Alea iacta est

Alea iacta est is a Latin phrase meaning "The die is cast". It is a variation of the words spoken by Julius Caesar at the crossing of the Rubicon on 10 January 49 BC. The phrase, referring to a game of chance played with dice, indicates that events have passed a point of no return and the outcome is uncertain. The Rubicon river in northern Italy marked the southern boundary of Caesar's province of Cisalpine Gaul and therefore the extent of his imperium (the legal right to command troops). By leading his soldiers across the river, Caesar was defying a direct order from the Roman Senate and beginning a civil war. The ancient historian Suetonius reports that Caesar actually said iacta alea est ([ˈjakta ˈaːlɛ.a ˈɛs̺t]), which has the same English translation. Plutarch states that Caesar was speaking in Greek: ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhī́phthō kýbos), literally "let a die be cast", metaphorically "let the game be played". Suetonius's Latin version is a statement about the inevitability of what is to come, while the Greek version contains a self-encouragement to venture forward. The Greek version is probably a quotation from a play by Menander; the historian Arrian states that it was already well known. The Latin version is the most commonly cited in modern sources, but with the word order changed to alea iacta est. It is used both untranslated or translated in many languages. The related phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has become an idiom with closely related meaning.