THURSDAY, APRIL 16
I bought this bronze horse many years ago. It reminded me of a horse and its rider, both of whom I had dreamed about since I was a boy.

One of my favorite stories from ancient times is the legend that grew up around Alexander the Great’s horse, Bucephalus. The story about this wondrous horse is told by Plutarch. Alexander is said to have ridden the horse for thousands of miles as he fought and cajoled and negotiated his way across the world to create one of the greatest empires of all time. How he came to own the horse is one of the best parts of the story.

Philoneicus, a Thessalian, brought a gift of a wild horse to King Philip II of Macedon, Alexander’s father. Philip was understandably annoyed with Philoneicus for bringing such a dangerous gift to him. Philip didn’t want to lose face by refusing to accepting the gift or by hesitating to ride the horse. His son solved one problem but created another. Alexander had watched as Bucephalus was brought into a corral and had noticed that the horse was shying away from his own shadow. Alexander didn’t rush the horse, but gently led Bucephalus to a place where he was facing the sun. With his shadow falling behind the horse, Alexander was eventually able to mount him and to ride him. Philip felt he had been put on the spot by Philoneicus and humiliated by his son.

Bucephalus died of battle wounds in 326 B.C. in Alexander’s last battle. Alexander named a city for him. The modern town of Jhelum in Pakistan was once known as Bucephala.