by liberal japonicus
From this article
However, while many are bare or depict scorpions and thunderbolts, one recently recovered sling bullet is the first inscribed example ever recovered at Hippos and the only known sling bullet ever inscribed with the letters ΜΑΘΟΥ meaning “Learn your lesson!”
[…]
The inscribed Hippos sling bullet was only inscribed on one side, making it unlikely to represent a personal name. Instead, the authors suggest the inscription is more likely to be a form of taunt. Similar taunts have been recovered on other sling bullets bearing inscriptions such as “take a taste,” “receive this,” or “take it.”
The Hippos sling bullet would likely have read as μαθοῦ, meaning “Learn your lesson!” The grammatical form used in the inscription of the bullet (Greek middle-voice) would intensify the mockery, Dr. Eisenberg explained. “The reading of the sole word in Greek on the bullet is made with a very high degree of confidence, as it is clear and does not miss any letters.
“Its interpretation took more time as it is the only instance in which such a word appears on a bullet and its imperative in the middle voice, which could make the case even more sarcastic—the bullet is telling itself to learn and hit the enemy well.
The aorist middle was a beast and I remember trying to figure it out in my ancient Greek class back in uni. It has disappeared from the modern language and I’m assuming that the interpretation in the article is cleaned up, and with the other inscriptions,the meaning is more like ‘go fuck yourself’. I wish I had realized that back when I was studying, it might have made more sense. Of course, I wish I had Gemini to explain these grammatical points back then too. It says:
In Greek grammar, the middle voice means the subject is acting on themselves. However, applying this to the bullet is a bit of a stretch. In reality, soldiers in 101 BCE weren’t linguists; they were trolls. They weren’t making a philosophical statement about the bullet’s career goals—they were shouting at the enemy.
It has me wonder what graffiti is being written on those drones in the Strait of Hormuz.
[ed note: I’m going to go with the monospaced typefont whenever I put up something from AI, in this case Gemini. Don’t know if it will catch on, but I thought it would be worth a try]
I don’t know if the Iranians are going with inscriptions on their drones. Nor the Russians, although I seem to recall the Ukrainians doing so at least occasionally.
But consider that there were definitely comments painted on some US bombs during WW II. A tradition which has endured over rwo millennia seems unlikely to have disappeared in less than a century. Soldiers (i.e. people) just haven’t changed their attitudes towards their enemies all that much. Technology changes. Strategy and tactics change. But attitudes? Not so much.
According to Gemini
Drones are frequently seen in propaganda footage or at military expos with Quranic verses or Shia religious invocations.
God is Great, God is good I guess,,,
During the last US Iraq war there were sniper rifles and scopes with Bible verses on them used by US troops (scopes from a Michigan company, rifles from iirc Austria*).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trijicon_biblical_verses_controversy
*a special order. Iirc it was never officially determined who was responsible for the about 25 discovered.
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When cannons were still cast from bronze, “speaking” inscriptions were quite common (‘I am called X, I do Y’) and of course ‘ultima ratio regis’.
I also remember a bladed weapon with the inscription (roughly translated) ‘We have a matter to discuss. So, farewell!’
I’d think (as a total non-expert, mind) that there woild be a different dynamic behind inscriptions on stuff like cannons or swords or rifles which are used over and over, vs single use stuff like bombs or drones. Or sling bullets.
Every nuclear warhead in the US arsenal ….. air, sea, and land, has been emblazoned with the Trump brand and image in gold leaf.
The better to spread the Gospel and the good news.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
wjca, I would not object to that but I still think the sentiment is at least similar: a dead object is addressing someone aggressively.
That is to be distinguished from objects speaking of their maker, their owner or of their own qualities (‘X made me for Y’, ‘I do good service for my owner’, ‘Please return me to Y, my owner). In some languages these are among the oldest written messages still extant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duenos_inscription
These days we go impersonal/ passive (e.g. ‘Made in Germany’), i.e. the object does not speak anymore in its own name.
Even aggressive stickers on cars usually express the voice of the owner not the car itself.
I read the paper: a few thoughts.
It looks to me as if the writing on it is cast rather than engraved. Perhaps ‘inscribed’ as a term of art can be used in this sense, or perhaps I’m mistaken.
The suggestion that it’s the bullet rather than the target being addressed doesn’t appear in the paper, which speaks of “inscriptions…found on these projectiles, addressed to the enemy.”
I’m far from expert in Greek, but I understand the use of the aorist here to suggest “understand” rather than “learn”. I’d translate the writing as “get this”.
__
Speaking of grammar, I would treat both ‘graffiti’ and ‘themselves’ as plural – I use ‘themself’ with singular they. Checking with the dictionary on my phone, I learn that singular ‘graffiti’ is “loosely” acceptable, whereas ‘themself’ is “unrecognized in standard English”. Apparently my phone knows more about English than I do, as well as being able to beat me at chess.
Hartmut – These days we go impersonal/ passive (e.g. ‘Made in Germany’), i.e. the object does not speak anymore in its own name.
The capitalist industrial world is very much a materialist paradigm. I wonder, though, if some of the more animistic cultures still retain a bit of that sense of spooky aliveness that might lead to wondering what an object might have to say for itself. I know there’s still a strong underlying element of shamanistic belief in even some heavily industrialized nations and cultures that might give rise to something like this. I also think that there’s a growing sense that we need that feeling of everything being alive and connected in some way as a course corrective for our terrible isolation and our empty materialism (and all that Christian right paranoia about the New Age movement as a competing narrative for spiritual life).
LJ – would be interested to hear what you have to say about this with regard to Japan.
Trump says Herzog a ‘liar, weak person, pathetic’
I know civility has gone out of the window a while ago, but I am still astonished how low the US has sunk. Also, does the Mossad have some dirt on him or what is all this about?
Oh and there is this:
Writing on Truth Social, he said that “with the death of Iran, the greatest enemy America has is the Radical Left, Highly Incompetent, Democrat Party!”
It’s all Carl Schmitt from here.
T’rump is an allergen provoking an autoimmune reaction in the US.
Novakant:
If it’s all Carl Schmitt from here, what precisely would you suggest we do differently than was done in say, 1938, in Nazi vermin Germany, which was precisely nothing, which is precisely what is happening now in Nazi MAGA, the perverted conservative thing formerly known as America?
I’m about to read a Schmitt biography.
I hope I have time to finish it.
I realize my style here is what is really wrong with this misbegotten landmass now infested vermin-wise with conservative fascist influencers, content providers, and branded fascist sycophants.
novakant — Trump says Herzog a ‘liar, weak person, pathetic’
Oh and there is this:
Writing on Truth Social, he said that “with the death of Iran, the greatest enemy America has is the Radical Left, Highly Incompetent, Democrat Party!”
Once you recall that it’s all projection with Trump, that every accusation is a confession, then it all makes perfect sense.** Doesn’t even matter who he is directing his comments at. It’s all confession.
** Although you do occasionally have to swap “Right” and “Left”, and “Democrat” and “Republican”. But that’s a nit really.
“Explore the essentials and intricacies of English grammar. Whether for writing or everyday conversation, grammar is the foundation of clear communication.”
English grammar
Meanwhile, Bette Midler adapts Woody Guthrie to meet the moment:
https://x.com/meidastouch/status/2036946219101307129?s=43&t=MgL1AWYxk0jrswEhQ3Zjxg