Sic itur ad astra

For many students it is Latin a compulsory elective that almost inevitably ends up on the timetable at some point. While it is extremely easy for some due to its logic, especially students who are gifted in other languages ​​often cannot do anything with Latin and deselect it as soon as possible. However, there are Latin phrases that everyone knows - "In vino veritas", for example. "Sic itur ad astra" is not that well known, but it has a nice meaning.

Sic itur ad astra - origin and translation

• "Sic itur ad astra" - this is the sentence in Virgil's Aeneid Apollo calls out to the young warrior Ascanius after he has killed an enemy. The translation of this sentence is a bit controversial.
• If you translate literally correctly, the result is: "This is how to go to the stars", because the Latin original is a passive construction. In German, however, such a construction does not sound particularly clever, which is why the sentence is often remodeled a little.
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• You put in a "one", which is quite possible when translating passive constructions into German, and that's it does the sentence sound better: "This is how you go to the stars" or, translated a little more freely: "This is how you climb to the stars on."
• Apollo's sentence suggests that many Roman heroes are immortalized in the starry sky, so he shows a hero a path to heaven, a path to the divine. So this sentence has a very solemn and beautiful meaning that is often used in the USA.


Inter - intra: difference

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Usage in the USA

Often the phrase is shortened in the USA, so that only "Ad astra", ie "to the stars" remains. This motto was used by the Air Force Academy, among others, but is also popular with many high schools. The long form "Sic itur ad astra" is the motto of the city of Richmond in Virginia as well as that of the Air Force in neighboring Canada. NASA also likes to refer to Virgil's and Apollo's famous words in publications.