the die is cast

English

Etymology

From games of chance in which the outcome is determined by the throwing of dice or a single die. Popularized by its use by Suetonius when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon to begin a civil war in the Roman Republic, indicating the commission of an irreversible act, whence also cross the Rubicon.

The form “the die is cast” is from the Latin iacta ālea est, a grammatically, and thereby semantically, incorrect translation by Suetonius, 121 CE,[1] of the Ancient Greek phrase of Menander ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos), which Caesar quoted in Greek (not Latin). The Greek translates rather as “let the die be cast!”, or “let the game be ventured!”.

Historical details
“The die is cast” is a literal translation of Latin iacta ālea est, as quoted in Suetonius, Vīta Dīvī Iūlī (The Life of the deified Julius), 121 CE, par. 33:
Caesar […] “Iacta ālea est”, inquit.
Caesar said […] “The die is cast”.

Originally stated by Caesar in Ancient Greek as ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos), as reported by Plutarch:[2]

Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, “Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος”, διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.
Hellēnistì pròs toùs paróntas ekboḗsas, “Anerrhíphthō kúbos”, diebíbaze tòn stratón.
He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present: “Let the die be cast”, and led the army across.

Caesar in turn was quoting Menander, his favorite Greek comic dramatist, specifically Ἀρρηφόρῳ (Arrhēphórōi, “The Flute-Girl”), as quoted in Deipnosophistae, Book 13, par. 8.

Pronunciation
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Phrase

the die is cast

  1. (idiomatic) The future is determined; there are no more options; events will proceed in an irreversible manner; the point of no return has been passed.

Coordinate terms

Translations

References
  1. Suetonius, Vīta Dīvī Iūlī (The Life of the deified Julius), 121 CE, par. 33 (Caesar […] “Iacta ālea est”, inquit. – Caesar said […] “The die is cast”.)
  2. Plutarch, Life of Pompey, 60.2.9. See also Plutarch's Life of Caesar, 32.8.4, and Sayings of Kings and Emperors, 206 c.
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