Ancient History Blog

The Truth Behind Aesop’s Fables – Part 2/4 (ca. 620-560 BC)

By: The Scribe on Thursday, July 26, 2007

Although it is known for certain that Aesop was born a slave and lived during the 6th century BC, his actual place of birth was disputed during ancient times – and the controversy remains unsolved today. Various places, including Phrygia, Thrace, Ethiopia, Egypt, Samos, Athens, Amorium and Sardis have all claimed him as their own – but of course, none can actually prove he was born there.

One theory, however, suggests that he may have been from Africa, since his name could have been derived from the word “Aetheopian”, a word which the Greeks used to refer to dark-skinned people from the inner parts of Africa. Also, many of the animals in the stories are typically considered foreign to Greece and native to Africa, though the true extent of this remains debatable. Also, it was not unusual for Greeks to travel extensively – after all, Herodotus described the wonders of Egypt and the Near East his own writings.

Regardless of the origins of his birth, the rest of the details surrounding Aesop’s life are also highly obscure. The rather sparse ancient accounts from other Greek writers place him living as a slave in Samos around 550 BC, under the employ of some men named Xanthus and then Idamon. He must have proven himself loyal and been highly favored by Idamon, because a later account from Aristotle describes Aesop’s public defense of a Samian demagogue – meaning he must have been freed by his last master.

After this, his social status grew to the point where he was invited to dine and converse with some of ancient Greece’s most prominent public figures. He is known to have remained at the court of Croesus, King of Lydia, for some time, whereupon he met the famous Greek political and social reformer Solon, a man considered one of the Seven Sages or wise men of ancient Greece. It was here that he also dined with the Seven Sages of Greece, including the tyrant Periander of Corinth.

However, he was not to be well-received by everyone across the Greek world…

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Tomorrow: Aesop’s downfall