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Alea iacta est ("The die is cast") is a variation of a Latin phrase (iacta alea est [ˈjakta ˈaːlɛ.a ˈɛs̺t]) attributed by Suetonius to Julius Caesar on 10 January 49 BC, as he led his army across the Rubicon river in Northern Italy, in defiance of the Roman Senate and beginning a long civil war against Pompey and the Optimates.
According to Suetonius, Caesar uttered the famous phrase ālea iacta est ("the die has been cast"). [8] The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has survived to refer to any individual or group committing itself to a risky or revolutionary course of action, similar to the modern phrase "passing the point of no return".
It is the Latin translation from John 1:36, when St. John the Baptist exclaimes "Ecce Agnus Dei!" ("Behold the Lamb of God!") upon seeing Jesus Christ. alea iacta est: the die has been cast: Said by Julius Caesar (Greek: ἀνερρίφθω κύβος, anerrhíphthō kýbos) upon crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC, according to Suetonius.
Alea iacta est. Latin: "The die has been cast"; Greek: "Let the die be cast." Julius Caesar as reported by Plutarch, when he entered Italy with his army in 49 BC. Translated into Latin by Suetonius as alea iacta est. Ἄνθρωπος μέτρον. Ánthrōpos métron. "Man [is] the measure [of all things]"
According to Suetonius, Caesar uttered the famous phrase alea iacta est ('the die is cast') upon crossing the Rubicon, signifying that his action was irreversible. [2] The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" is now used to refer to committing irrevocably to a grave course of action, similar to the modern phrase "passing the point of no return ," but ...
The popular form "the die is cast" is from the Latin iacta alea est, a mistranslation by Suetonius, 121 AD. According to Plutarch, the actual phrase used by Julius Caesar at the crossing of the Rubicon was a quote in Greek from Menander's play Arrhephoros, with the different meaning "Let the die be cast!".
According to the historian Suetonius, Caesar shouted out in Latin, "ista quidem vis est!" ("Why, this is violence!" or "But this is violence!") when his toga was ripped down from his shoulder. Suetonius further writes that Caesar spoke no more after this, besides a groan after the first knife blow, and died without saying anything. [5] [6]
This is a list of Wikipedia articles of Latin phrases and their translation into English. To view all phrases on a single, lengthy document, see: List of Latin phrases (full) The list is also divided alphabetically into twenty pages: