Aesop: The Complete Fables

This definitive and fully annotated modern edition of the Fables is the first translation ever to make available the complete corpus of 358 fables attributed to Aesop, displaying his humor, insight, and savage wit, as well as affording fascinating glimpses of everyday life in ancient Greece. Earlier English versions have been both sanitized and highly selective. Aesop was probably a prisoner of war, sold into slavery in the early sixth century B.C., who represented his masters in court and relied on animal stories to put across his key points. These tales are brought together with other Aesop-inspired satirical tales, probably originating in Libya and Egypt.