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AESOP |
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Almost all of us are familiar with Aesop’s fables –
but how many of us know anything about him?
The life and history of Aesop is clouded in obscurity. It
is generally accepted that he was born in Greece around the
year 620 B.C. and was born into slavery. He was owned by two
masters and was said to be deformed but very clever and witty.
Sir Roger L’Estrange, relying on Planudes, describes
the fabulist as “in his person deformed to the highest
degree, flat-nos’d, huchback’d, blobber-lipp’d,
a long mishappen head, his body crooked all over, big-belly’d,
baker-legg’d, and his complexion so swarthy that he
took his very name from’t, for Aesop is the same with
Aethiop….” This complimentary description is formed
without any historical basis worth consideration.
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^ The Gnat and the Lion illustrated
by Arthur Rackham
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| By invitation of King Croesus,
Aesop fixed his residence at Sardis and was employed by that
monarch in various difficult and delicate affairs of State.
One of these ambassadorial missions was the occasion of his
death. Sent on a journey to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
with a large sum of gold for distribution among the citizens,
he was so provoked by their covetousness that he refused to
divide the money and sent it back to his master. The Delphians
were so enraged at this treatment that they pushed him over
a steep cliff to his death. This was around 564 B.C. A statue
was rected in his memory at Athens, the work of Lysippus,
one of the most famous Greek sculptors of the time. |
^ The Town and the Country Mouse
illustrated by Heidi Holder |
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One dictionary defines ‘fable’ as:
‘ A fictious narrative to instruct or amuse, often
to enforce a precept’.
The fables in the first instance were only narrated by
Aesop, and for a long time were handed down by the uncertain
oral tradition. Indeed, if Aesop did actually commit his
tales to writing, it is quite probable that a great number
of fables associated with his name did originate with him.
However, the only complete evidence attributes just one
solitary fable to Aesop, namely The Tale of the Fox and
the hedgehog.
< The Lion in Love illustrated
by Frederick Colin Tilney
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The fables contain much sound common sense, with here and
there an excellent moral lesson. Phrases commonly used today
are seldom recognised as originating with Aesop – examples
are “the lion’s share” or “blowing
hot and cold”.
The fable is designed to teach a lesson in morality or judgement
and the lessons are implied within the fable itself. One of
the most impressive fables tells of a wolf peeping through
a window. He sees a company of shepherds eating a joint of
lamb and exclaims “Lord, what a fuss they would have
raised had they caught me doing that.”
The Hare and the Tortoise > illustrated
by Charles Folkard |
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^ Who Will Bell the Cat illustrated
by Robert Ayton for Ladybird Books
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My personal favourite is ‘Who will Bell the Cat?”
- The Mice had a meeting to plan how to free themselves from
their enemy, the Cat. They wanted to be able to tell when
he was coming. After many plans were discussed, a Young Mouse
stood up and said: "I have a simple plan that can work.
All we have to do is to put a bell on the cat's tail. That
way we can tell when he's coming." All of the mice were
excited with such a good idea. As they began rejoicing, an
Old Mouse stood up and said in the middle of their excitement:
"Who is going to put the bell on the Cat's
tail?"
The moral being some things are easier said than done! |
Contributed by Sonia Bryant
Research gathered from George Fyler Townsend translation, Aesop’s
Fables (with preface by Gordon Home), and http://www.duboislc.net/read/Aesop/Aesop.html
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