Alea iacta est
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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 reports that these words were said in Greek:

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 'Let the dice be cast' and led the army across.

– Plutarch, 'Life of Pompey, 60.2.9'

See also also Plutarch's Life of Caesar 32.8.4 and Sayings of Kings & Emperors 206c.

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 Short¹, the phrase used was a future active imperative, Jacta alea esto, "Let the die be cast!", or "Let the game be ventured!" This is the meaning of Plutarch's third-person imperative ἀνεῤῥίφθω κύβος.

By the first century AD 'alea' refers to the early form of backgammon that was played at Caesars time. Augustus (Octavian) mentions winning this game in a letter. Dice were commonly known in Roman times and generally known as 'cubus'. It has thus been suggested that another probable translation of the phrase would be 'the backgammon game has begun'.

References in popular culture

• In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dr. Frankenstein says "The die is cast; I have consented to return if we are not destroyed."
• In the 1972 film Roma, at the very beginning, while crossing the Rubicon heading to Rome, the teacher screams to his students, "alea iacta est".
• The phrase is often used by Julius Caesar in the popular French comic book Asterix, generally with its modern meaning. It is also one of many Latin clichés spouted by the hapless pirates whose ship is constantly being sunk by Asterix and Obelix.
• In the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there is an episode by this very name, instead referencing the crossing of a joint Cardassian-Romulan fleet entering the Gamma Quadrant.
• In Election Day--Season 4, Episode 7 of The West Wing--as Will Bailey runs around wildly trying to ensure a win for his dead candidate, Horton Wilder, in the 47th congressional district of California on election day, Elsie Snuffin says to him, "The die has been cast, big brother. You're making everyone crazy." Will responds, "There's a moment after you cast the die but before it hits the table. Breathe wrong and you'll change the way it lands."
• 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.
• In MC Solaar's 2007 song "Carpe Diem" as part of the chorus, "Le temps passe, | Alea Jacta Est | Qu'on vienne de Budapest ou de gare de l'Est | Alors Carpe Diem."
• Alea Jacta Est is the name of a Grade 5 ice climb near La Grave in the French Alps. It is climbed by Joe Simpson in his book The Beckoning Silence.
• In the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, "Bootstrap" Bill Turner told his son "The die is cast" after he bet his soul and an eternity of servitude on the Flying Dutchman.
• Alea Iacta Est is the name of the second largest World of Warcraft guilds (Horde, Earthen Ring server). They are second only to the Nihilum Fanclub who has over 5400 reported members, Whereas Alea Iacta Est only has over 2100. The guild master is Scott Johnson, host of the World of Warcraft related podcast "The Instance", and who also publishes the web comic "My Extra Life" and its games/comics/media-oriented podcast "Extra Life Radio". Well-known members of AIE include Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and the Internet/technology reporter and commentator Veronica Belmont.
• In Samurai Warriors, this phrase is quoted by Nobunaga Oda in Hideyoshi's opening cinematic.
• In the movie Downfall, Minister Goebbels says, "Les jeux sont faits" (French for "The die is cast," or, literally, "The games are made") before committing suicide with his wife outside the Führerbunker.
• "Alea Jacta" is the name of a song by the Spanish heavy metal band Dark Moor.
• "Alea Jacta Est" was the last written sentence in the suicide note of Marc Lépine, a young Canadian who shot twenty-eight people, killing fourteen, during the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal.

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.
• Reference to Augustus playing Alea