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Alea iacta est
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Alea iacta est may also refer to an album by the band WarCry.
Alea iacta est (also seen as alea jacta est) is Latin for "The die has been cast".
Actually quoted by Suetonius as iacta alea est [ˈjakta ˈaːlɛa ɛst], it is what Julius Caesar is reported to have said on January 10, 49 BC as he led his army across the River Rubicon in northern Italy. With this step, he entered Italy at the head of his army in defiance of the Roman Senate and began his long civil war against Pompey and the Optimates.
The phrase is still used today to mean that events have passed a point of no return, that something inevitable will happen, i.e., he cannot take back what he has done, much like the gambler who has wagered everything on a throw of the dice. Caesar was said to have borrowed the phrase from Menander, his favorite Greek writer of comedy. Plutarch refers that this words were said in Greek language:
Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, "Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος," [anerriphtho kybos] διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.
He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present 'The die has been cast' and led the army across.– Plutarch, 'Life of Pompey, Ch. 60'
By some accounts, Caesar used the imperative "iaci" rather than the passive "iacta est" ("Cast the die!").[citation needed] In another context, "iacta est" could be translated as "was cast, i.e., as a "simple past." It is generally assumed, e.g. by Shakespeare, that Caesar here meant "The die has been cast" i.e., "The die is now cast" and not "The die was cast."
- Divus Iulius, paragraph 33 by Suetonius, where the quote is found.