Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, are a collection of fables credited to Aesop. During the early 16th century, the Assassin Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze discovered a hidden copy of this book in Constantinople.[1]
Summary
As mentioned in Plato's "Phaedo" dialogue, the Greek philosopher Socrates had a deep fondness for the ancient fables of Aesop, and spent much of the end of his life, during the course of his final imprisonment, turning these classic tales into verse. Displaying a rare talent for ecstatic meter and vivid imagery, Socrates also had the curious habit - noted by contemporaries with much befuddlement - of setting his versions of the fables tens of thousands of years in the past, far earlier than any other version before or since.
Trivia
- The copy of Aesop's Fables obtained by Ezio was attributed to Socrates, suggesting that he was either the true author or the one who wrote the fables down.
- In 47 BCE, the fables were briefly mentioned by the Egyptian philosopher Tefibi during his conversation with the Medjay Bayek of Siwa, when the former intended to write a fable about the latter.[2]
- In 1191, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad overheard two civilians in Acre briefly mention Aesop's Fables. One of them believed he was quoting the Bible, but the other corrected him by stating that the quote was actually from one of Aesop's Fables.[3]
- In 1721, after suffering the loss of Mary Read, Edward Kenway experienced a disturbing dream in which, among other things, Woodes Rogers recited Aesop's fable about the eagle and the jackdaw.[4]
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (mentioned only)