The favorite genre of the ancient writer Aesop. Biography of the writer

Aesop(Old Greek Αἴσωπος) (fr. Ésope, eng. Aesop) - a semi-legendary figure of ancient Greek literature, a fabulist who lived in the 6th century BC. NS..

(Aesop. Painting by Diego Velazquez (1639-1640))

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 Pontus writes more than a hundred years later that Aesop came from Thrace, was a contemporary of Therekides, and his first master 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 (end of the 4th century), who wrote the comedy Aesop, confronts his hero with Solon, that is, he already weaves 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 NS.

Under the name of Aesop, a collection of fables (of 426 short works) has been preserved in prose. 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 Aristophanes. actor... These were prosaic retellings, without any artistic finishing. In fact, the so-called Aesop collection includes fables from various eras.

Later, Aesop's name became a symbol. His works were passed by word of mouth, and in the III century BC. NS. were recorded in 10 books by Demetrius of Phaler (c. 350 - c. 283 BC). This collection was lost after the 9th century. n. NS. In the era of the emperor Augustus, Phaedrus transposed these fables in Latin iambic verse, Flavius ​​Avian, around the 4th century, transposed 42 fables in Latin elegiac distichus. Around 200 AD NS. 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.

Aesop's fables have been translated (often revised) into many languages ​​of the world, including by the famous fables Jean La Fontaine and Ivan Krylov.

Ezop's language (named after the fabulist Aesop) is a cryptography in literature, an allegory that deliberately disguises the thought (idea) of the author.

In Russian full translation of all Aesop's fables was published in 1968.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who reports (II, 134) that Aesop was a slave of a certain Iadmon from the island of Samos, then was released into freedom, lived during the time of the Egyptian king Amasis (570-526 BC) and was killed by the Delphians; for his death Delphi paid a ransom to the descendants of Iadmon.

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

Some fables

• Beetle and Ant

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 has his own work, and each work has its own time.
• A true treasure for people is the ability to work.

Literature

Texts

Translations

• In the series: "Collection Budé": Esope. Fables. Texte établi et traduit par E. Chambry. 5e tirage 2002. LIV, 324 p.

Russian translations:

• Ezop's fables with moralizing and annotations by Roger Letrange, re-published and translated into Russian in St. Petersburg, the chancellery of the Academy of Sciences by secretary Sergei Volchkov. SPb., 1747.515 pp. (Reprints)
• Jesop's fables with the fables of the Latin poet Filelf, from the latest French translation, full description life of Esopova ... supplied by Mr. Bellegard, now again translated into Russian by D. T. M., 1792. 558 pp.
• Ezopova's Fables. / Per. and note. I. Martynova. SPb.,. 297 pp.
• Complete collection of Aesop's fables ... M.,. 132 pages
• Aesop's Fables. / Per. M.L. Gasparova. (Series "Literary Monuments"). M .: Science,. 320 pages 30,000 copies
  • reprint in the same series: M., 1993.
  • reissued: Antique Fable. M .: Art. lit. 1991.S. 23-268.
  • reissued .: Aesop... Commandments. Fables. Biography / per. Gasparova M.L. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2003 .-- 288 p. - ISBN 5-222-03491-7

see also

• Babriy is the author of poetic expositions of Aesop's fables

Links

• Aesop on Wikilivre

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Aesop" is in other dictionaries:

- (Aesopus, Αί̉σωπος). The author of the famous "Aesop's fables", lived around 570 BC. and was a contemporary of Solon. He was on. origin of a slave; having received his freedom, Aesop went to Croesus, who sent him to Delphi. In Delphi he was accused of sacrilege ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

- (Esop) (VI century BC) legendary fabulist, Phrygian by origin When you are at the royal court, then everything that you hear, let it die in you, so that you yourself do not have to die prematurely. Be nice with your wife so that she doesn't want to ... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Currently, there are two points of view regarding the personality of Aesop: it is a real man or a collective image. Most of the information about Aesop is contradictory and has no official historical confirmation. The only mention by historians of the biography of Aesop is Herodotus' record of him as a slave. His opponent, for example, was Martin Luther. He believed that the collection of Aesop's fables was the work of several authors of more ancient fables, and the image of Aesop is the fruit of a "poetic legend."

According to Herodotus, Aesop's contemporary was the ancient Egyptian king Amasis (570-526 BC).

Life path

The birthplace of the poet-fabulist is Phrygia, which is located on the peninsula Asia Minor... Aesop was the slave of the Hellenic Jadamon, who lived on the island of Samos. It was he who later granted freedom to the fabulist. Exact date life path Aesop doesn't exist. It is believed that he was born around 620 BC and died in 564 BC. The talented Greek was known not only for his fables, but also famous sayings... So, once his friend Chilo asked his friend: “What is Zeus doing?

". To this Aesop gave him the following answer: "Makes the high low, and the low high."

He understood morality in his own way, saying that gratitude is a sign of the nobility of the soul, and each person is given his own work and each work has its own time. One of his most important sayings was the idea that the ability to work is a true treasure for every person. It looks like this short biography fabulist Aesop.

Appearance

Aesop was almost always portrayed as a humpbacked old man of short stature with a lisping voice. According to rumors, he had an impartial appearance. On the other hand, it is believed that this is a figment of the imagination of later writers. If Aesop was a slave, he had to endure beatings from his master, which should have resulted in the formation of a hump on his back. And the external ugliness had to be compensated for by the rich inner world of the Greek.

Creation

The characteristic features of Aesop's fables are their brevity, satiricality and wisdom. In them, he ridiculed all kinds of human vices, including greed, deceit, greed, pride and envy. The main characters in fables are usually animals. Sometimes the characters of the plot were also the people and gods of Olympus. Aesop created a whole world that turned into a litmus test for people who could see their vices from the outside.

Each work includes a small scene from life, which has an obligatory subtext. So, a hare gifted with speed loses a race to a turtle, which stubbornly fought for victory while he lay down to sleep. A stupid and lazy pig is digging into the roots of a tree, the fruits of which have recently filled its belly. And the sons, in search of their father's treasure, dig up the entire vineyard of the old man.

Reading Aesop's works, people remember simple truths, that the true value is the ability to work, and in the world there is nothing at the same time worse and better than the human language.

Aesop is the founder of the fable and the first standard-bearer of the glorification of human virtue and morality.

Old Greek Αἴσωπος

legendary ancient Greek poet-fabulist

about 600 BC

short biography

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

Today it is not known for certain whether such an author of fables actually existed or whether they belonged to 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 NS. 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. Through the centuries, Heraclides of Pontus will ascribe to Aesop the 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, ie. 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, relations 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. NS. and was embodied at once in several editions of the "Life of Aesop", written in in native language... If the early authors did not say anything about the peculiarities of the fabulist's appearance, then in the "Life" 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 first discovered in this issue discussion. 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 NS. 10 books of fables were compiled by Demetrius of Fales, but after the 9th century. n. NS. this vault has been lost. Subsequently, Aesop's fables were translated into Latin by other authors (Phaedrus, Flavius ​​Avian); the name of Babrius remained in history, who, borrowing plots from Aesop, presented them in Greek in poetic form. Aesop's fables, the main characters of which in the overwhelming majority of cases were animals, became richest source for borrowing plots by fabulists of subsequent times. In particular, they served as sources of inspiration for J. La Fontaine, G. Lessing, I.A. Krylov.

Biography from Wikipedia

Biography in the ancient tradition

Whether he was a historical person is impossible to say. He was first mentioned by Herodotus, who reports (II, 134) that Aesop was a slave of a certain Iadmon from the island of Samos, then was released, lived during the time of the Egyptian king Amasis (570-526 BC) and was killed by the Delphians ; for his death Delphi paid a ransom to the descendants of Iadmon.

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 these data were extracted from an earlier story of Herodotus by way of unreliable inferences (for example, Thrace as the birthplace of Aesop was inspired by the fact that Herodotus mentions Aesop in connection with the frangian hetera Rodopis, who was also in slavery to Iadmon). Aristophanes ("Wasps") 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. A century later, this statement of the heroes of Aristophanes is repeated as a historical fact. The comedian Plato (end of the 5th century) already mentions the posthumous reincarnations of the soul of Aesop. The comedian Alexis (end of the 4th century), who wrote the comedy Aesop, confronts his hero with Solon, that is, he already weaves 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 NS.

The most important monument of this tradition is the anonymous late antique novel (in Greek), known as the Life of Aesop. The novel has survived in several editions: its oldest fragments on papyrus date back to the 2nd century. n. NS.; in Europe since the XI century. received circulation the Byzantine edition of "Life".

In the Biography, Aesop's ugliness (not mentioned by the early authors) plays an important role, Phrygia becomes his homeland instead of Thrace (a stereotypical place associated with slaves), Aesop acts as a sage and joker, fooling the kings and his master - a stupid philosopher. In this plot, surprisingly, almost no role is played by the actual fables of Aesop; anecdotes and jokes told by Aesop in his "Life" are not included in the collection of "Aesopian fables" that has come down to us from antiquity and are quite far from it in genre. The image of the ugly, wise and cunning "Phrygian slave" in finished form goes to the new European tradition.

Antiquity did not doubt the historicity of Aesop. Luther in the 16th century first questioned it. Philology of the eighteenth century substantiated this doubt (Richard Bentley), philology of the nineteenth century pushed it to the limit: Otto Crusius and behind him Rutherford asserted the mythicality of Aesop with the decisiveness characteristic of the hypercriticism of their era.

Heritage

Aesopus moralisatus, 1485

Under the name of Aesop, a collection of fables (of 426 short works) in prosaic presentation has been preserved. There is reason to assume 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.

In the III century BC. NS. his fables were recorded in 10 books by Demetrius of Phaler (c. 350 - c. 283 BC). This collection was lost after the 9th century. n. NS.

In the 1st century, the freedman of the emperor Augustus Phaedrus transposed these fables in Latin iambic verse (many of Phaedrus's fables are of original origin), and Avian, around the 4th century, transposed 42 fables in a Latin elegiac distich; in the Middle Ages, Avian's fables, despite their not very high artistic level, were very popular. Latin versions of many of Aesop's collection of fables, with the addition of later tales, and then medieval fables, made up the so-called collection "Romulus". Around 100 A.D. NS. Babrius, who apparently lived in Syria, a Roman by birth, recounted the Aesopian fables in Greek verses of the size of holiyamb. The works of Babriy were included by Planud (1260-1310) in his famous collection, which influenced later fabulists.

Aesop 150 BC NS. (Villa Albani collection), Rome

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 represented 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, by the way - in that interesting statue that has survived to us.

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 by the famous fabulists Jean La Fontaine and I.A. Krylov.

In the USSR, the most complete collection of Aesop's fables, translated by M. L. Gasparov, was published by the Nauka Publishing House in 1968.

In Western literary criticism, Aesop's fables (the so-called "Aesopic") are usually identified by Edwin Perry's reference book (see Perry Index), where 584 works are systematized mainly according to linguistic, chronological and paleographic criteria.

Some fables

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

Literature

Translations

• In the series: "Collection Budé": Esope. Fables. Texte établi et traduit par E. Chambry. 5e tirage 2002. LIV, 324 p.

Russian translations:

• Ezop's fables with moralizing and annotations by Roger Letrange, re-published and translated into Russian in St. Petersburg, the chancellery of the Academy of Sciences by secretary Sergei Volchkov. SPb., 1747.515 pp. (Reprints)
• Jesop's fables with the fables of the Latin poet Filelf, from the latest French translation, a complete description of the life of Esopova ... supplied by Mr. Bellegard, now again translated into Russian by D. T. M., 1792. 558 pp.
• Complete collection of Aesop's fables ... M., 1871. 132 pages.
• Aesop's Fables. / Per. M.L. Gasparova. (Series "Literary Monuments"). Moscow: Nauka, 1968.320 pp. 30,000 copies.
  • reprint in the same series: M., 1993.
  • reissued: Antique Fable. M .: Art. lit. 1991.S. 23-268.
  • reissued .: ... Commandments. Fables. Biography / per. Gasparova M.L. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2003 .-- 288 p. - ISBN 5-222-03491-7

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

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 dangerous situation, united people, and they saved their city from plunder 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, treachery. 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. His 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 thought-provoking morality based on life 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 apt, 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 enhanced 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 peace... So they fueled interest in his works, and in their own, which were passed off as Aesopian.

Gradually piling up different kinds 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 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. Putting 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 from 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 La Fontaine was engaged in their translation. In the 19th century, Ivan Krylov translated Aesop's fables into Russian, transcribed by La Fontaine. Quotes from them live in folk speech, decorate many literary works... They became fertile material for the years 1639-1640. illustrators.