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Alea iacta est

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Alea iacta est( "Thedieis cast ") is a variation of aLatinphrase (iacta alea est[ˈjaktaˈaːlɛ.aˈɛs̺t]) attributed bySuetoniustoJulius Caesaron 10January 49 BCE, as he led his army across theRubiconriver inNorthern Italy.With this step, he entered Italy at the head of his army in defiance of the Senate and began his longcivil waragainstPompeyand theOptimates.The phrase, either in the original Latin or in translation, is used in many languages to indicate that events have passed apoint of no return.It is now most commonly cited with the word order changed ( "Alea iacta est" ) rather than in the original phrasing. The same event inspired another idiom with the same meaning, "crossing the Rubicon".

Meaning and forms[edit]

Caesar was said to have borrowed the phrase fromMenander,the famousGreekwriter of comedy.[1][2][cleanup needed]The phrase appears inἈρρηφόρος(transliterated asArrephoros,or possibly,The Flute-Girl), as quoted inDeipnosophistae,paragraph 8.[3]Plutarchreports that these words were said in Greek:

The motto of the Hall family fromShackerstonereadsjacta est alea.

Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, «Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος»,[anerríphthō kýbos]διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.[4]

He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present "Let a die be cast" and led the army across.

— Plutarch,Life of Pompey, 60.2.9[5]

Suetonius, a contemporary of Plutarch writing in Latin, reports a similar phrase.

Caesar: "... iacta alea est," inquit.[6]
Caesar said, "The die has been cast."

— Suetonius,Vita Divi Iuli(The Life of the Deified Julius), 121 AD, paragraph 32

Lewis and Short,[7]citing Casaubon and Ruhnk, suggest that the text of Suetonius should readiacta alea esto(reading the third-personsingularfutureimperativeestoinstead of the present oneest), which they translate as "Let the die be cast!", or "Let the game be ventured!". This matches Plutarch's use of third-person singularperfectmiddle/passiveimperative of the verbἀναρρίπτω,[8]i.e.ἀνερρίφθω κύβος(anerríphthō kýbos,pronounced[anerːípʰtʰɔːkýbos]).

In Latinalearefers to a game with dice and, more generally, a game of hazard or chance.Dicewere common in Roman times and were usually cast three at a time. There were two kinds. The six-sided dice were known in Latin astesseraeand thefour-sided ones(rounded at each end) were known astali.[9]In Greek a die wasκύβοςkybos.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Grillo, Luca; Krebs, Christopher B., eds. (2018).The Cambridge Companion to the Writings of Julius Caesar.Cambridge University Press. pp. 208–209.
  2. ^Magnelli, Enrico,Opinioni antiche sullo stile di Menandro,in Casanova Angelo (ed.), Menandro e l’evoluzione della commedia greca: atti del convegno internazionale di studi in memoria di Adelmo Barigazzi, Firenze 2014, pp. 147-148.
  3. ^Book 13
  4. ^Perseus Digital LibraryPlut. Pomp. 60.2
  5. ^See also Plutarch'sLife of Caesar32.8.4 andSayings of Kings & Emperors206c.
  6. ^Perseus Digital LibrarySuet. Jul. 32
  7. ^alea.Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short.A Latin DictionaryonPerseus Project.
  8. ^ἀναρρίπτω.Liddell, Henry George;Scott, Robert;A Greek–English Lexiconat thePerseus Project.
  9. ^alea.Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short.A Latin DictionaryonPerseus Project.
  10. ^κύβος.

External links[edit]

Look upthe die is castin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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