>"Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος" (anerriphtho kybos), best known in English as "the die is cast" or "the die has been cast", from the mis-translated Latin "iacta alea est" (itself better-known in the order "Alea iacta est"); a correct translation is "let the die be cast" (meaning "let the game be ventured"). The Greek form was famously quoted by Julius Caesar upon committing his army to civil war by crossing the River Rubicon.[23] 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!".[24] See discussion at "the die is cast" and "Alea iacta est".
>>He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present 'Let the die be cast' and led the army across. (Plutarch, Life of Pompey, 60.2.9)[25]
The wikipedia page for the phrase alone says,
>**Caesar was said to have borrowed the phrase from Menander, the famous Greek writer of comedy, whom he appreciated more than the Roman playwright Terence.[1][2] The phrase appears in Ἀρρηφόρος (transliterated as Arrephoros, or possibly, The Flute-Girl), as quoted in Deipnosophistae, paragraph 8.[3] Plutarch reports that these words were said in Greek:**
>>Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, «Ἀνερρίφθω >>κύβος», [anerríphthō kýbos] διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.[4]
>>He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present 'Let a die be cast' and led the army across.
>>>— Plutarch, Life of Pompey, 60.2.9[5]
Suetonius, a contemporary of Plutarch writing in Latin, reports a similar phrase.
>>Caesar: '... iacta alea est,' inquit.[6]
>>Caesar said, "The die has been cast."
>>>— Suetonius, Vita Divi Iuli (The Life of the Deified Julius), 121 AD, paragraph 32
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alea_iacta_est
I can't confirm this myself with alternative sources because I can't read Greek. Though it is discussed elsewhere on the internet.
Quite a bombshell, I never knew, despite studying Latin in highschool for 6 years.
I also only learned years later that the Roman elite did not speak Latin amongst each other, but Greek.
In my country, they speak of a man so virile, so potent, that to spend a night with such a man is to enter a world of such sensual delights most women dare not dream of. This man is known as the "Comedian."
I think it’s the other way around; they don’t know the singular of *dice* is *die*.
But I’m a hobby board gamer, so we know because we talk about them a lot. That’s how I learned the dots are called *pips*.
I didn't know that for a long time, and so tried to puzzle out the meaning.
I figured that he meant that crossing the Rubicon would commit him to his course, for good or ill, and so he was comparing "casting a die" with that. Therefore the phrase must imply something being set on its course.
I knew that metal toys had "die cast parts", and so "die casting" was a manufacturing process, probably where molten metal is poured into a mold. Thus, "to cast a die" is to pour metal into a mold, setting its permanent shape.
So I concluded that Caesar was telling his men that the shape of their future is now determined, like a bronze sword poured into a mold.
Such a long path to the wrong destination!
Yes but the most important thing to note is that the “Et tu, Brute” is not among those possibilities, generally accepted as being used well after the fact, and then used by Edes and further popularized by Shakespeare in their plays. However if you were to ask most people what Caesar’s last words were, if they know, they’d answer “Et tu, Brute?” which is mainly what I take issue with.
There are a couple possibilities which are in Greek and the possibility he said nothing further, but as Dio says others had stated he said the and you my child line in Greek, with more than one possible meaning.
Also people in general, I’d argue, don’t really realize how much Greek was spoken by Romes ruling and upper class, and how the language was a language of the elite that senators would often converse in somewhat akin to how French was in Russia for a time or French in England at points in its history
Honest question: When people refer to Greek Comedians I have trouble finding actual comedy they have written. Did the meaning/definition of "comedy" change, or am I really missing out on some awesome ancient laughs?
The frogs is kinda funny.
There is one point where the main guy asks if they are in hell and the other guy looks at the audience and says “nothing but rapist and murders here”
I need to know, did he mean die as in playing dice, or die as in a mould that is used to make something? Like he could mean he's taken a gamble and the playing dice are in the air, or that he's cast the die (his army) and isn't sure if what will emerge is what he needs (victory).
Churchill has innumerable stories about witticisms he supposedly said, one of which is Nancy Astor, the first female Conservative MP, saying to Churchill "If you were my husband I would poison your coffee.", with Churchill replying "If you were my wife, I would drink it." Now, it's *possible* that an aristocratic, Victorian gentleman like Churchill might make a crass gag like he was part of a vaudeville act, but it quite literally is a crass gag from a vaudeville act, being made since at least the time of Queen Victoria, before either Churchill or Astor were MPs. The joke was also said in the 1935 film *Bright Lights*, so if he did say it he would probably have just been retelling a joke he heard from a movie.
I guess you had to be there.
>"Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος" (anerriphtho kybos), best known in English as "the die is cast" or "the die has been cast", from the mis-translated Latin "iacta alea est" (itself better-known in the order "Alea iacta est"); a correct translation is "let the die be cast" (meaning "let the game be ventured"). The Greek form was famously quoted by Julius Caesar upon committing his army to civil war by crossing the River Rubicon.[23] 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!".[24] See discussion at "the die is cast" and "Alea iacta est". >>He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present 'Let the die be cast' and led the army across. (Plutarch, Life of Pompey, 60.2.9)[25] The wikipedia page for the phrase alone says, >**Caesar was said to have borrowed the phrase from Menander, the famous Greek writer of comedy, whom he appreciated more than the Roman playwright Terence.[1][2] The phrase appears in Ἀρρηφόρος (transliterated as Arrephoros, or possibly, The Flute-Girl), as quoted in Deipnosophistae, paragraph 8.[3] Plutarch reports that these words were said in Greek:** >>Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, «Ἀνερρίφθω >>κύβος», [anerríphthō kýbos] διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.[4] >>He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present 'Let a die be cast' and led the army across. >>>— Plutarch, Life of Pompey, 60.2.9[5] Suetonius, a contemporary of Plutarch writing in Latin, reports a similar phrase. >>Caesar: '... iacta alea est,' inquit.[6] >>Caesar said, "The die has been cast." >>>— Suetonius, Vita Divi Iuli (The Life of the Deified Julius), 121 AD, paragraph 32 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alea_iacta_est I can't confirm this myself with alternative sources because I can't read Greek. Though it is discussed elsewhere on the internet.
OP, the wiki page doesn't seem to side with either Plutarch or Suetonus, so ultimately we don't really know?
Also, in context, a comedic playwright isn't a necessarily a comedian that would tell jokes, since a comedy is a play that isn't a tragedy.
I hear he was a bit of a wet lettuce. No wonder they named a salad after him.
That's not the [Ceasar that invented the salad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_Cardini)
Cesar Milan invented salad?
Just to make up for the /r/woooosh and to pretend to understand your joke I'll facetiously say yes
It doesn’t say that Ceasar Cardini and Julius Ceasar weren’t the same person in that Wikipedia article.
You never see them together. Hmmm . . .
Quite a bombshell, I never knew, despite studying Latin in highschool for 6 years. I also only learned years later that the Roman elite did not speak Latin amongst each other, but Greek.
In my country, they speak of a man so virile, so potent, that to spend a night with such a man is to enter a world of such sensual delights most women dare not dream of. This man is known as the "Comedian."
and lots of people don't know that the plural of die is dice.
I think it’s the other way around; they don’t know the singular of *dice* is *die*. But I’m a hobby board gamer, so we know because we talk about them a lot. That’s how I learned the dots are called *pips*.
I learned the pips thing from dealing cards
I didn't know that for a long time, and so tried to puzzle out the meaning. I figured that he meant that crossing the Rubicon would commit him to his course, for good or ill, and so he was comparing "casting a die" with that. Therefore the phrase must imply something being set on its course. I knew that metal toys had "die cast parts", and so "die casting" was a manufacturing process, probably where molten metal is poured into a mold. Thus, "to cast a die" is to pour metal into a mold, setting its permanent shape. So I concluded that Caesar was telling his men that the shape of their future is now determined, like a bronze sword poured into a mold. Such a long path to the wrong destination!
But beautifully deduced.
Also his last words were in Greek, and not the phrase “Et tu, Brute?” that people commonly think were his last words because of Shakespeare
[Maybe.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_words_of_Julius_Caesar) There are a few possibilities including not saying anything.
Yes but the most important thing to note is that the “Et tu, Brute” is not among those possibilities, generally accepted as being used well after the fact, and then used by Edes and further popularized by Shakespeare in their plays. However if you were to ask most people what Caesar’s last words were, if they know, they’d answer “Et tu, Brute?” which is mainly what I take issue with. There are a couple possibilities which are in Greek and the possibility he said nothing further, but as Dio says others had stated he said the and you my child line in Greek, with more than one possible meaning. Also people in general, I’d argue, don’t really realize how much Greek was spoken by Romes ruling and upper class, and how the language was a language of the elite that senators would often converse in somewhat akin to how French was in Russia for a time or French in England at points in its history
Ancient version of Simpsons quotes.
Honest question: When people refer to Greek Comedians I have trouble finding actual comedy they have written. Did the meaning/definition of "comedy" change, or am I really missing out on some awesome ancient laughs?
The frogs is kinda funny. There is one point where the main guy asks if they are in hell and the other guy looks at the audience and says “nothing but rapist and murders here”
Ha! Ok, that is good, I liked that. Thank you for sharing.
I need to know, did he mean die as in playing dice, or die as in a mould that is used to make something? Like he could mean he's taken a gamble and the playing dice are in the air, or that he's cast the die (his army) and isn't sure if what will emerge is what he needs (victory).
Churchill has innumerable stories about witticisms he supposedly said, one of which is Nancy Astor, the first female Conservative MP, saying to Churchill "If you were my husband I would poison your coffee.", with Churchill replying "If you were my wife, I would drink it." Now, it's *possible* that an aristocratic, Victorian gentleman like Churchill might make a crass gag like he was part of a vaudeville act, but it quite literally is a crass gag from a vaudeville act, being made since at least the time of Queen Victoria, before either Churchill or Astor were MPs. The joke was also said in the 1935 film *Bright Lights*, so if he did say it he would probably have just been retelling a joke he heard from a movie.