Aesop (VI century BC) - humpbacked sage. VI century Don. e.

When Alexander the Great demanded that Athens hand over to him the orator Demosthenes, who sharply opposed him, Demosthenes told the Athenians Aesop's fable about how the wolf persuaded the sheep to give him a guard dog. The sheep obeyed, gave up and remained unguarded. The wolf quickly strangled them all. The Athenians took the hint and did not betray their protector. So Aesop's fable helped to correctly assess the dangerous situation, united people, and they saved their city from plundering by the Macedonians.

In ancient Greece, Aesop was no less popular than Homer. His fables were passed on by word of mouth, studied in schools, and staged on stage. Aesop was the first to bring out types of people under the guise of animals, creating comic situations and ridiculing various vices inherent in both the rich and the poor: greed, stupidity, self-righteousness, deception, laziness, greed, deceit. His mocking, poignant fables brought the listeners to tears. And even the great kings asked to tell them to amuse the guests.

Unfortunately, no reliable information has been preserved about Aesop's life. The famous historian Herodotus (5th century BC) wrote that Aesop was a slave to a certain master named Iadmon, who lived on the island of Samos. roll printing on paper The future fabulist turned out to be an obstinate worker and often made sharp jokes that other slaves made fun of. The owner was dissatisfied with him, but when he listened, he was convinced that the slave was really smart, deserved more, and set him free. Another historian and philosopher, Heraclides of Pontus, more than a hundred years later reported that Aesop came from Thrace. Its first owner was named Xanthus, he was a philosopher, but Aesop openly made fun of his stupidity.

Aesop's Fables combined a short, entertaining plot that anyone could understand with a thought-provoking morality based on experience. The popular fables of Aesop were brought together by Demetrius of Phaler (350-283 BC), an Athenian philosopher and statesman. They were rewritten and supplemented by many writers and poets of antiquity, bringing in something of their own. Ultimately, the fables turned out to be satirically well-aimed, figurative, and the expression * of the Aesopian language, ”that is, allegorical, mocking, became a household word.

There were legends about Aesop himself. He was portrayed as short, hunchbacked, lisping, repulsive with his ugly appearance. But, as it turned out later, the compilation of a biography and a description of his appearance is the fruit of the work of various writers who deliberately strengthened Aesop's unpleasant appearance. It was believed that since he is a slave, he must be an unhappy creature, who was urged on in every possible way and mercilessly beaten. In addition, the writers wanted to show the wealth of his inner world against the background of Aesop's external ugliness. So they fueled interest in his works, and in their own, which they passed off as Aesopian.

Gradually, a pile of all sorts of anecdotes, just successful inventions, intertwined into the Aesopian legend. The famous Greek humanist and writer of the Middle Ages Maxim Planud (1260-1310), even compiled the "Life of Aesop". In them, the fabulist looked like this: "... a freak, a freak, not good for work, the belly is swollen, the head is dirty, the skin is dark, crippled, tongue-tied, the arms are short, the hump on the back, the lips are thick - such a monster that it's scary to meet."

There is also a legend about the death of Aesop. Once he was allegedly sent by King Croesus to Delphi, and when he arrived there, out of habit, he began to lecture the locals, making fun of them in every possible way. They were very indignant at this and decided to take revenge on him. Placing a bowl from the temple in Aesop's knapsack, they began to convince the priests that he was a thief and should be executed. No matter how Aesop tried to explain that he did not take the cup, nothing helped. They took him to the rock and demanded that he throw himself off it. Aesop did not want to die so stupidly and began to tell his moralizing fables, but nothing helped - he failed to reason with the Delphians. Then he threw himself down the cliff - and died.

But whatever the real biography of Aesop, his fables have survived for millennia. There are over four hundred of them. They are known in all civilized countries. In the 17th century, the famous French fabulist Jean Lafontaine was engaged in their translation. In the 19th century, Ivan Krylov translated Aesop's fables into Russian, arranged by La Fontaine. Quotes from them live in folk speech, decorate many literary works. They became fertile material for the years 1639-1640. illustrators.

Aesop

Aesop(ancient Greek. Aesop) - a semi-legendary figure of ancient Greek literature, fabulist who lived in the VI century BC. eh ..

Aesopian language(named after the fabulist Aesop) - cryptography in literature, allegory, deliberately masking the thought (idea) of the author. He resorts to a system of “deceiving means”: traditional allegorical methods (allegory, irony, paraphrase, allusion), fable “characters”, translucent contextual pseudonyms.

Biography

Whether Aesop was a historical person is impossible to say. There was no scientific tradition about Aesop's life. Herodotus (II, 134) writes that Aesop was a slave of a certain Iadmon from the island of Samos, lived during the time of the Egyptian king Amasis (570-526 BC) and was killed by the Delphians. Heraclides of Pontic more than a hundred years later writes that Aesop came from Thrace, was a contemporary of Therekides, and his first owner was named Xanthus, but he extracts this data from the same story of Herodotus by way of unreliable inferences. Aristophanes ("Wasps", 1446-1448) already gives details about the death of Aesop - the wandering motive of the thrown bowl, which served as a reason for his accusation, and the fable about the eagle and the beetle, which he told before his death. The comedian Plato (end of the 5th century) already mentions the posthumous reincarnations of the soul of Aesop. The comedian Alexis (late 4th century), who wrote the comedy "Aesop", confronts his hero with Solon, that is, he is already weaving the legend of Aesop into the cycle of legends about the seven wise men and King Croesus. His contemporary Lysippos also knew this version, depicting Aesop at the head of the seven wise men). Xanthus' slavery, connection with seven wise men, death from the cunning of the Delphic priests - all these motives became links in the subsequent Aesopian legend, the core of which had already taken shape by the end of the 4th century. BC e.

Antiquity did not doubt the historicity of Aesop, the Renaissance first questioned this question (Luther), philology of the 18th century. justified this doubt (Richard Bentley), philology of the XIX century. brought it to the limit (Otto Crusius and Rutherford after him asserted the mythicality of Aesop with the decisiveness characteristic of the hypercriticism of their era), the 20th century again began to lean towards the assumption of the historical prototype of the image of Aesop.

Under the name of Aesop, a collection of fables (of 426 short works) has been preserved in prosaic presentation. There is reason to believe that in the era of Aristophanes (end of the 5th century), a written collection of Aesop's fables was known in Athens, according to which children were taught at school; “You are an ignoramus and a lazy person, you haven’t even learned Aesop,” says one character in Aristophanes. These were prosaic retellings, without any artistic finishing. In fact, the so-called Aesop collection includes fables from various eras.

Heritage

Later, Aesop's name became a symbol. His works were passed by word of mouth, and in the III century BC. e. were recorded in 10 books by Demetrius of Phaler (c. 350 - c. 283 BC). This collection was lost after the 9th century. n. e. During the era of the emperor Augustus, Phaedrus transposed these fables in Latin iambic verse, Avian, around the 4th century, transposed 42 fables in Latin elegiac distichus. Around 200 AD e. Babriy described them in Greek verses in the size of holiyamb. The works of Babriy were included by Planud (1260-1310) in his famous collection, which influenced later fabulists. "Aesop's Fables", all compiled in the Middle Ages. The interest in Aesop's fables was carried over to his personality; for lack of reliable information about him, they resorted to legend. The Phrygian talker, allegorically vilifying the mighty of this world, naturally appeared to be a quarrelsome and spiteful person, like Homer's Thersite, and therefore the portrait of Thersite, depicted in detail by Homer, was also transferred to Aesop. He was portrayed as hunchbacked, lame, with the face of a monkey - in a word, in all respects ugly and directly opposite to the divine beauty of Apollo; this is how he was depicted in sculpture, among other things - in that interesting statue that has survived to us. In the Middle Ages, an anecdotal biography of Aesop was written in Byzantium, which was long taken as a source of reliable information about him. Aesop is represented here as a slave, sold for a pittance from hand to hand, constantly offended by fellow slaves, and overseers, and masters, but who knows how to successfully take revenge on his offenders. This biography not only did not follow from the true tradition of Aesop - it is not even of Greek origin. Its source is the Jewish story of the wise Akiria, which belongs to the cycle of legends that surrounded the personality of King Solomon among the later Jews. The story itself is known mainly from Old Slavic alterations. Martin Luther discovered that Aesop's book of fables is not the sole work of one author, but a collection of older and newer fables, and that the traditional image of Aesop is the fruit of a "poetic legend." Aesop's fables have been translated (often revised) into many languages ​​of the world, including the famous fables Jean La Fontaine and Ivan Krylov.

In Russian, a complete translation of all Aesop's fables was published in 1968.

• Some fables
• Camel
• Lamb and Wolf
• Horse and Donkey
• Partridge and Chicken
• Reed and olive tree
• Eagle and Fox
• Eagle and Jackdaw
• Eagle and turtle
• Boar and Fox
• Donkey and Horse
• Donkey and Fox
• Donkey and Goat
• Donkey, Rook and Shepherd
• Frog, Rat and Crane
• Fox and Ram
• Fox and Donkey
• Fox and the Lumberjack
• Fox and Stork
• Fox and Dove
• Rooster and Diamond
• Rooster and Servant
• Deer
• Deer and Lion
• Shepherd and Wolf
• Dog and Ram
• Dog and piece of meat
• Dog and Wolf
• Lion with other animals on the hunt
• Lion and mouse
• Lion and bear
• Leo and Ishak
• Lion and mosquito
• Lion and goat
• Lion, Wolf and Fox
• Lion, Fox and Donkey
• Man and Partridge
• Peacock and Jackdaw
• Wolf and Crane
• Wolf and Shepherds
• Old Lion and Fox
• Wild dog
• Jackdaw and Dove
• Bat
• Frogs and snake
• Hare and Frogs
• Chicken and Swallow
• Crows and other birds
• Crows and Birds
• Lioness and fox
• Mouse and Frog
• Turtle and Hare
• Snake and peasant
• Swallow and other birds
• Mouse from the city and Mouse from the country
• Bull and lion
• Dove and Ravens
• Goat and Shepherd
• Both frogs
• Both chickens
• White Jackdaw
• Wild goat and grape branch
• Three bulls and a lion
• Chicken and Egg
• Jupiter and the Bees
• Jupiter and the Serpent
• Rook and Fox
• Zeus and Camel
• Two frogs
• Two friends and a Bear
• Two cancers

Literature

Aesop. Commandments. Fables. Biography, 2003 288 pp., ISBN 5-222-03491-7
When writing this article, material was used from the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (1890-1907).

Aesop's work left a significant mark on the literary world, and his aphorisms became generally known, remaining relevant today. In ancient times, no doubts were expressed about the historicity of the image, but in the 16th century, for the first time, he questioned this fact.

Aesop's biography is legendary, and his origins are shrouded in secrets. According to some reports, he lived around the middle of the 6th century BC. He was allegedly a small slave from Phrygia, had sharp facial features and a hump.

Despite such external features, Aesop had an amazing gift of speech, a sharp mind and a talent for creating fables. From what family the future fabulist came from is unknown, there is also no information about the parents. His homeland is sometimes called Asia Minor, which rings true because of the nature of the name.

According to one version of Aesop's life, the first owner decided to sell a talkative and useless slave of unknown nationality. It was acquired by Xanthus of Samos, whom Aesop amazed with witty answers. The ancient Greek philosopher never regretted the acquisition, because thanks to the cunning and inventive slave, Xanthus remained in the memory of generations, because the legend connects many jokes and wisdom with him.

Slave Aesop serves the owner and his guest

There is a widespread legend about how Xanthus ordered Aesop to purchase for the upcoming holiday "all the best" that is in the world. And the slave brought only languages ​​of various cooking methods and explained to the surprised master that the best thing is language, because laws and treaties are established for them, and wise thoughts are expressed.

Xanthus thought about it and the next day asked Aesop to buy "the worst." And the slave again brought tongues, proving that there is nothing worse: people deceive them, start quarrels and conflicts. Although the owner was angry with the situation, he admitted that Aesop was right.

One day, after a lavish celebration, Xanthus boastfully declared that he could drink the sea. The next morning, the owner of Aesop remembered with horror his own promise. But the slave saved him from shame, advising him to set a condition: that the rival should block the rivers flowing into the sea, because Xanthus did not promise to drink them either. So the philosopher got out of his predicament and avoided humiliation.

Aesop repeatedly asked Xanthus to give him freedom, but he did not want to let go of the wise slave. Everything changed when a strange event happened - during a council meeting, an eagle grabbed the state seal and released it in the slave's bosom, and Aesop was asked to explain the incident.

He reacted to the request in a peculiar way: he said that it was not for a slave to advise free people, but if he had been fired, he could have done it. When the people agreed, Aesop explained that the eagle is a royal bird, which means that the king decided to conquer the city.

The upset residents sent the former slave to the king for reconciliation. The ruler liked Aesop, he made him an adviser and made peace with the inhabitants of the city. Legend has it that after this the sage went to the Babylonian and Egyptian kingdom, met with sages and wrote many interesting fables.

Creation

Aesop became famous not only for quotes and parables, he is considered the first fabulist, because it was Aesop who became the founder of this genre. A fable is a short poetic story with an instructive content. The characters are different animals and plants, in the actions of which the vices of a person are seen and ridiculed. This hidden subtext of the work is called Aesopian language.

Books from Ancient Greece have survived to our time, containing short fables, the authorship of which was attributed to Aesop. Today's readers know these works in adaptations by Gulak-Artemovsky and other fabulists.

It is estimated that the Greek poet used about 80 animals and 30 gods, mythical images and representatives of various professions in his work.

Illustration for Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes"

In Aesop, an interesting fable about a cunning donkey is distinguished: once an animal crossed a river with a load in the form of bags of salt. But the donkey could not resist on the flimsy bridge and fell: the salt dissolved, and it became easier to walk. The donkey was delighted and the next time he fell on purpose, but the load was wool, which swelled from the water, and the donkey drowned. The moral of this fable suggests that an ill-conceived cunning is destructive.

Such folk wisdom, common sense and hopes for justice, expressed in a witty form, made Aesop's work immortal.

Personal life

There are several references that say that Aesop's beloved was from Thrace and was in bondage to Iadmon. According to one of the versions of the legend, Rodopis and Aesop had a secret love affair.

In an unspecified period, the life story of Rodopis acquired the form of a fairy tale by Fr. In one of the variations, which Strabo recounts, when Rodopis was bathing, the eagle stole the girl's sandal. At this time, the king was judging in the open air, and the eagle, soaring over his head, threw a sandal on his lap. The astonished king ordered his subjects to go in search of the girl who had lost her shoes. And, according to legend, when she was found, Rodopis became the king's wife.

Death

Death overtook Aesop in Delphi, the legend of this time is restored according to Herodotus and, combined with later evidence.

It is believed that while in Delphi, Aesop, with his slander, aroused the anger of several citizens who decided to punish him. To do this, the Delphians stole a golden thicket from the temple utensils and put it in Aesop's travel bag until he saw. The sage was searched, found lost and, like a blasphemer, was stoned.

Many years later, the innocence of the fabulist was discovered, and the descendants of his murderers paid the virus, for which the grandson of that Iadmon, who was considered the first lord of Aesop, arrived.

Quotes

Gratitude is a sign of the nobility of the soul.

It is said that Chilo asked Aesop: "What is Zeus doing?" Aesop replied, "Makes the high low and the low high."

If a person takes on two things that are directly opposite to each other, one of them will certainly fail him.

Each person is given his own work, and each work has its own time.

A true treasure for people is the ability to work.

Bibliography

• "The Wolf and the Lamb"
• "Fox and grapes"
• "Dragonfly and Ant"
• "The frog and the ox"
• "The peasant and the snake"
• "Pig and lioness"
• "Fisherman and Fish"
• "The Lion and the Mouse"
• "The Raven and the Fox"
• "Beetle and Ant"

Aesop is a semi-mythical ancient Greek fabulist who lived in the 6th century BC. e. He is considered the founder of the fable genre; after his name the allegorical manner of expressing thoughts, which is used to this day, is named - the Aesopian language.

Today it is not known for certain whether such an author of fables actually existed or whether they belonged to different persons, and the image of Aesop is collective. Information about his biography is often contradictory and historically unconfirmed. For the first time Herodotus mentions Aesop. According to his version, Aesop served as a slave, and his master was a certain Iadmon from the island of Samos, who later granted him freedom. He lived when the Egyptian king Amasis ruled, i.e. in 570-526 BC e. He was killed by the Delphians, for which the descendants of Iadmon subsequently received a ransom.

Legend calls Aesop the birthplace of Phrygia (Asia Minor). According to some reports, Aesop was at the court of King Croesus of Lydia. Centuries later, Heraclides of Pontic will ascribe to Aesop his origin from Thrace, and he will name a certain Xanthus as his first owner. At the same time, this information is the author's own conclusions based on the data of Herodotus. In the "Wasps" by Aristophanes you can find information about the circumstances of his death, i.e. about the false accusation of stealing property from the temple in Delphi and about the fable "About the beetle and the eagle" allegedly told by Aesop before his death. After another century, the statements of the characters in the comedy will be perceived as a historical fact. At the end of the IV century. comedian Alexis, whose pen belonged to the comedy "Aesop", speaks of his involvement with the seven wise men, his relationship with King Croesus. With Lysippos, who lived at the same time, Aesop already leads this glorious cohort.

The main plot of Aesop's biography arose by the end of the 4th century BC. e. and was embodied in several editions of the Life of Aesop, written in the vernacular. If the early authors did not say anything about the peculiarities of the fabulist's appearance, then in the "Biography" Aesop appears as a humpbacked freak, but at the same time a witty and a great sage who does not need to deceive the owner and representatives of the upper class. Aesop's fables are not even mentioned in this version.

If in the ancient world no one questioned the historicity of the personality of the fabulist, then in the 16th century. Luther was the first to open a discussion on this issue. A number of researchers in the 18th and 19th centuries. talked about the legendary and mythical character of the image; in the twentieth century, opinions were divided; some authors have argued that Aesop's historical prototype may well have existed.

Be that as it may, Aesop is considered the author of more than four hundred fables set out in prose. Most likely, they were transmitted orally for a long time. In the IV-III centuries. BC e. 10 books of fables were compiled by Demetrius of Fales, but after the 9th century. n. e. this vault was lost. Subsequently, Aesop's fables were translated into Latin by other authors (Phaedrus, Flavius ​​Avian); the name of Babriya remained in history, who, borrowing plots from

Many plots of short moralizing stories of Aesop are familiar to everyone from childhood. It is unlikely that anyone did not hear about the fox, who cunningly took the cheese from the raven, or about the sons who dug up the entire vineyard in search of treasure.

Aesop was born and lived in the 6th century BC. e. The most famous legends say that, unfortunately, the fabulist was a slave. This theory became widespread thanks to the works of the historian Herodotus.

Popularity of the fabulist

In ancient Greece, everyone knew who Aesop was. His fables were constantly passed on by word of mouth, they were part of the school curriculum. It was Aesop who was the first fabulist who, through the images of animals, described human vices, ridiculed them. He focused on the most varied human weaknesses: pride and greed, laziness and deceit, stupidity and deceit. His poignant, satirical fables often brought listeners to tears. And often even the rulers asked to tell them to amuse their audience.

Fables that have come down to us through the centuries

The stories that were invented by Aesop fascinated listeners with their brevity, brevity, satire and wisdom. Their main object of ridicule was human vices, which people cannot get rid of to this day. And that is what makes Aesop's writing so relevant. Animals and people, birds and insects act in them. Sometimes even the inhabitants of Olympus come across among the acting characters. With the help of his mind, Aesop was able to create a whole world in which people can look from the outside at their shortcomings.

In each of the fables, Aesop shows a short scene from life. For example, a fox looks at a bunch of grapes that she cannot reach. Or a lazy and stupid pig begins to dig in the roots of a tree, the fruits of which it has just eaten. But the sons begin to dig up the vineyard, trying to find the treasure that the father allegedly hid on its territory. Getting acquainted with Aesop's fables, the reader easily remembers simple truths that the real treasure is the ability to work, that there is nothing better or worse in the world than language, etc.

Historical information about Aesop

Unfortunately, almost no information has been preserved about who Aesop is and what his life was like. Herodotus writes that he was a slave to a master named Iadmon, who was a resident of the island of Samos. Aesop was a very obstinate worker and often made jokes that other slaves made fun of. At first, the owner was unhappy with all this, but then he realized that Aesop really had an extraordinary mind, and decided to let him go.

These are brief data from the biography of Aesop. Another historian, Heraclitus of Pontus, writes that Aesop was from Thrace. Its first owner was named Xanthus, and he was a philosopher. But Aesop, who was smarter than him, openly made fun of his attempts to philosophize. After all, Xanthus was very stupid. Almost nothing is known about Aesop's personal life.

Fable and the Athenians

Once, Alexander the Great demanded that the inhabitants of the city of Athens give him the orator Demosthenes, who expressed himself against him in very harsh tones. The orator told the townspeople a fable. It said that once the wolf asked the sheep to give him the dog guarding them. When the herd obeyed him, the predator very quickly dealt with them without the dog guarding them. The Athenians understood what the orator wanted to say by this, and did not betray Demosthenes. So Aesop's fable helped the residents of the city correctly assess the situation. As a result, they united in the fight against the enemy.

All of Aesop's fables contain an entertaining plot that prompts the listener to think. His creations are filled with morality that is understandable to everyone. After all, the events of fables are based on those events that everyone must have experienced during his life.

In the future, the works of the fabulist Aesop were copied many times by other authors who made their additions to them. Ultimately, these stories are short, derisive, and imaginative. The expression "Aesopian language", which is applied to everything that is allegorical and derisive, has become a common noun.

What did they say about the fabulist?

There were legends about who Aesop was. He was often portrayed as a short and hunchbacked old man with a lisping voice. Aesop was said to have a repulsive appearance. However, as further analysis showed, this description does not coincide with the data recorded by historians. The description of his appearance is a figment of the imagination of various writers. It was believed that since Aesop was a slave, then he had to be constantly beaten and prodded - that is why he was portrayed as a hunchback. And since the writers also wanted to show the richness of the fabulist's inner world, they presented his appearance as ugly and ugly. So they tried to stir up interest in the works of the fabulist, and often in their own, the authorship of which was attributed to Aesop.

And gradually, a huge amount of invented information about who Aesop was, intertwined into the legend of the fabulist. Maxim Planud, the famous Greek writer, even compiled a biography of Aesop. In it, he described him like this: "A freak, a freak, not suitable for work, his head looks like a dirty cauldron, his arms are short, and there is a hump on his back."

Legend of doom

There is even a legend about how the fabulist died. Once the ruler Croesus sent him to Delphi, and when Aesop arrived there, he began, as usual, to teach the local residents. They were so outraged by this that they decided to take revenge on him. They put a bowl from the temple in the bag to the fabulist, and then began to convince the local priests that Aesop was a thief and deserved to be executed. No matter how hard the fabulist tried to prove that he did not steal anything, nothing helped. They took him to a high rock and demanded that he throw himself off it. Aesop did not want such a stupid death, but the evil townspeople insisted. The fabulist could not convince them and threw himself from a height.

Whatever the real biography of Aesop, his fables have survived for centuries. The total number of fables is more than 400. It is believed that the works were written in the form of poems, but in this form they have not survived. These creations are known in every civilized country. In the 17th century, Jean Lafontaine was engaged in their processing, and in the 19th century, fables from his works migrated into Russian thanks to the work of Krylov.