Alexander and Bucephalus

King Philip of Macedonia, the conqueror of Greece, desired the finest horses for himself and his cavalry. The best horses in Greece were bred in Thessaly, to the south of Macedonia. Philonicus the Thessalian was known as a dealer of fine horses and he had never disappointed Philip. However, this time it seemed that the Thessalian had overestimated his customer. Philonicus led out a magnificent stallion, saying it was descended from the mighty mares of Diomedes which had been tamed by Heracles. The king was amazed at the horse’s size and strength; he was also alarmed by its obvious temper. It was clear that this horse would be unstoppable in war but it was also clear that it was all but untameable. Undeterred, the cunning Philonicus loudly offered the horse to the king for the staggering price of thirteen talents of silver.

Philip refused the offer and cast doubt that the animal could ever be tamed. However, hearing the exchange between the dealer and the king, a confident voice spoke up: “I wager that I can tame him.” The voice belonged to Philip’s son Alexander, who offered that he himself would pay the price for the horse should he be unable to tame it. The straightforward king was impressed by the prince’s confidence and accepted the wager. Alexander approached the mighty horse, dropping his cloak so that its movements would not startle it. Speaking softly to it, the prince turned the stallion to face the sun so that it could not see its own shadow. Prince Alexander rightly judged that the high-tempered horse was continually startled by its shadow, and thus was able to win its confidence.

Alexander mounted the horse and his impressed father paid Philonicus the thirteen talents. The prince named the horse Bucephalus (“ox-head”) after a brand mark on it and he and the stallion became inseparable. Alexander went on to succeed Philip as king and to conquer the world, riding Bucephalus on all his campaigns. He prized the horse like little else. However, in faraway Punjab, Alexander the Great incurred heavy casualties defeating the local king; Bucephalus also perished in this battle. Before withdrawing west, Alexander founded a city, not naming it—as he often did—after himself, but in his horse’s honour.