Babrios (2nd century AD), author of fables in hinkjambs, has so far been completely neglected by scholars of antiquity - his subtle play with the genre, which he deconstructs in places, and his enormous narrative skill have not been recognised. In German, there have so far only been very free metrical translations without an accompanying Greek text. This has been recreated for this edition on the basis of the latest research into the tradition; the translation endeavours to make the special character of this imperial contribution to the Aesopian genre recognisable in German as well. The introduction and the explanatory notes are based on the latest findings of modern literary scholarship in that, in contrast to older studies, they not only deal with the source problem but also take into account the narrative structure, intertextuality and explicit and implicit poetics and endeavour to carefully develop references to the social context.

Niklas Holzberg, Universität München.