Illustrations from Steinhöwel’s Life of Aesop

Uncategorized / 2 December 2020 by DaBoss

Heinrich Steinhöwel’s 1477 collection of Aesop’s Fables starts out with a Life of Aesop. Below are illustrations from that section of the book with links to the original scans.

010-Fig-Eaters — Aesop convicts the fig eaters.

011-Gift-of-Speech — In his sleep, Aesop receives the gift of intelligent speech from the goddess of hospitality as thanks for entertaining a traveling priest.

015-Carries-Bread-Basket — Aesop carries the bread basket on the journey, which is quickly emptied.

017-Aesop-on-Sale-as-Slave — Aesop is for sale as a slave in the Samos market.

020-Xanthus-Lets-Water — His new master, the philosopher Xanthus, lets water while hiking.

022-Aesop-Ugly — The wife of Xanthus does not want Aesop as a servant because of his ugliness.

024-Vegetable-Gardener-Question — Aesop answers a vegetable gardener’s question as to why cultivated plants grow more slowly than wild ones.

027-Aesop-Replaces-Stolen-Pork — Aesop procures a replacement for a stolen knuckle of pork.

028-Meal-Given-to-Puppy — Aesop serves the meal that Xanthus gave him for his “dear madam” to the puppy instead of his master’s wife.

031-Xanthus-Wife-Back-Home — Aesop brings Xanthus’s wife back home by telling her that his master wants to marry again.

032-Aesop-Serves-Pork-Tongues — Aesop serves pork tongues to Xanthus and its pupils.

035-Person-Fetched-From-Street — Xanthus has Aesop fetch someone from the street without curiosity, whom his wife has to serve.

038-Question-About-Excrement — Aesop answers the question why people examine their excrement after defecation.

040-A-Bet-to-Drink-the-Sea — Aesop shows Xanthus how he can win the bet that he can drink up the sea.

041-Aesop-Whipped — Xanthus, who always feels that Aesop is in the best of hands, has him strip naked and whipped.

043-Xanthus-Wife-Asleep — Xanthus finds his wife asleep at the dining table with her rump bared.

045-Aesop-Deciphers-Inscription — Aesop deciphers the inscription on a funerary monument and brings the gold treasure discovered thereby to his master.

046-Aesop-Imprisoned — Xanthus has Aesop imprisoned.

049-Aesop-Explains-Eagle-Omen — Aesop explains to the Sami the omen of an eagle who has thrown the chamberlain’s ring into a slave’s lap.

051-Fable-of-Sheep — Aesop tells the Sami the fable of the sheep that dogs defended against wolves.

052-Fable-of-Cricket — Aesop tells the Lydian king Croesus the fable of the cricket that was caught with the locusts.

055-Aesop-Hidden — Aesop, who is highly regarded at the Babylonian court for his cleverness, is slandered by his adoptive son and hidden in a burial chamber by a student.

057-King-Rehabilitates-Aesop — The king rehabilitates Aesop and hands over his adopted son to him. Aesop treats him mildly and dismisses him with wise admonitions.

059-A-Suicide — Aware of his guilt, the adopted son throws himself to death.

060-Flying-People-in-Egypt — Aesop shows the Egyptian king flying people.

063-Babylonian-King-Honors-Aesop — The Babylonian king honors Aesop with a golden statue for his successful mission to Egypt.

064-Aesop-as-Sage-in-Greece — Aesop is admired as a sage in Greece, where he tells his fables. The Delphans slandered him out of envy as a temple robber.

066-Aesop-Captured — Aesop, who took refuge in the temple of Apollo, is dragged away by the Delphians.

068-Aesops-Death — The Delphans overthrow Aesop from a steep rock to his death.

This story of Aesop’s life is fairly standard among many translations. While parts of it might be true, in general most researchers consider it a fabrication.