nPostednon June 4, 2014
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| This ancient bust is supposed to depict Aesop. |
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nAesop,nteller of tales and author of fables, lived a really, really longntime ago. Like, more than 2,500 years ago! It is not very probablenthat we know precisely what day he was born. I’m not even positiventhat his year of birth is certain. Still, several sources say thatnAesop was born on June 4, 620 B.C.E.
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nAesopnlived in Ancient Greece. We sometimes give his profession asn“fabulist” – one who writes fables. Fabulous word, huh?
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n(Sometimes people use thenword fabulist to mean someone who is a liar – specifically,nsomeone who tells long, elaborate false stories.) n
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nOkay,nenough about fabulous words – what about Aesop and his fables?
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nTherenis a traditional story about Aesop’s life: n
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nAesopnwas a slave who was both exceedingly ugly but also very intelligent.nAt some point, he was freed, and because of his cleverness, Aesop wasnable to work his way up to becoming an adviser to kings andngovernments. n
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| This ancient coin has an image that is supposed to be Aesop |
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nHenmay or may not have been a black Ethiopian. He may or may not havenwritten some or all of the fables we credit to him. He may or may notnhave even lived!
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n(Sonyou see why I am skeptical of the very specific birthdate given onnseveral websites – when some scholars aren’t even sure that the mannever lived?!)
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| One of the most famous of “Aesop’s Fables” is “The Hare and the Tortoise.” |
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nAesop’snFables
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nFablesnare stories that usually feature animal characters and that arenwritten to teach a lesson.
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nThenbiography of Aesop, called The Aesop Romance, states that henwrote fables and left them with librarians at Croesus. However, thisnanonymous so-called biography is known to be mostly fiction. Severalnancient scholars, historians, and intellectuals mention Aesop’snfables, so there probably was a book of his collected writings innancient times. However, not a scrap of his actual writings stillnexist. n
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nThenfables we now publish under Aesop’s name may have little in commonnwith his original tales. It’s not just a matter of translation fromnGreek and Latin to English, and it’s not just a matter of modernninterpretations. Scholars state that tales have been deleted andnadded and revised over the centuries.
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nStill,nwe can enjoy the fables we do have – whoever wrote them – throughnbooks and videos and websites. n
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAudacity to Hope Day
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nCleannAir Day in Canada
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nQueen’snbirthday in Niue
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nAnniversarynof Henry Ford’s first test drive
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nAnniversarynof the great auk going extinct
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nJunen holidays
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nJunen birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in June
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJulyn holidays
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nJulyn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in July
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