Alexander the Great and his Horse, Bucephalus

   The bond between Alexander the Great and his horse, Bucephalus, was very special. Bucephalus was a large, black stallion who was presented to Alexander's father, King Phillip II in 346 BCE by Philonecus of Thessaly, for a price of 13 talents. This price was 3 times the normal amount at the time! However, this horse was taller than the normal Macedonian horse and was described as "too wild and unmanageable". Because of this, King Phillip ordered it away, but Alexander insisted that he would pay for the horse himself if he couldn't tame it. Everyone laughed at him because they thought that he would definitely fail at this. However, young Alexander came up to the horse and realized that it was actually afraid of it's own shadow! So, Alexander pointed the horse toward the sun in order to get the horse's shadow behind it. While the horse was facing the sun, Alexander mounted it. All were amazed that Alexander could actually do this, and all the laughter turned to cheering. For Alexander, this was the start to a great adventure with his new horse that he named "Bucephalus", meaning "ox-head" (because of the horse's huge head). Alexander was the only one who could ever ride him. They were inseparable! From the conquest of Greek city-states and Thebes, through battles of Guatemala and Hydaspes, Alexander the Great always rode in on his beloved horse, Bucephalus. The Persians once kidnapped Bucephalus while Alexander was on a short trip, and once Alexander found out, he was really mad. He threatened to destroy all of Persia and its inhabitants, and the Persians came quickly (in fear) to return Bucephalus to Alexander. Alexander even named a a city Bucephala (now in modern-day Pakistan) after this horse! Historians disagree of what the cause of Bucephalus' death was. Most say that he died from old age after the Battle of Hydaspes River in 326 BCE, but some say that he died from battle wounds. In conclusion, it is very clear that Bucephalus was important to Alexander and, overall, their story is incredible.