BUCEPHALUS 



OLD Philonicus of Thessaly was the most 

 famous horse-raiser of his time. His 

 stables were talked about from the Adriatic Sea 

 to the Persian Gulf, and many of the best war 

 steeds in Greece and Asia Minor had been bred 

 and partially trained by him. He prided himself 

 particularly on his " ox-headed " horses — ^broad- 

 browed fellows, with large polls and small, sharp 

 ears, set far apart. Proud creatures these were, 

 and strong, and knowing, and high-spirited — 

 just the kind for war steeds ; and that was about 

 all that horses were valued for in those days. 



Among these " ox-heads " there was one which 

 excelled all others in mettle, beauty, and size, but 

 which, nevertheless, was a source of great con- 

 cern to his master. He seemed to be altogether 

 untamable, and, although he was now fourteen 

 years old, there was not a horseman in Greece 

 who had ever been able to mount him. He was a 

 handsome creature — coal-black, with a white star 



