Aesop 1806815 225491127 2008-07-13T23:46:10Z Synthebot 3658625 robot Modifying: [[ro:Esop]] {{Nofootnotes|date=February 2008}} [[Image:Diego Velasquez, Aesop.jpg|thumb|250pxpx|right|Aesop, as conceived by [[Diego Velázquez]]]] [[Image:Aesopnurembergchronicle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Aesop, as depicted in the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' by [[Hartmann Schedel]] in [[1493]]. Note the alternate spelling "Esopus", with a [[long s]], and the truncated 'p'.]] {{otheruses}} {{dablink|"Esop" redirects here. For employee stock ownership plans, see [[Employee-owned corporation|ESOP]].}} '''Aesop''' (also spelled '''Æsop''', from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''{{Unicode|Αἴσωπος}}''—''Aisōpos'') (620-560 [[BC]]), known only for the genre of [[fable]]s ascribed to him, was by tradition a [[Slavery in Ancient Greece|slave]] (''δούλος'') who was a contemporary of [[Croesus]] and [[Peisistratos (Athens)|Peisistratus]] in the mid-[[6th century BC|sixth century BC]] in [[ancient Greece]]. The various collections that go under the rubric "[[Aesop's Fables]]" are still taught as moral lessons and used as subjects for various entertainments, especially children's plays and [[cartoon]]s. Most of what are known as Aesopic fables is a compilation of tales from various sources, many of which originated with authors who lived long before Aesop. Aesop himself is said to have composed many fables, which were passed down by oral tradition. [[Socrates]] was thought to have spent his time turning Aesop’s fables into verse while he was in prison. Demetrius Phalereus, another Greek philosopher, made the first collection of these fables around [[300 BC]]. This was later translated into [[Latin]] by [[Phaedrus]], a slave himself, around [[25 BC]]. The fables from these two collections were soon brought together and were eventually retranslated into Greek by Babrius around A.D. 230. Many additional fables were included, and the collection was in turn translated to Arabic and Hebrew, further enriched by additional fables from these cultures. The place of Aesop's birth was and still is disputed: [[Thrace]], [[Phrygia]], [[Egypt]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Samos Island|Samos]], [[Athens]], [[Sardis]] and [[Amorium]] all claimed the honor. It has been argued by modern writers that he may have been of [[Africa]]n origin: the scholar Richard Lobban has argued that his name is likely derived from "Aethiopian", a word used by the Greeks to refer mostly to dark-skinned people of the African interior. He continues by pointing out that the stories are populated by animals present in Africa, many of the creatures being quite foreign to Greece and Europe.<ref>Lobban, Richard. "Aesop." ''Historical dictionary of ancient and medieval Nubia.'' Scarecrow Press, c2004</ref> The life of Aesop himself is shrouded in obscurity. He is said to have lived as a slave in Samos around 550 B.C. An ancient account of his life is found in [[The Book of Xanthus the Philosopher and His Slave Aesop]]. According to the sparse information gathered about him from references to him in several Greek works (he was mentioned by [[Aristophanes]], [[Plato]], [[Xenophon]] and [[Aristotle]]), Aesop was a slave for someone called Xanthus (Ξανθος), who resided on the island of [[Samos Island|Samos]]. Aesop must have been freed, for he conducted the public defense of a certain Samian demagogue (Aristotle, ''Rhetoric'', ii. 20). He subsequently lived at the court of [[Croesus]], where he met [[Solon]], and dined in the company of the [[Seven Sages of Greece]] with [[Periander]] at [[Corinth]]. During the reign of [[Peisistratos (Athens)|Peisistratus]] he was said to have visited [[Athens]], where he told the fable of ''[[The Frogs Who Desired a King]]'' to dissuade the citizens from attempting to depose Peisistratus for another ruler. A contrary story, however, said that Aesop spoke up for the common people against tyranny through his fables, which incensed Peisistratus, who was against [[free speech]]. According to the historian [[Herodotus]], Aesop met with a violent death at the hands of the inhabitants of [[Delphi]], though the cause was not stated. Various suggestions were made by later writers, such as his insulting sarcasms, the embezzlement of money entrusted to him by [[Croesus]] for distribution at Delphi, and his alleged sacrilege of a silver cup. A pestilence that ensued was blamed on his execution, and the Delphians declared their willingness to make compensation, which, in default of a nearer connection, was claimed by Iadmon (Ιάδμων), grandson of Aesop's former master. Popular stories surrounding Aesop were assembled in a ''[[vita]]'' prefixed to a collection of fables under his name, compiled by [[Maximus Planudes]], a fourteenth-century monk. He was by tradition extremely ugly and deformed, which is the sole basis for making a grotesque marble figure in the [[Villa Albani]], [[Rome]], a "portrait of Aesop". This biography had actually existed a century before Planudes. It appeared in a thirteenth-century manuscript found in [[Florence]]. However, according to another Greek historian [[Plutarch]]'s account of the symposium of the Seven Sages, at which Aesop was a guest, there were many jests on his former servile status, but nothing derogatory was said about his personal appearance. Aesop's deformity was further disputed by the Athenians, who erected in his honour a noble statue by the sculptor [[Lysippus]]. == References == {{reflist}} ==Sources== **[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1998/98.5.16.html Bryn Mawr Classical Review, with Aesop bibliography] **Caxton, William, 1484. The history and fables of Aesop, Westminster. Modern reprint edited by Robert T. Lenaghan (Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1967). Caxton's famous Epilogue to the Fables, dated March 26, 1484 **Anthony, Mayvis, 2006. "The Legendary Life and Fables of Aesop". Toronto: Mayant Press. <references/> </div> ==External links== {{Wikisource author}} {{Wikisource |el:Αισώπου Μύθοι|The Fables in Greek}} {{wikiquote|Aesop}} {{commonscat|Aesop}} *[http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/happy-birthday/2008/june/Aesop.html A Profile of Aesop on His Birthday]. Retrieved [[June 4|06-04]]-[[2008]] *[http://www.outofprintlibrary.com/stacks/index.php?title=Aesop%27s_Fables Aesop's Fables at the Out Of Print Library - Searchable] *[http://aesop.planetnull.com Aesop's Fables Illustrated - Simple, elegant illustrations to the Fables] *[http://www.aesopica.net Aesopica.net - Over 600 English fables, with Latin and Greek texts also - Searchable] *[http://www.aesopfables.com AesopFables.com - Large collection of fables, but many fables are not Aesopic] *[http://aesop.creighton.edu/jcupub/default.htm Carlson Fable Collection at Creighton University] *[http://librivox.org/aesops-fables-menu/ Free audiobook] of [[Aesop's Fables]] from [http://librivox.org LibriVox] *[http://www.lefavole.org/en/esopo.htm The Fables - A site primarily for children] *[http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=28q1gbsyq6hr9j017jvf9g7r1d1qlp8n Will the real Aesop Please Stand up] *{{gutenberg author|id=Aesop|name=Aesop}} {{Ancient Greece topics}} [[Category:620 BC births]] [[Category:560 BC deaths]] [[Category:Aesop's Fables| {{PAGENAME}}]] [[Category:Ancient Greek writers]] [[Category:Fabulists]] [[Category:Ancient Greek slaves]] <!-- interwiki --> [[bs:Ezop]] [[br:Aisopos]] [[bg:Езоп]] [[ca:Isop]] [[cs:Ezop]] [[da:Æsop]] [[de:Äsop]] [[el:Αίσωπος]] [[es:Esopo]] [[eo:Ezopo]] [[fa:ازوپ]] [[fr:Ésope]] [[gl:Esopo]] [[ko:아이소포스]] [[hy:Եզովպոս]] [[hr:Ezop]] [[id:Aesop]] [[ia:Esopo]] [[it:Esopo]] [[he:איזופוס]] [[ku:Aysopos]] [[la:Aesopus]] [[lv:Ēzops]] [[lt:Ezopas]] [[hu:Aiszóposz]] [[nl:Aisopos]] [[ja:アイソーポス]] [[no:Æsop]] [[pl:Ezop]] [[pt:Esopo]] [[ro:Esop]] [[ru:Эзоп]] [[simple:Aesop]] [[sk:Ezop]] [[sl:Ezop]] [[sr:Езоп]] [[sh:Ezop]] [[fi:Aisopos]] [[sv:Aisopos]] [[ta:ஈசாப்]] [[th:อีสป]] [[tr:Ezop]] [[ur:ایسپ]] [[zh:伊索]]