2015年1月10日 星期六

The Rubicon

Presumed course of the Rubicon c.49 BC
The Rubicon (LatinRubicoItalianRubicone) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy just south of Ravenna, about 80 kilometres long, running from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena. The Latin word rubico comes from the adjective rubeus, meaning "red". The river was so named because its waters are colored red by mud deposits.
The idiom "Crossing the Rubicon" means to pass a point of no return, and refers toJulius Caesar's army's crossing of the river in 49 BC, which was considered an act of insurrection. Because the course of the river has changed much since then, it is impossible to confirm exactly where the Rubicon flowed when Caesar and hislegions crossed it, even though most evidence links it to the river officially so named. The river is perhaps most known as the place where Julius Caesar uttered the famous phrase "alea iacta est" – the die is cast.
‪#‎onthisday‬ in 49 BC: Julius Caesar and his army cross the Rubicon into Italy on their way to Rome http://ow.ly/GQeaG

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