Several hundred
fables have been associated with the ancient Greek storyteller Aesop. It is difficult to determine with certainty
the number of fables composed by him (the estimate stands at about 231), because little is known of the legendary fabulist himself. The fifth
century B.C. historian Herodotus writes that Aesop was a slave who belonged to Iadmon, a man who lived on the Greek island of Samos. Impressed by Aesop’s stories, Iadmon apparently freed him. Herodotus also notes that Aesop lived during the reign of the Egyptian pharoah Amasis; that is, during the mid-sixth century B.C. Tradition holds that Aesop was murdered at the Greek city of Delphi in a dispute with the inhabitants. Still later, colorful tales were added about his life; most notable was the rumor that he was disfigured, ugly, and mute.
The absence of an established text presents another difficulty in determining which fables were originally composed by Aesop. It is not likely that he wrote down his stories himself. The task of recording the fables was undertaken by later writers, notably the first century A.D. Latin writer Phaedrus and the second century A.D. Greek writer Babrius. This act of preservation provided ample opportunity to add new stories, a practice that continued throughout the centuries and that further increased the difficulty of identifying Aesop’s own work.
Generally, the fables are short stories that offer a moral or some worldly advice. The meaning of the tale is understood within the story itself, but later commentators on the fables thought it necessary to add a short statement or proverb for further explanation. This custom may have been especially common for the Christian writers who inherited the fables from the Greco-Roman
world. The protagonists of these stories are usually animals, and often two or more of them are engaged in some contest. The animals represent human behavior in a most candid way.
Most of the stories occur in natural settings or open places, often in the ancient world or in a timeless locale. Certain fables concern the heroes and gods from Greek and Roman mythology; Zeus, Hermes, and Hercules are particular favorites who often whimsically involve themselves in the creation and affairs of humankind.
Other stories (attributed to Aesop but certainly not his own) involve the Roman imperial world and its relation with everyday folk. Perhaps the best example is the fable of "The Lion and the Shepherd," in which a shepherd who shows generosity to a lion suffering with a thorn in its paw is rewarded a thousandfold. This fable formed the basis of the later story of Androcles, the good Christian thrown to the lions for the emperor’s amusement. Still other stories represent people whose livelihood depends on nature (such as farmers, fishermen, and hunters) or who are craftsmen and the experience that they gain from their mistakes and struggles throughout life.