Not to be confused with the eight-year-old gelding trained by Neil Mulholland, recently the winner of a handicap hurdle at Chepstow, the titular Bucephalus was, in fact, one of the most famous horses in ancient and medieval literature. The cherished warhorse of Alexander III of Macedon, a.k.a Alexander The Great, who succeeded his father, Philip, in 336 BCE, Bucephalus was bred “of the best Thessalian strain” – Thessaly being a traditional region of Ancient Greece, renowned for breeding stock – and may well have been an Akhal Teke, one of the oldest breeds in the world.
The name ‘Bucephalus’ is derived from the Greek words ‘bous’, meaning ‘ox’ and ‘kephalos’ meaning ‘head’, although exactly why he was so-called is a matter of debate. Indeed, medieval illustrations often depict him as an untamed hybrid with three horns on his head. He also had a reputation for consuming human flesh, which Alexander used to his advantage on the battlefield.
According to legend, the supposedly unbreakable Bucephalus was calmed by a young Alexander, who noticed that the horse was, in fact, afraid of his own shadow. By turning Bucephalus towards, rather than away from, the sun, he was able to mount without incident and subsequently ride the horse throughout his lenghty military campaign.
Many myths and legends exist about Buchephalus and he has become an enduring symbol of bravery and loyalty throughout history. Exactly how he met his end is, again, debated, but the consensus of opinion that he died, from his wounds, or from natural causes, following the Battle of the Hydaspes, in modern-day Pakistan, in 326 BCE. Either way, such was the bond between horse and rider that Alexander named one of the two cities he founded on either side of the Hydapses (nowadays Jhelum) River shortly after the battle Boukephala, or Bucephala, in memory of his beloved horse.