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Welcome to the Aesopica website!

In 2008, Oxford University Press reissued the World's Classics series with new covers, and with new ISBN numbers. The contents of the book remain the same. My apologies for any confusion this may cause in your search for the book online!



Old ISBN 0192840509


New ISBN 0199540756

Looking for a particular fable? There is a detailed index for Aesop's Fables (Oxford World's Classics), and you can also search the entire site for specific word(s) using the Search box at the bottom of each page.

Renaissance illustrations of Aesop: I've now got three different versions of Steinhowel's Aesop illustrated! The University of Mannheim has made available images from a 1501 edition of Steinhowel's Aesop, and at the Library of Congress I found a 1479 edition of Steinhowel's Aesop (German text), along with a 1521 edition of Steinhowel's Aesop (Spanish text). It's delightful to compare the obvious similarities, but also marked differences, between these three versions. In addition, I've posted images from a 1574 edition by Bernard Salomon, along with the text and images from the 1574 edition by Hieronymus Osius.

Early modern and modern illustrations. In addition to the Renaissance illustrations, I found a lovely 1687 edition of Aesop with illustrations by the famous artist and engraver Francis Barlow. From the early 19th century, I found the Thomas Bewick illustrated edition of Aesop online. The most commonly reprinted English text of Aesop online is the Townsend translation, which I have found online with the Weir illustrations at Google Books. Another commonly reprinted English edition is by Joseph Jacobs, which I have found online with the Heighway illustrations, again at Google Books. Thanks to Project Gutenberg, there are three public domain English translations of Aesop available with illustrations: Aesop's fables illustrated by John Tenniel among others in 1884, a translation by Vernon Jones illustratrated by Arthur Rackham in 1912, and a version of Aesop for children with illustrations by Milo Winters in 1919. Meanwhile, at Google Books, there page scans of Jacobs's Aesop, with illustrations by Richard Heighway. Finally, the most exquisite is Walter Crane's Baby's Own Aesop, with the fables told in limericks!

English versions of Aesop: In addition to the illustrated editions mentioned above, there are some text-only English editions at this website. The oldest printed English version of Aesop dates back to William Caxton in 1484. The first English version of Aesop specifically intended for children was published by Sir Roger L'Estrange in 1692. The most recent and most complete English translation was published by Laura Gibbs (that's me!) for Oxford World's Classics in 2002.

Greek: To read the Greek fables at this site, you will need a Unicode polytonic Greek font, such as Gentium, which is freely available for both Windows and Macintosh computers. You will find the verse fables of Babrius at this website, along with the prose versions of Aphthonius and Syntipas, and a wide selection of fables from the original two-volume modern edition by Chambry.

Latin: For links to OVER FOUR THOUSAND Aesop's fables in various Latin versions, visit the Aesopus website:

Phaedrus. The earliest extant collection of Aesop's fables from the ancient world, comprising slightly over 100 fables.

Avianus. Another very inlfuential early collection of Aesop's fables in verse (approximately 40 fables).

Ademar. An 11th-century collection of appx. 70 fables, the oldest of the extant Romulus collections.

Romulus in Prose. I have included these collections edited by Hervieux: Romulus Anglicus (appx. 140 fables), Romulus Ad Rufum (appx. 60 fables), Romulus Vulgaris (appx. 80 fables), Arctopolitanae (appx. 50 fables), Romulus of Marie de France (appx. 20 fables), and Vienna (2 manuscripts, for a total of appx. 130 fables).

Romulus in Meter. Approximately 40 fables in verse (dactylic hexameter).

Romulus in Rhyme. Approximately 50 fables in rhyming verse.

Walter of England. Approximately 60 fables in verse.

Alexander of Neckham. Approximately 40 fables in verse by a late 12th-century English scholar.

Vincent of Beauvais. Appx. 30 fables found in his Speculum historiale (13th century).

Odo of Cheriton. A marvelous collection of appx. 120 fables by a thirteenth-century preacher.

John of Sheppey. A 14th century collection of appx. 70 fables, drawing on both Romulus and Odo.

Speculum Sapientiae. An odd 13th-century work, not Aesopic, with appx. 100 animal "stories."

Dialogus creaturarum. An odd 14th-century work, also not Aesopic, with appx. 100 nature tales.

Steinhowel. The first edition of Aesop printed in book form, including appx. 140 fables.

Baldo. A Renaissance verse collection (15th century?) of appx. 30 fables from eastern sources.

Abstemius. A delightful collection of 100 "original" Renaissance fables, similar in theme to Aesop.

Aesop Phryx (Madrid). A frequently reprinted collection of appx. 350 fables (this particular edition printed at Madrid).

Hieronymus Osius. A  large collection of fables in verse (almost 300 of them), including the fables of Abstemius!

Caspar Barth. Approximately 70 fables in verse, written in a variety of meters.

Faernus. A lovely collection of 100 fables in verse by the sixteenth-century Italian poet Gabriele Faerno.

Candidus Pantaleon. Approximately 150 fables in verse, written by the 16th-century poet Candidus Pantaleon.

Marquardus Gudius. A collection of appx. 30 fables in verse  by the 17th-century scholar, Marquardus Gudius.

Johann Christ. Approximately 50 fables in verse by this 18th-century scholar.

Desbillons. Massive collection of over 500 verse fables by the 18th-century Jesuit scholar Francis Desbillons.

De Furia. Excellent collection of over 400 Greek fables with Latin translations from the early 19th century.

Jauffret. Appx. 120 of Jauffret's fables (early 19th century) translated into Latin verse.

LaFontaine. A second-year Latin textbook with 50 fables of LaFontaine in Latin prose.

Eton. Marvelous 18th-century edition of appx. 150 Aesop's fables in Latin and Greek prepared for Eton schoolboys.

Clarke's Reader. An 18th-century bilingual edition of the fables for schoolchildren, containing appx. 200 fables.

J&D and Via Latina Readers. These are 19th-century Latin readers for schoolchildren, including appx. 50 fables.