Bucephalus

Bucephalus or Bucephalas (bjuːˈsɛfələs; Βουκεφάλας; 355 BC – June 326 BC) was the horse of Alexander the Great, and one of the most famous horses of classical antiquity. Ancient historical accounts state that Bucephalus' breed was that of the "best Thessalian strain", and that he died in what is now Punjab, Pakistan, after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC. Alexander was so grieved at the loss of his horse that he named one of the many cities he founded after him, as Alexandria Bucephalous. Bucephalus was named after a branding mark depicting an ox's head on his haunch. A massive creature with a massive head, Bucephalus is described as having a black coat with a large white star on his brow. He is also supposed to have had a "wall eye" (blue eye) , and his breeding was that of the "best Thessalian strain". Plutarch says in 344 BC, at twelve or thirteen years of age, Alexander of Macedonia won the horse by making a wager with his father:Arthur Hugh Clough (editor), John Dryden (translator), Plutarch's 'Lives''', vol. II, Modern Library, 2001. A horse dealer named Philonicus the Thessalian offered Bucephalus to King Philip II for the remarkably high sum of 13 talents. Because no one could tame the animal, Philip was not interested. However, Alexander was, and he offered to pay himself should he fail. Alexander was given a chance and surprised all by subduing it. He spoke soothingly to the horse and turned it toward the sun so that it could no longer see its own shadow, which had been the cause of its distress. Dropping his fluttering cloak as well, Alexander successfully tamed the horse. Plutarch says that the incident so impressed Philip that he told the boy, "O my son, look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee." Philip's speech strikes the only false note in the anecdote, according to A. R. Anderson, who noted his words as the embryo of the legend fully developed in the History of Alexander the Great I.15, 17.