Collins Classics: Aesop’s Fables

Description

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‘It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.’

Living in Ancient Greece in the 5th Century BC, Aesop was said to be a slave and story-teller. His much-loved, enduring fables are revered the world over and remain popular as moral tales for children. With infamous vignettes, such as the race between the hare and the tortoise, the vain jackdaw, and the wolf in sheep’s clothing, the themes of the fables remain as fresh today as when they were first told and give an insight into the Ancient Greek world.

Author Biography

Aesop (Aesopus) was an ancient Greek storyteller believed to have lived circa 620–564 BCE. Although there is no formal documentation of his existence, Greek historians Aristotle and Herodotus portray Aesop as a slave who was freed after acting as an advocate for a wealthy Samian. No written works directly attributed to Aesop remain, and the fables he is credited as writing were collected both over a vast period of time and in many languages. The date of Aesop’s death is unknown, although many written stories, including those from Plutarch, claim that he was executed by the Delphians while attending to diplomatic matters in Delphi.