Aesop And Aesop’s Fables

Aesop was an Ancient Greek writer who lived in the 6th century BC in Athens,
Greece.
Aesop (Aisopos in Greek, Αίσωπος) is known about the myths he wrote,
referred to as Aesop’s Fables.
Little is known about the life of Aesop. According to historical facts he was a
slave, while some legends suggest Aesop was an ugly hunchbacked slave,
although his real appearance is a mystery.

One thing is known for sure – Aesop was a very smart, resourceful and
inventive man. And thanks to these qualities he was able to acquire his
freedom.

Legends About Aesop

One of the most famous legends tells that during a feast, the lord of Aesop too
boldly stated that he would drink the sea. If he couldn’t he would lose all his
wealth. The next morning, realizing his claim was impossible to complete, he
called Aesop.

The slave quickly realized the trouble his master was in and promised that he
would help save his dignity and honor.

Both men went to the seashore to face a noisy crowd, gathered to see how the
stupid man would “drink the sea”.

Aesop explained to the people that his master could “drink” the sea, but for the
rules to be met all the water from the rivers and lakes, flowing into the sea,
should be removed.

Needless to say, nobody was able to separate the sea, and the master saved his
wealth and honor. As a reward Aesop received his freedom.

The Death Of Aesop

In every story, whose character is Aesop, he was always smarter than his
master, and wiser than the wisest.

That is why the Delphic priests of the temple of the Greek god Apollo did not
forgive the wisdom of the slave. Legend has it Aesop was thrown into the sea
from a cliff, accused in stealing a golden cup from a temple. The immoral
actions of the priests were punished by Apollo, who sent plague to sicken his
unworthy servants in his Delphic shrine.

We can only speculate whether this is the truth about the death of Aesop. We
do know, however, that with his name is associated with the emergence of
fables as a genre in Greek literature.

Aesop takes themes and ideas from the folklore heritage to create his works.
The fables of Aesop were not written in his lifetime, but passed on from mouth
to mouth. Over time, other fables were credited to Aesop.

Finally, a collection of 352 interesting and original Greek myths, simply called
“Aesop’s fables“, were created.