]

Someone may come up with a source for this order, if it was ever recorded in an ancient author.  In any case, your quotation would surely have looked something like this in ancient Greek:
αὐτοῖς μηδὲν δόντες πάντα λάβετε

[Dee]

thank you very much but could i ask what you mean by someone might
come up with something else? do you mean in a different dialect? also what
is the literal saying to the translation?

[billberg23]

could i ask what you mean by someone might
come up with something else?

I mean there's a slight possibility that the quotation was not simply invented for the movie, i.e. that it's an authentic quotation from an ancient Greek author writing about Thermopylae.  If so, it may be lurking in the million or so pages of Plutarch, and someone may know it word for word.

do you mean in a different dialect?

No.  The Greek we've given you is fine for all dialects.

also what
is the literal saying to the translation?

"Having given them nothing, take all things" (standard ancient Greek usage & syntax;  your quote can't simply be transferred word for word from English).

[Dee]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, EVEN THOUGH MY QUESTION DIDN'T MAKE
SENSE THE ANSWERS YOU HAVE GIVEN ARE WHAT I WAS TRYING TO ASK.
THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME & KNOWLEDGE.

[Appollymi]

I've been in love with Ancient Greece since I was a small child, and one of my favorite films as an adult was the Hollywood version of what happened at the Battle of Thermopylae. The quote from 'King Leonidas': "Give them nothing, but take from them EVERYTHING" holds a lot of relevance for me, but I'd like to have it tattooed in the language the real king of Ancient Sparta would have spoken. Can anyone help me translate this?  That would be really awesome. I haven't transferred schools yet to be able to work on my Ancient Greek language skills as of yet.

[spiros]

Searching first helps ;)