[1] According to the Alexander Romance (1.15), the name "Bucephalus" literally means "ox-headed" (from βοῦς and κεφᾰλή), and supposedly comes from a brand (or scar) on the thigh of the horse that looked like an ox's head.

[2] Ancient historical accounts[3] state that Bucephalus's breed was that of the "best Thessalian strain", and that he died in what is now Punjab, Pakistan, after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC.

The mythic attributes of the animal are further reinforced in the romance by the Delphic Oracle who tells Philip that the destined king of the world will be the one who rides Bucephalus, a horse with the mark of the ox's head on his haunch.

The value which Alexander placed on Bucephalus emulated his hero and supposed ancestor Achilles, who claimed that his horses were "known to excel all others—for they are immortal.

Other sources, however, give as the cause of death not old age or weariness, but fatal injuries at the Battle of the Hydaspes (June 326 BC), in which Alexander's army defeated King Porus.