The earliest known papyrus recording of Plato’s dialogue with the mathematician Theaetetus shows that Socrates’ quotes were indicated by ">" to the left of each quotation.
Ancient Greeks invented greentext. The 4chan /greentext/ format — ">be me" — is literally the same notation used by Plato’s scribes over 2,400 years ago to mark Socrates’ words.
"Be me. Ancient Greek philosopher. Ask questions for a living. Get poisoned. RIP."
Gorgocutie says: Plato’s scribes were the original shitposters. They put ">" before Socrates’ quotes and somehow that became the universal symbol for quotation. 2,400 years later, 4chan users independently reinvented it to tell stories about their day. The more things change, the more they stay the same — except now instead of marking the words of the wisest man in Athens, we’re marking stories about someone’s roommate eating their leftovers.
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