~ 550 BC
|AESOP RELATING HIS FABLES|
Aesop is well known all over the world for his famous fables, which teach moral lessons by means of
stories involving animals. He was a historical character and many stories are told about him in ancient
manuscripts, but a completely coherent story of his life is not known. He is thought to have been born
as a slave on the island of Samos. At some point he earned his freedom, and gained a reputation as a
story teller throughout Asia Minor. For a long while he resided at the court of Croesus in Lydia, and is
said to have dined with the Seven Sages. He is frequently cited as telling clever stories in ancient
literature. He is not thought to have written down his stories, but they became so well known that they
were written down by many other writers.
|Story Links||Book Links|
|Clever Slave in
||Fifty Famous People by James Baldwin|
||Rewrote the laws of Athens to better protect poor citizens from the rich.
||Wealthy monarch of Lydia who lost his kingdom to Cyrus the Great.
||Early Greek philosopher and scientist, one of seven sages of Greece.
||Tyrant of Athens. Respected Solon's laws. Established festivals, and promoted culture.