Babrius Biography

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Babrius

The Fables of Babrius, written in choliambic verse, constitutes the earliest extant collection of Aesopic fables in Greek and is the only extant Greek collection from antiquity whose author attempts to present his fables in a more sophisticated literary form, that is, in verse. The earliest extant Greek collection in prose makes no such attempt. Rather it offers succinct narratives, told in simple, straightforward style, and makes little or no attempt at elaboration or sophistication.

The only thing securely known about Babrius is that he published a collection of 143 Aesopic fables; two introductory prologues have also been ascribed to him in ancient, medieval, and modern times. The title of Babrius's collection, which is not complete, is Mythiambi, or Fables in Iambic Verse (late second century A.D.). Fifty-seven additional fables exist, paraphrased in prose, that can safely be assigned to Babrius. These are found in the so-called Bodleian Paraphrase, named after its chief manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

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