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The Life Of Aesop  A Concise Biography  Aesop - Aesop's Fables -
Biography  AESOP, the most famous fabulist of all time, is a
figure shrouded in mystery. Because it is unlikely that early
remarks in authors like Herodotus, Aristophanes and Plato have
no foundation in reality, it can cautiously be said that Aesop
was a slave in the sixth century B.C., that he came from Phrygia
and lived in Samos, and that he was known for his ability to
craft "fables" (logoi). The story that Aesop met his end at
Delphi, where he was sentenced to death and pushed off a cliff
because he insulted the Delphians, is already current in the
fifth century B.C.  Today, everyone assumes that Aesop is a
teller of fables who teaches morals to our children. This Aesop
is a modern invention that reflects thousands of years of
development. The Aesop who has resulted is a figure of mythical
proportions, to whom all fables are ascribed, much as we ascribe
all nursery rhymes to Mot