Alea iacta est

Alea iacta est (also seen as alea jacta est) is Latin for "The die is 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.

Meaning and Form

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 already thrown the dice. Caesar was said to have borrowed the phrase from Menander, his favorite Greek writer of comedy. Plutarch refers that these 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'

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."

According to Lewis and Short^[1], the phrase used was a third person passive future perfect imperative, Jacta alea esto, "Let the die be cast!", or "Let the game be ventured!"

References in Popular Culture

• In Roma (1972 film), at the very beginning, while crossing the Rubicon heading to Rome, the teacher screams to his students "alea iacta est".
• In each edition of the enormously popular French comic book Asterix, once Asterix sinks the pirates' ship, the first mate says to the captain, "Alea jacta est."
• In the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there is an episode by this very name, instead it references the crossing of a joint Cardassian-Romulan fleet entering the Gamma Quadrant.
• Alea Iacta Est is the password of Alpha Omega Theta Fraternity Inc, chosen by the fraternity's founder John Stefano in 1946. "Alea Iacta Est, The Die is Cast, Once it's Started it Can Never End." link AlphaOmegaTheta.com
• The phrase is displayed on one of the opening screens to the Playstation puzzle game Devil Dice.
• "Alea jacta est" is the subject of a classroom lecture in the 2002 film, The Emperor's Club.
• In the 2003 film Battle Royale II: Requiem, "Jacta Alea Est" is the slogan for the terrorist organisation Wild Seven, led by Shuya Nanahara.

See also

• Aleatoric
• Crossing the Rubicon

Notes

1. ^ Online Dictionary: alea, Lewis and Short at the Perseus Project. See bottom of section I.

External links

• Divus Iulius, paragraph 33 by Suetonius, where the quote is found.

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