Aesop
c. 620–c. 564 BCE · Ancient Greece
“Slow and steady wins the race.”
#30of 111Best Authors
Influence63rd pct
Popularity66th pct
Peak-work percentile in the canon.
Influence
The lineage through Aesop
Drew From(1)
who shaped Aesop
HesiodAncient Greece
- The fable was already old when the Aesopic collection took it up — and Hesiod has the oldest one
- His hawk and nightingale in Works and Days is the earliest recorded Greek fable; the Aesopic "Hawk, Nightingale and Birdcatcher" is a direct retelling
- Read Hesiod first and you see the genre being invented — the same beasts, the same blunt lesson about who holds the power
Inspired(1)
who Aesop shaped
- The fables follow Socrates into his death cell — in the Phaedo he spends his last days turning Aesop into verse
- Plato names Aesop directly and improvises in his manner: a new fable about pleasure and pain joined at the head, inseparable
- The humble animal tale earns a place in philosophy's most solemn scene
In their words
Famous Quotes
“Slow but steady wins the race.”
“The grapes are probably sour anyway.”
“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
“Familiarity breeds contempt.”
Biography
About Aesop
Semi-legendary Ancient Greek fabulist traditionally credited with a collection of moral fables featuring animals. Whether he was a historical person is debated; ancient sources describe him as a former slave from Thrace or Phrygia. His fables — 'The Tortoise and the Hare,' 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' — remain among the most widely known stories in Western culture.
1 work