The Complete Fables (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Aesop (Author), Robert Temple (Translator, Introduction), Olivia Temple (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: March 1, 1998

Aesop was probably a prisoner of war, sold into slavery in the early sixth century BC, who represented his masters in court and negotiations, and relied on animal stories to put across his key points. All these fables, full of humour, insight and savage wit, as well as many fascinating glimpses of ordinary life, have now been brought together for the first time in this definitive and fully annotated modern edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

About the Author

AESOP probably lived in the middle part of the sixth century BC. A statement in Herodotus gives grounds for thinking that he was a slave. OLIVIA TEMPLE is a figurative painter, a director of several private companies, and has also written articles and reviews for a variety of magazines. ROBERT TEMPLE is the author of eight books, and has published several articles about the scientific works of Aristotle. He is also a television drama producer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140446494
• ISBN-13: 978-0140446494
• Product Dimensions: 4.7 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > More Languages > Greek

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book does NOT contain the complete fables of Aesop., July 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Fables (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

This translation claims to contain the complete fables of Aesop, but this is not correct: Ben E. Perry's edition of Aesopic fables for the Loeb Classical Library (ISBN: 0674994809) contains approximately twice as many fables as the Temples' supposedly "complete" fables. Robert and Olivia Temple do not know very much about the sources of Aesopic fables, and they do a poor job of describing the history of this wonderful body of folklore. People who are really interested in Aesop would do well to look for a copy of Lloyd Daly's Aesop without Morals (out of print) or they can read the brilliant collection of Aesop's fables in seventeenth-century English by Roger L'Estrange (published in Everyman's Library Children's Classics, ISBN: 0679417907).

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, March 17, 2006

By 

Willis G. Regier "Billinois" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Fables (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

The translators justify calling this edition "Complete" because no one can say for sure what a "complete Aesop" would be. That's a lame excuse for an assertive title. Especially vexing is the lack of an index or table of contents; if you are looking for a particular fable, you must hunt through the whole book. It is good that they based their translations on the Chambrey edition, though the Perry edition (1952) is much more comprehensive. I am stunned by the comment made by "Fluid Artist" that the Perry edition (AESOPICA, 1952) is full of falsities; it'd be good to know what those falsities are. Fluid Artist claims to have read Perry's book, which would be marvelous, since it is almost 800 pages long and almost entirely in Greek and Latin. Laura Gibbs's AESOP'S FABLES (Oxford) is better in every respect.

47 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for children, but a good source & great book, December 26, 2000

By 

KTB "KTB" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Fables (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I think perhaps some of the reviewers here are missing the point of this book. And please don't go read Ben E. Perry's book because it's just full of falsities. I know, I've read it. Here's the thing: the fables that I and many others have grown up with are really adaptations and distortions of the real fables. And as the author points out, those fables may have been attributed to Aesop but he didn't think all of them up. He had other sources he drew from. These fables are probably not best read to children but if you're going to use them to help teach morals then adapting them to your own purpose is fine. However, I read this edition for a scholarly purpose because I'm interested in the origins of fables and folk tales. It is a really good book for that purpose. Morality was not Aesop's thing, the morals were attached later. If you're into morality then try another book.