Aesop

AESOP (Greek, c. 620-564 BCE)

This famed author of the Fables may have been a "fable" himself: there is no proof that he ever lived. Rather, that name was credited with a body of stories that continued to develop across the centuries and in many languages. Some ancient sources say he was a strikingly ugly slave who eventually was freed for his cleverness; slightly later traditions make him a black Ethiopian. What we do know is the stories, of which there were perhaps over 200, most of them featuring talking animals.

• The best known of the Fables include:
• "The Boy Who Cried Wolf,"
• "The Fox and the Grapes,"
• "The Grasshopper and the Ant,"
• "The Goose Who Laid the Golden Eggs,"
• "The Lion and the Mouse,"
• "The Milkmaid and Her Pail," and
• "The Tortoise and the Hare."

---

Navigation:

• View this post on Facebook or Instagram
• Go to the Great Books Index