Hyginus · 1st century BC to 2nd century AD
Fabulae
FabulaeAbout 277 short numbered chapters of Greek myth in Latin prose, opening with a genealogical preface. They tell the stories of the Argonauts, the house of Thebes, the Trojan War and the returns, the exploits of Heracles and Theseus, and many tales of transformation, with long lists of names, heroes and inventors. The text has reached us in a single damaged manuscript, now lost, and is full of gaps; in Schmidt's edition about thirty numbered chapters are missing altogether. The English is a new GreekMythology.com translation of Schmidt's Teubner-style text of 1872.
Contents · 24 passages
- 0The genealogical preface579 words
- 1–13Athamas, Cadmus and the Theban kings; Antiope, Niobe and Pelias1829 words
- 14The Argonauts: the catalogue of the crew1837 words
- 15–28The voyage to Colchis, Medea, and the Aloadae2234 words
- 29–36Alcmene and the exploits of Heracles1481 words
- 37–48Theseus, Minos and the Athenian kings1389 words
- 49–65Asclepius, Admetus, the sufferers of the underworld, and Perseus1765 words
- 66–73Oedipus and the Theban wars1629 words
- 74–88Hypsipyle, Tiresias, Leda, Helen and the house of Pelops2082 words
- 89–97Troy: Laomedon, Priam's sons, Paris and the muster of the Greeks1661 words
- 98–111The Trojan War and the sack of Troy2203 words
- 112–124Heroes in single combat, the Nostoi and Orestes1755 words
- 125–126The wanderings and homecoming of Odysseus1694 words
- 127–137Telegonus, Dionysus' deeds, Laocoon, Polyidus and Merope1668 words
- 138–154The gods of the early world: Titans, Prometheus, Typhon and the flood2195 words
- 155–167The children of the gods; Athena, Marsyas, Erichthonius and Dionysus1111 words
- 168–177Danaus, Meleager and the Calydonian hunt, Lycaon and Callisto1530 words
- 178–184Europa and Cadmus, Semele, Actaeon, the horses of the Sun and Pentheus910 words
- 185–191Atalanta, Melanippe, Alope, Theophane, Procris, Theonoe and Midas1985 words
- 192–206Hyas, Harpalyce, Arion, Orion and tales of transformation1782 words
- 219–225Archelaus, Cura, the Seven Sages, the Seven Wonders and the first temples889 words
- 238–253Catalogues: killers of kin, suicides, nurslings and forbidden unions1658 words
- 254–261Dutiful children, friends, and interpolated stories from Servius1506 words
- 269–277Beauty, the earliest games, inventions, cities and islands2205 words
More by Hyginus
English translation by GreekMythology.com (2026). Original text: Moritz Schmidt (ed.), Hygini Fabulae, Jena: Hermann Dufft, 1872.
Text layer: Latin text: public domain (Schmidt, 1872; our OCR correction of the Internet Archive scan bub_gb_g5QlAAAAMAAJ). English translation © GreekMythology.com.. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.