Isn't it "alea iacta est"?

[[PSG] Howie]

All I can find for "alea jacta est" is the title of a music album from some strange metal band.
I don't know much about latin, just remember that phrase. What's right, what's wrong?

[Hanalyd]

Origineel geplaatst door Dr. Supertramp:

True, the letter "J" have been included since medieval Latin. However I never encountered this spelling of "alea iacta est" until now. But the fact that French wikipedia uses this spelling may indicate that its common in France.

Don'lt really on a wiki page.
Anyone can edit it.
So never get your facts from a wiki page either.
It has been alea iacta est for as long as I know.
Since you also say iacta instead of jacta.

[keeveek]

KOŚCI ZOSTAŁY RZUCONE [polish]

btw. thanks for brining in the best AGEOD game ever for a reasonable price!

[sawaz]

賽は投げられた

[76561198006416723]

il dado è tratto

[Seabee]

Fr: Les Des sont jetes

[Philippe_at_bay]

Alea iacta est and alea jacta est are both fine.

The orthographical convention of using "i" rather than 'j" is more prominent in the anglophone world, but from time to time you'll find texts from english-speaking editors using "j".

What you do with "v" is a bit more problematic, because Latin inscriptions used the same letter for the vowel and the consonant: there are a few words that begin with two letters that we tend to transcribe as "vu" like vulgus or vulnus, and writing them as uulgus and uulnus or vvlgvs and vvlnvs looks downright peculiar.

It gets really weird when you also realize that the romans wrote "C" and "G" with the same letter. Most agree that the first letter of Gnaeus (as in Pompey the Great's first name) was a "g", but to this day I'm unclear on whether Caesar's first name was Gaius or Caius.

What all this really means is that their orthographical conventions were just as silly as ours, and imitating their weirdness does not make your version any better or more correct. If anything, it has the opposite effect.

Exactly which orthographical conventions you follow is up to the editor of the particular text that you happen to be reading. The editor can do anything he wants, and you don't have to agree with him, but what he does have to do is to be consistent.

Arguing about using "i" or "j" is just as silly and pointless as arguing about using a lunate sigma instead of the other two letters (papyrologists use the lunate in their editions of greek texts).

Caesar, by the way, almost certainly never said alea iacta est. If you read Plutarch you'll know that he was quoting Menander when he crossed the Rubicon and what he actually said was ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (translit: anerrhiphtho kybos = let the die be cast). Caesar was an over-educated Roman who had gone to university in Greece, and spent a lot of time babbling in Greek, much as 19th century Russian aristocrats liked to speak French. His famous last words from Shakespeare are also a misquote, because what he really said, according to Suetonius, was καὶ σὺ, τέκνον; (translit: kai su teknon? = you too, child ?).

[Earnest]

Both are correct, fyi.

[Roundpixel]

Origineel geplaatst door Franciscus:

(also, the acronym we use for the game, AJE, is cooler than AIE :) )

Regards

And in addition "AIE" means "OUCH" in French...:-)

[furrykef]

Origineel geplaatst door Philippe_at_bay:

It gets really weird when you also realize that the romans wrote "C" and "G" with the same letter.

Not true. Well, it was true at one time, but that time was long before the birth of Caesar. The letter G is believed to have been invented circa 230 BC by Spurius Carvilius Ruga, and it probably became widespread not long after that. Caesar was born in 100 BC.

Most agree that the first letter of Gnaeus (as in Pompey the Great's first name) was a "g", but to this day I'm unclear on whether Caesar's first name was Gaius or Caius.

Definitely Gaius. The confusion comes from abbreviating Gaius and Gnaeus as "C." and "Cn." respectively. These abbreviations are remnants from the times when the two letters were not distinguished; I presume they persisted because these abbreviations were highly standardized. But when the names were written in full, they were always spelled with a G.

What all this really means is that their orthographical conventions were just as silly as ours

Certainly not! For one thing, you can tell exactly how a Latin word is pronounced just by looking at it, at least if the long vowels are marked. (Contrary to popular belief, the Romans in the Classical period typically did mark long vowels; it's the later writers and medieval scribes who did not.)

His famous last words from Shakespeare are also a misquote, because what he really said, according to Suetonius, was καὶ σὺ, τέκνον; (translit: kai su teknon? = you too, child ?).

It's also worth noting that Suetonius's quote is likely apocryphal. I like to joke that Caesar's real last words were "Aaarrrggghhh!"


As for the title of the game, I much prefer "iacta", but "jacta" is certainly not wrong, even in a Classical context. The Romans in the Classical period didn't distinguish U and V either, yet most modern editions of Classical texts do. It is entirely a stylistic choice.

[Hanalyd]

Origineel geplaatst door furrykef:

Origineel geplaatst door Philippe_at_bay:

It gets really weird when you also realize that the romans wrote "C" and "G" with the same letter.

Not true. Well, it was true at one time, but that time was long before the birth of Caesar. The letter G is believed to have been invented circa 230 BC by Spurius Carvilius Ruga, and it probably became widespread not long after that. Caesar was born in 100 BC.

Most agree that the first letter of Gnaeus (as in Pompey the Great's first name) was a "g", but to this day I'm unclear on whether Caesar's first name was Gaius or Caius.

Definitely Gaius. The confusion comes from abbreviating Gaius and Gnaeus as "C." and "Cn." respectively. These abbreviations are remnants from the times when the two letters were not distinguished; I presume they persisted because these abbreviations were highly standardized. But when the names were written in full, they were always spelled with a G.

What all this really means is that their orthographical conventions were just as silly as ours

Certainly not! For one thing, you can tell exactly how a Latin word is pronounced just by looking at it, at least if the long vowels are marked. (Contrary to popular belief, the Romans in the Classical period typically did mark long vowels; it's the later writers and medieval scribes who did not.)

His famous last words from Shakespeare are also a misquote, because what he really said, according to Suetonius, was καὶ σὺ, τέκνον; (translit: kai su teknon? = you too, child ?).

It's also worth noting that Suetonius's quote is likely apocryphal. I like to joke that Caesar's real last words were "Aaarrrggghhh!"


As for the title of the game, I much prefer "iacta", but "jacta" is certainly not wrong, even in a Classical context. The Romans in the Classical period didn't distinguish U and V either, yet most modern editions of Classical texts do. It is entirely a stylistic choice.

Ow god...
Necromancer!

["Possibly" Shalfoon]

It doesn't matter because Julius Caesar never really said it anyway...

["Possibly" Shalfoon]

Also... "The letter G is believed to have been invented circa 230 BC by Spurius Carvilius Ruga"

I need to invent a letter.

[Hanalyd]

Origineel geplaatst door "Grease-Trap" Gunther:

Also... "The letter G is believed to have been invented circa 230 BC by Spurius Carvilius Ruga"

I need to invent a letter.

And you couldn't edit your comment to create one comment instead of 2?

["Possibly" Shalfoon]

Baby steps, Requal, baby steps.