Crossing the Rubicon

‘The die has been cast!’ shouted Caesar to his men.

That’s Julius Caesar I am referring to, perhaps the greatest military commander in history.

He famously uttered these immortal words to his soldiers as he crossed the river Rubicon in 49BC.

You see, the Rubicon was a river in Italy that traversed the country. To protect the city of Rome, it was the law that any Roman general returning from war had to disband his army before he crossed it. Otherwise, he would be deemed an ‘enemy of the state’.

After being away for some time Caesar had been ordered back to Rome. However, he had heard rumours that powerful people had united against him and were plotting his downfall.

But Caesar other ideas!

So he deliberately led his army across the Rubicon and marched on Rome. This pivotal event changed the history of the Roman empire and in turn the world.

Caesar went on to start a bloody civil war, which he won, and then claimed absolute power.

Nowadays we refer to ‘crossing the Rubicon’ when we do something we cannot turn back from, when we have crossed a boundary and gone too far to stop.

Have you ever reached a major point of no return in your life?

Perhaps you left a job, started your own business or committed to something which made a huge difference to your future.

When did you ‘cross the Rubicon’?

Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear your stories!