Jeffrey Gushman

HIST 134
Module 7 Bucephalus
Dr. Alec Thomson

Alexanders Horse: Bucephalus

What does 13 talents buy in ancient Greece? For Philip II in 346 BCE, it would have

bought him an extraordinarily tall, black horse whose temperament was a bit too wild for the

great leaders taste. After all, the challenges that would have been had to tame this wild horse

would add insult to injury since the horse was already three times the price of the average horse

in that time. But before the horse could be led off, a young Alexander rose in the crowd, and

accused those who thought the horse was unmanageable of being cowards and unable to manage

the horse. After some discourse with his son, Philip decided to purchase the horse, with the

condition that Alexander would raise him and tame him on his own. Alexander came over to

meet the horse, and realizing that it was afraid of its own shadow, led it into the sun. The horse

became calmer. Alexander proudly mounted the horse which would later be known as

Bucephalus, and also later known as one of the most famous horses in history. 1

Historians tell say that this was a significant point in the life of the then young Alexander.

That this day when Alexander took charge and tamed the wild beast, that this would foreshadow

Alexanders great conquests throughout Asia and growing the Hellenistic empire. Legend has it

that Philip even alluded to this on that fateful day, saying that Macedonia was too small for him.

And it turns out that would be true. As time went on, Bucephalus and Alexander would become

inseparable. He was the only person that the horse would let ride him. They made an outstanding

team, riding together to conquer the Greek city-states and many other places on the way to India.
The pair were so connected that once when the horse was kidnapped after conquering Persia,

Alexander threatened to essentially kill everyone and destroy everything in his path to find the

horse. When the horse was returned to him, its captors begged Alexander for forgiveness. The

dynamic duo would go on together until 326 BCE, when Bucephalus died. Some say he died of

battle wounds, others say he died of old age. Alexander honored Bucephalus by naming a city

after him, named Bucephala.1

But why was it that Bucephalus has gone down in history as being so famous? Time

Magazine ranked Bucephalus as the number 2 Top Heronic Animal of All Time.2 In their

article, Time mentions that the pair fought so many heroic and decisively won battles, that

perhaps thats where their bond grew. Indeed, Bucephalus fame is in many ways owing to that of

Alexander the Great himself. Being such a fierce fighter and battle winner, it is sensible to

deduce that Alexanders horse helped him garner some of his strength and courage in battle.

Bucephalus had been Alexanders right hand for his youth as a prince, all the way up to

adulthood and being a notorious leader of the Hellenistic people. They had grown together in

many ways. But what makes Bucephalus heroic? Perhaps it was because he aided Alexander so

much. Indeed, the horse never asked to be used this way, and he of course was a headstrong

animal when Alexander first acquired him. But he became heroic because he was willing to go

into battle with Alexander and give his all to help his master.

Of course there are some taller tales about the horse Bucephalus. There are tales that say

Bucephalus had a bit of a reputation before he made his way to Philip on that fateful day. These

stories say that Bucephalus was a man eating horse.3 He was used previously to execute

criminals by eating them alive. If these tales are true, it is even more of a fete that Alexander was
able to tame him so quickly, as the colt could have easily turned on Alexander and history could

have looked a lot differently.

Bucephalus was named so because of a brand of a bull on his thigh. Although other

sources say that the name originated from Alexander saying that the horse had a head as broad

as a bulls. 4 Bucephalus translates to bull headed which would also match his demeanor in

the years prior to meeting Alexander. 3 This name would later be known as a town in the

conquered areas of India that Alexander had taken over in battle. The town of Bucephala, bearing

the horses name, is said to have been built around the horses tomb. 3

Animals in history are often times spoke about in lofty ways and are treated with high

regard. Indeed a four legged companion has long been the sidekick of heroes past and present. In

the ancient world, these horses can be likened to dogs today, mans best friend. A true

companion, one who does as they are told, does not often complain, and cant talk back or be too

headstrong. Man has always had a love for conquering a beast, and the tales of Alexander and

Bucephalus are not much different. However they are significant in that Alexander tamed the

beast at such a young age and so easily. Perhaps it was fate that brought Alexander and

Bucephalus together. I think many historians could hypothesize that Alexander would not have

been able to be as successful in battle and in his career as a leader without Bucephalus by his

side.
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Annotated Biliography

1. Wasson, Donald R. Bucephalus. Ancient.eu. http://www.ancient.eu/Bucephalus/,

published 06 Oct 2011.

Donald Wasson is a professor at Lincoln College. He teaches Ancient, Medieval, and US History.
He is a long time lover of history, and is most passionate about Alexander the Great. Ancient.eu is
a highly acclaimed scholarly encyclopedia of Ancient History. The article works well to
summarize the life of Bucephalus and clearly outlines how Alexander and Bucephalus came to
know one another as well as their legacy together.

2. Steinmetz, Katie. Top 10 Heroic Animals. Time.

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2059858_2059863_2060
461,00.html. 21 Mar 2011
In this article, Katie Steinmetz takes an interesting analysis of historys Top 10 Heroic Animals.
Animals on the list include those of the modern era, and of ancient times. It is particularly
intriguing to include Bucephalus, as many of the other animals included on the list were those
who rescued people somewhere or the like of that. Bucephalus heroic aspects are a little more
deep, and I went into an analysis of why this horse was considered the 2 nd most heroic animal of
all time according to the author and Time Magazie.

3. Silver, Carly. 4 Reasons Why Alexander the Great's Horse Was the
Greatest Horse to Ever Live. HistoryBuff.com.
http://historybuff.com/alexander-greats-horse-original-american-
pharoah-6Q0pA9MRAgao. 12 Nov 2015.
This History Buff article outlines 4 reasons why Bucephalus was the greatest
horse in history. It goes into some history of Alexander and Bucephalus, which
was more clearly outlined in the above article by Ancient.eu, but it did
provide a deeper analysis into some tales about the horse that were not
found other places. This article was thought provoking and provided more
insight into the tales that were told about Bucephalus in ancient Greece.
4. Alexander the Great and Bucephalus. TheEquinest.com.
http://www.theequinest.com/bucephalus/. 31 Aug 2009.
The Equinest is a well respected source of information on horses and Equine
pursuits. I thought it would be important to get a sense of how the equine
and horse enthusiast community felt about the history of Bucephalus. Indeed,
the article shared much in common with the others, but did provide more
details on the history of Bucephalus.