"Veni, vidi, vici" (ˈweːniː ˈwiːdiː ˈwiːkiː; ˈvɛni ˈvidi ˈvitʃi; "I came, I saw, I conquered." ) is a Latin sentence reportedly written by Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 in 47 BC as a comment on his short war with Pharnaces II of Pontus

Pharnaces II of Pontus

Pharnaces II of Pontus, also known as Pharnaces II was a prince, then King of Pontus and the Bosporan until his death. He was a monarch of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. Pharnaces II was the youngest son and child born to King Mithridates VI of Pontus from his first wife, his sister Queen...

 in the city of Zela (currently known as Zile

Zile

', also known as Zela, is a city and a district of Tokat Province, Turkey. Zile lies to the south of Amasya and the west of Tokat in north-central Turkey...

, in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

).

Its form (a three-part sentence or motto) is classed as a tricolon

Tricolon

In rhetoric, a bicolon, tricolon, or tetracolon is a sentence with two, three, or four clearly defined parts , usually independent clauses and of increasing power.-Tricolon:...

 and a hendiatris

Hendiatris

Hendiatris is a figure of speech used for emphasis, in which three words are used to express one idea...

.
The sentence appears in Plutarch

Plutarch

Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...

 and Suetonius

Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....

 (Plut. Caes. 50, Suet. Iul. 37.). Plutarch reports that he "gave Amantius, a friend of his at Rome, an account of this action", whereas Suetonius says "In his Pontic triumph he displayed among the show-pieces of the procession an inscription of but three words, 'I came, I saw, I conquered;'".

"Veni", "vidi", and "vici" are first person

Grammatical person

Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...

 perfect forms of the three Latin verbs "venire", "videre", and "vincere".

Cultural references

Variations of the sentence "Veni, vidi, vici" are often quoted in music, art, literature, and entertainment.

At times, it has been misconceived as a sort of "magic word". The three words in the sentence are similar, suggesting a sort of chant

Chant

Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...

 or spell

Magic (paranormal)

Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

. The television show Doug

Doug

Doug is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Jinkins and co-produced by his studio, Jumbo Pictures . Doug centers on the surreal and imaginative exploits of its title character, Douglas "Doug" Funnie, who experiences common predicaments while attending middle school. The series lampoons...

from Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon (TV channel)

Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

 applied the term as such.

The sentence lends itself to use in music, and has been used in many works over the years; ranging from the opening of Handel

HANDEL

HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....

's opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, in "Curio, Cesare venne, e vide e vinse (Curio, Caesar came, saw and conquered)", in the 1940s song "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)

These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)

"These Foolish Things " is a standard with words by Eric Maschwitz and music by Jack Strachey. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer, but his input was probably limited to changes to suit the U.S. market. It is one of a group of 'Mayfair Songs', like "A Nightingale Sang in...

", in the line "You came, you saw, you conquered" in the title song of the musical Mame, and "I came, I saw, I conquered – From record sales, to sold out concerts" in "Encore

Encore (Jay-Z song)

"Encore" is a song from Jay-Z's The Black Album. "Encore" received much popularity when it was mixed with Linkin Park's hit single "Numb" on the mash-up album Collision Course as "Numb/Encore" and eventually went on to win a Grammy Award.-Background:...

" by Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

.

There are numerous references to this sentence in literature. Some examples are the poem "Veni, vidi, vixi" by French poet Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

, written after the death of his daughter Leopoldine at age 19 in 1843: the title means "I came, I saw, I lived", and the first verse is "J'ai bien assez vecu…" which could be translated as "I have already lived too long…". It is also frequently used as a heading, for example as the name of a chapter in Ender's Game

Ender's Game

Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...

.

The sentence is also often used in more general contexts, for example in the species name of the Conquered Lorikeet

Conquered Lorikeet

The Conquered Lorikeet is a species of parrot that became extinct 700–1300 years ago. It was named by David Steadman, as a wordplay on "veni, vidi, vici." Its range was from the Cook Islands to the Society and Marquesas Islands...

 (Vini vidivici). It is often used as a motto or a tagline, due to its forceful connotation, for example in the previous logo of Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International is an international tobacco company, with products sold in over 160 countries. In 2007, it held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA and reported revenues net of excise taxes of $22.8 billion and operating income of $8.9 billion.Until...

, or a misspelled version (Vini, Vidi, Vici) as the motto of the US Army Sniper School

US Army Sniper School

The U.S. Army Sniper School is part of the United States Army 197th Infantry Brigade based at Fort Benning, Georgia. The first U.S. Army Sniper School was short lived, being established in 1955, but disbanded in 1956 at Camp Perry, Ohio. The U.S...

.

Dr. Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...

 (played by Bill Murray

Bill Murray

William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...

) uses a humorous variation on this phrase when describing how his team vanquished a phantasm by declaring, "we came, we saw, we kicked its ass!"

In 2010 Apple Tech Talks (iOS developers conference) they used a motto "I came, I saw, I coded."