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AESOP'S FABLES - THE HISTORY
Aesop was the most famous fabulist in history. Most of his
fables can be traced to 6th BC. His
fables, always with a moral and ethical undertone, have
presented countless generations with amusing and thought
provoking tales.
The history of Aesop is buried in antiquity and, like that
of Homer, is shrouded in myth and legend. Aesop was first a slave,
serving two masters and then as a free intellectual, earning a
good reputation for his remarkable wit and wisdom. He was
reputedly born in ancient Greece around 620 B.C. and lived to
approximately 560 B.C.
Aesop
first told his fables to his master and his masters' friends.
He soon became famous throughout Greece for not only his
fables, but his quick wit. He was owned by two masters in
succession, both habitants of Samos, Xanthus, and Jadmon, the
latter of gave him his liberty as a reward for his learning
and wit.
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One of the privileges of a freedman in the ancient
republics of Greece, was the permission to take an active
interest in public affairs; and Aesop raised himself from the
indignity of a servile condition to a position renown.
A few of the more classic stories, like,
The Tortoise and The Hare, have been immortalized in
many a modern day cartoon. Aesop is a timeless storyteller
cause of the mix of amusing stories that have a lesson to be
learned.
Many popular fables throughout history have been attributed
to Aesop, but it's unclear how many he actually wrote; indeed,
his historical existence as a living person is under question.
According to some legends, his death was unnatural. He was
said to have been killed in Delphi by some people following a
misunderstanding. There is no general consensus as to what
constitutes the original fables of Aesop and how many were
later added on ascribed to him owing to his popularity. There
is also a theory that Aesop probably got some of his stories
from the sailing Indian merchants or the traveling Buddhist
monks and added them to his own. The similarity between some
stories of the Panchatantra and those of Aesop do suggest that
both these works had drawn probably from some common folklore
of their times. It is possible that some of the fables might
have traveled either ways along the trade routes and the
wandering tribes and were incorporated in course of time into
respective lists.
One story is
good, till another is told!
Aesop
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