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The late N. G. L. Hammond taught Greek at Bristol University and Clare College, Cambridge University. His many books include Alexander the Great: King, Commander, and Statesman and the three-volume A History of Macedonia.

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The preeminent scholar of ancient Macedonia separates reliable fact from historical fiction to reveal the true intellect and charm that earned Alexander his epithet.

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The preeminent scholar of ancient Macedonia separates reliable fact from historical fiction to reveal the true intellect and charm that earned Alexander his epithet.

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The Genius of Alexander the Great

The University of North Carolina Press

Chapter One

Philonicus the Thessalian brought to Philip a stallion 'Bucephalus' at an asking price of thirteen talents. So down they went into the plain to put him to the test. The verdict was that he was savage and quite unmanageable. He would let no one mount him, disregarded the voice of any of Philip's company, and reared up to strike at one and all. Thereupon Philip was angry. He ordered the removal of the animal as utterly wild and undisciplined. Alexander was present. 'What a horse they are losing,' he said. 'They cannot handle him because they lack understanding and courage.' Philip at first was silent. But when Alexander persisted time and again and grew impassioned, Philip said, 'Criticise your elders, do you, on the ground that you yourself have a bit more understanding or are better able to manage a horse?' 'This horse at any rate,' Alexander replied, 'I'd manage better than anyone else would.' 'And if you do not manage him, what price will you pay for your rashness?' 'By Heaven,' he said, 'I shall pay you the price of the horse.' There was an outburst of laughter. Then, as soon as the terms of the bet between them were settled in monetary terms, Alexander ran to the horse, took the bridle-rein, and turned him round to face the sun - realising, so it seems, that the horse was completely upset by the sight of his own shadow dancing about in front of him.

For a while Alexander ran alongside the horse and stroked him. Then on seeing that he was full of zest and spirit, he quietly cast aside his cloak, made a flying jump, and was securely astride him. For a time he held him back, using a touch of the reins to check the bit, but without pulling or tearing his mouth, and when he saw the horse had rid himself of the fear and was eager for the race, he let him go and actually urged him on with a bolder cry and with the pressure of his leg. At first those who were with Philip were agonised and silent. But when he turned the horse in the correct manner and rode back proud and jubilant, all the others cheered, but his father, it is said, wept a little for joy, kissed him when he dismounted, and said. 'My boy, seek a kingdom to match yourself. Macedonia is not large enough to hold you.'

On my interpretation we owe this vivid account to an eyewitness, one Marsyas Macedon, who was an exact contemporary of Alexander and many years later wrote a book called The upbringing of Alexander. In accordance with the etiquette of the court, King Philip and his chosen Companions were attended daily by some of the Royal Pages; and on this occasion Alexander and Marsyas, both probably in their fifteenth year, were in attendance. Bucephalus, meaning 'Oxhead', so named from the brand-mark on his haunch, was a stallion some four years old. He was 'of large size and noble spirit', as indeed we see him portrayed in the Alexander Mosaic commemorating the Battle of Issus (Plate 12). He had already been broken by his trainer Philonicus. Now he was bridled and available for bareback riding (stirrups and saddle were not to be invented until our Middle Ages) by anyone who wanted to try his paces. His wild and dangerous behaviour daunted everyone except young Alexander.

In his handling of the situation Alexander showed an independence of judgement, an understanding of the horse, and a degree of courage remarkable in a boy of his age. It is no wonder that the spectators were in an agony of apprehension, for Alexander was risking his life. It is a measure of that apprehension that Philip is said to have wept for joy when his son returned in triumph. To those who lived to see Alexander in Asia, this event foreshadowed many occasions on which his independence, intelligence and courage brought triumph after triumph. At the time the wager was won by Alexander, and we may assume that Philip paid the price of the horse, which became Alexander's personal possession, was trained as a warhorse and would not accept any other rider. The words attributed to Philip as 'a saying' were probably not historical; for when father and son were dead, men liked to draw comparisons between them. But there is this much truth in the account: Alexander was striving to compete with his father and he was willing to risk his life to that end.

The following incidents and sayings were probably also taken by Plutarch from the work of Marsyas. Whenever news came that Philip had captured a famous city or won a remarkable victory, Alexander used to say to his contemporaries: 'My father, boys, will be the first to win everything; and for me he will leave no great and brilliant action to carry out together with you.' What he wanted as a young boy was not the enjoyment of pleasure or the spending of his wealth but the winning of 'excellence and glory', that is to excel and be recognised as excelling, and to win glory and be acclaimed as glorious. He had no doubt that one day he would be king. Indeed he felt he had to act already in a manner worthy of a king. That is the point of the story that, when the boys in his company asked him whether he would compete in the foot-race in the Olympic Games (for 'he was swift of foot'), he said, 'Yes, if I am to have kings as fellow-competitors.' To some of his companions he may have seemed precocious; for as Plutarch observed, probably citing Marsyas, 'his ambition kept him serious in mind and lofty in spirit'. But he had also a great gift for friendship of the finest kind. For instance, he was very deeply attached to Hephaestion, and he was loyal almost beyond reason to Harpalus, as we shall see. He carried his friends with him in his ambitions; that is why he spoke of winning renown 'together with you'.

In stature Alexander was below the average height for a man of his time. His voice was loud and assertive. He was of a strong and untiring physique. On the march he would practice mounting and dismounting from a running chariot; and it was this strength and his athleticism which enabled him to jump onto the back of Bucephalus. Whereas his father had rugged features and a strongly masculine aspect, Alexander as a youth was remarkable for the softness of his features, the slight protuberance and the melting glance of his eyes, a fair skin and a ruddy complexion. He probably inherited his looks less from his father than from his mother, Olympias (see Plates 1(a) and 15). Until the age of fourteen he was educated at home where life was simple; for there were no slaves and the womenfolk of the royal family cooked the meals and made the clothes. He must have been much influenced by his paternal grandmother Eurydice, who as Queen Mother was held in the highest esteem. She dedicated altars in the city-centre of the old capital Aegeae to 'Eukleia', 'Fair Fame', which was the guiding star of young Alexander, and she composed a delightful epigram which accompanied a dedication to the Muses:

Eurydice, daughter of Sirras, dedicated this (statue probably of Hermes) to her city's Muses, because she had in her soul a longing for knowledge. The happy mother of sons growing up, she laboured to learn letters, the recorders of the spoken word.

Alexander too was devoted to the Muses. The Iliad of Homer was his favourite, he delighted in the works of Pindar, the great tragedians and the dithyrambic poets, and he had a natural love of learning and of...