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Secondary sourcePainting1460

Alexander the Great riding Bucephalus

1460

A medieval manuscript drawing showing Alexander crowned and armed, riding his famous horse Bucephalus.

A later medieval image imagining Alexander as a crowned rider, showing how his legend was retold long after his death.

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Medieval manuscript page with a pen-and-ink drawing in a blue and red border of a crowned rider on a horse, holding a raised sword, with Latin text above, beside and below the image.
Alexander the Great riding Bucephalus, 1460. KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This is a pen-and-ink drawing from a medieval manuscript, dated to 1460. It shows a crowned rider on horseback holding a raised sword, surrounded by Latin text. It is held by the KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

Why it matters

The drawing does not come from Alexander's own time. It shows how people in medieval Europe imagined Alexander the Great nearly 1800 years after his death, dressed and crowned like a medieval king rather than an ancient Macedonian ruler. It reveals how his legend was retold and reshaped across centuries.

Look closer

  • What details make the rider look medieval rather than ancient?
  • Why might artists of this period show Alexander as a crowned king?
  • What does this image leave out about the real historical Alexander?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Alexander the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great

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Oil painting of a reclining young man in a white tunic and red blanket, drinking from a gold cup held by an attendant. An older bearded man in a yellow cloak reads a scroll at left, and two standing men, one shirtless with a blue cloak, one in an orange tunic, look on. A spear, shield and helmet hang on the wall.Painting

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Alexander the Great on his Sickbed

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Etching of a painter's studio: a standing man with a hand to his chin studies a large canvas on an easel while a helmeted warrior seated at right gestures toward it, with other figures and a Latin inscription below.Painting

Secondary source

Alexander the Great in the Studio of Apelles

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