The desire to play with the language, to create puns and express meaning in original ways is common to the native speakers of every country in the world.

And although language is a living thing, constantly changing and evolving, this desire for linguistic playfulness has been around since the ancient times. Ancient Greek, the language of Homer and of classical Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers was frequently used for the creation of paradoxes, oxymorons, puns, anagrams and palindromes.

Palindromes in particular were especially popular among Ancient Greeks. The word itself is derived from the Greek roots palin (again) and dromos (way, direction) and describes words and sentences that read the same forwards and backwards.

The Greeks themselves called these phrases “crab inscriptions” or simply “crabs”, alluding to the movement of crabs, such as an inscription that may be read backwards.

To celebrate the linguistic creativity of many cultures around the world, here are the top 5 famous Greek and foreign-language palindromes:

GREEK
Νίψον ανομήματα μη μόναν όψιν (Wash the sins, not only the face)
Byzantine Greeks often inscribed this palindrome on baptismal fonts, a practice which was continued in many English churches. It should also be noted that this specific phrase was inscribed upon a holy water font outside the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

ENGLISH
A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!
Leigh Mercer published his immortal “A man, a plan, a canal – Panama!” in the November 13 1948 issue of Notes & Queries.

FRENCH
Engage le jeu que je le gagne (Start the game so that I may win)
Probably the most famous French palindrome, it is attributed to Alain Damasio.

ITALIAN

I topi non avevano nipoti. (The mice had no grandchildren)
Italians even have a complete palindromic poem entitled “Ode a Roma Dorata“.

SPANISH
Dábale arroz a la zorra el abad (The abbot was giving the vixen rice)

This is regarded as one of the most famous Spanish palindromes.