Expert: Maria - 12/12/2006

Question
Dear Maria

I'll like to know the meaning of
"Alea jacta est" (I've red it means the die is cast)

But I ave also seen it written as "Alea iacta est" is this past tense meaning "the die has been cast"?

I was told Caesar gas said these words- but which sentence is the correct one- and what is the precise meaning?

Hope you can help me

Best regards

Heidi, Denmark

Answer
Dear Heidi,

The correct Latin phrase is "Alea iacta est” which means literally "The die has been cast” as “iacta est” is the past tense, passive voice, of the verb “iacio” ( I cast).

This phrase is a quotation from the Roman historian and biographer Suetonius (1st.- 2nd. century AD) who in his biography of Caius Julius Caesar says that the great Roman general pronounced such a phrase on January 10, 49 BC, when  he led his army across the River Rubicon in northern Italy. The  little river Rubicon was in fact the boundary between his province of Cisalpine Gaul and the Roman Republic.  Therefore this action symbolized the start of Caesar's successful drive for the leadership of Rome, as the crossing  of the Rubicon was considered an act of war, since all Roman governors were forbidden to cross this boundary with troops.

From then on the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" and “ The die is cast” or “The die is now cast” have survived to refer to any person committing themselves irrevocably to a risky course of action, and are  still used  to mean that events have passed a point of no return.

Best,
Maria
Italy
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ALEA= the die
IACTA EST = has been  cast