Was there a wise Aesop? Biography in question

Ancient philosopher and fabulist Aesop, whose biography is set forth in the writings of Herodotus, is a figure that is still little known. Was there such a person, no one can say with certainty.

Was there a slave who could write?

The writings of Herodotus indicate that the ancient fabulist lived in the 6th century BC and was the slave of a certain Jadmon who lived on the island of Samos at the time of the Egyptian king Amasis. The first owner of the ancient philosopher was Xanthus, but these dubious facts were also extracted from the works of Herodotus. According to some sources, in the era of Aristophanes, Aesop's fables were taught in schools, the citation of the character in the play is a confirmation of this: "You are ignoramus and idler! Even Aesop did not learn! "Historians study with interest the features of Aesop's personality, because poor slaves at that time did not know how to write, they were not allowed to express their opinion about anything at all. There is reason to believe that the collection of Aesop's fables includes the works of many generations and various eras.

Ancient storytellers

The first interpreters of Aesop's fables were Demetrius of Falerski - 3rd century BC, Avian - 4th century BC. About 200 years before our time, Babrius expounded the fables of Aesop in Greek verses. In the books the slave was represented as lame and hunchback, with a monstrous and ugly face. The surviving statue of a slave visually indicates how ugly Aesop was. Biography of the sage for many years caused many questions among lovers of antiquity. In the Renaissance, the question of the existence of a slave named Aesop was first questioned. Biography of the fabulist from this moment became semi-mythical. Only in the 20th century scholars began to incline to the general opinion that the personality of Aesop had its own historical prototype. But unlike the Middle Ages and the present, ancient ancestors did not doubt that once there really was a talented slave.

Fictional anecdote

In Byzantium in the Middle Ages, the fictional anecdotal story of Aesop became the basis of the biography of the fabulist. It said that the slave was constantly handed over from hand to hand for pennies. Because of constant abuse of comrades, overseers and masters, Aesop became touchy and vindictive. But these facts were not only fiction, they did not even correspond to the Greek version of Aesop's biography.

Wisdom of Aesop

We can judge it by wise and instructive fables, which are staged by the world's leading theaters. The collection of Aesop's fables consists of 426 short instructive stories, in which the main role is assigned to the relationship of animals. Everyone, reading the fable, understands that the narratives of animals are directly related to human characters and mores.

An instructive legacy

For us, it is important that Aesop, whose biography is not known to almost anyone, left behind a beautiful collection of fables. Even if we admit that the wise elder did not personally write his stories, but the creation was the fruit of the creativity of various people from different generations, it is difficult to overestimate the works of antiquity. In Soviet times, a television production of "Aesop" was staged. Biography of the slave is a red line throughout the plot of the TV show, it reflects the wisdom of the poor slave who pronounces the phrase "Drink the sea, Xanth!" Do not know what it's about - read a book about a wise slave, it's very interesting! The collection of Aesop fables was translated into Russian in 1968. It includes wonderful and instructive stories "The Eagle and the Fox," "Partridge and Hen," "Lamb and the Wolf," etc.