Bucephalus (Gr "ox-headed", from βους, "ox", and κεφαλή, "head") was a type of branding mark anciently used on horses. It was one of the three most common, besides Ϻ, San, and Ϙ, Koppa. Those horses marked with a San were called Σαμφόραι, Samphorai; those with a Koppa, Κοππατίαι, Koppatiai; and those with an ox's head, Βουκέφαλοι, Bucephali.
This mark was stamped on the horse's buttocks, and his harnesses, as appears from the scholiast on Aristophanes's The Clouds, Hesychius, etc.
Alexander's horse was named Bucephalus after this brand on its haunch[1]
This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.