AesopAesopos

(circa 620-560 BCE) The famous writer of fables.

Ironically, the only real information we have about the life of Aesop is due to his enslavement to a man named, Iadmon from the island of Samos; the historian Herodotus simply says that Aesop was a “story teller” and mentioned him only in reference to the famous courtesan, Rhodopis.

Aesop’s stories were morality tales involving animals who spoke and displayed all manner of human characteristics.

The fables of Aesop seem to have been very popular in Athens as he is mentioned several times by the comic poet, Aristophanes.

When you encounter a book of Aesop’s fables, you will notice that each fable is followed by a moral; the morals were added over the ages by unknown authors; some of the morals date from the time of Alexander the Great (circa 350 BCE) and others were added at a later date; the morals seem to have been added as a quick reference for public speakers who wanted to use one of Aesop’s fables to make a point in a concise and humorous way.

I personally recommend Aesop: Complete Fables by Robert Temple and Olivia Temple (ISBN 0140446494) which can be found at your local library or can be ordered from the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.

• Histories, book 2, chapter 134
• Aristophanes, Wasps and Birds