Scholars estimate that Aesop lived in Greece in the sixth century BCE. Many fables have been attributed to Aesop of the years, including the well-known stories of The Hare and the Tortoise, The Goose With the Golden Eggs and The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, among many others. Some scholarship suggests that Aesop did not, in fact, create the tales attributed to him, he merely transcribed them into a single compendium.
The Odyssey details the journey of Odysseus returning home from the Trojan War. The Odyssey recounts several well-known Greek myths. The Odyssey is credited to Homer, but scholars are unsure if there was only one poet responsible for the poem in its final form. The Odyssey collects various Greek myths, regarding the Gods and Odysseus, and recounts them in a single narrative. The best-known scenes include the tale of the Cyclops and story of the Sirens.
Grimm's Fairy Tales was first published in Germany in 1812 under the title Children's and Household Tales. The stories were traditional German fairy tales, collected and transcribed by brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. Some of the best known fairy tales in this anthology include Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White. However, the versions in Grimm's Fairy Tales are a little darker than contemporary renderings made popular in Disney movies.
Italian Folktales is a book that featuring 200 Italian folktales collected by Italo Calvino. It was first published in 1954. Calvino used the research of existing folklorists to uncover the tales, and the book included the source for each story in the collection. Calvino admitted to making minor changes to some of the stories, but provided thorough notations in the book, outlining the reasoning behind his alterations.