Aesop's Fables

Browse Fables

The Story of the Fables

When you hear the words Greek Literature, the first think people often think of is Aesop's Fables. Some of the more educated will also know the Iliad, the Odyssey, Thucydides' Peloponnesian War and Aeschylus' Orestrian Trilogy (where the story of Oedipus comes from).

Aesop's fables have been enjoyed by countless generations. Even without reading them, most people know the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, the Lion and the Mouse and the Boy who cried 'Wolf!'. These stories and the lessons they teach are part of our culture.

The Man Aesop

Not much is actually known about Aesop. His reputation was such that when people started writing history down several hundred years after he died, no one knew quite what was true and what was just a tall story. Some say he was a slave who was set free because of his ability to tell a story. Others say Aesop was ugly and had a stammer, and that his stories were his way of dealing with it. At the end of the day, it does not really matter who he was. What matters is the enormous contribution he has made to our lives, thousands of years later.

All manner of people, from Aristotle and Herodotus, to Pliny, Constantine and Thomas Moore, all the way to the more modern Winston Churchill, Marva Collins and Oprah have used Aesop's Fables at one time or another to get their message across. In fact, there are several references to Aesop's Fables (just called "the fable where ...") in the hit TV series Smallville, between Lex and Lionel Luthor. You can't escape them!

Don't just read these fables: Learn them and make them part of your life. Then you too can enjoy the richness of culture they bring.

Link to Us