The Horse Makes the Man: Bucephalus and Alexander in Art, History, and Legend

This paper explores the previously unexamined parallel characterization of Alexander the Great and his horse Bucephalus in Hellenistic art, Ancient Greek history and biography, the Alexander Romance, and the Medieval Spanish Libro de Alexandre (Book of Alexander). Throughout sixteen centuries of the Alexander tradition, the pair assimilate aspects of each other’s character. Sometimes, the shared characteristics are presented as laudable, including strength, courage, and a special connection to the divine. On the other hand, the pair sometimes share a ferocious and wrathful nature. Alexander was first characterized through his mount in Hellenistic art, in which Bucephalus promotes Alexander’s representation as strong, vigorous, and possessing a special connection with the divine. In the historian Arrian and biographer Plutarch, Bucephalus can also represent Alexander's character's darker, more ferocious side, although at times only to allow the king to triumph over it. The bond between horse and rider reaches its apex in the Alexander Romance, where a shared monstrosity indicates that a certain nobility coexists with something beastly in Alexander’s nature. Finally, in the Libro de Alexandre, Bucephalus plays a vital role in the Christianization of the pagan king in medieval legend.