Aesop’s Fables and Whether They Were Written By an Ugly, Enslaved “Barbarian” Who Discretely Mocked His Masters

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 October 2024

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Aesop’s fables are among the most familiar and best-loved stories in the world. Tales like “The Tortoise and the Hare,” “The Dog in the Manger,” and “Sour Grapes” have captivated audiences for roughly 2,600 years. Written by a non-Greek slave (who may not have existed but was reported to be very ugly), Aesop was an outsider who knew how to skerwer Greek society and identify many of the contraditions of antiquity. HIs tales offer us a world fundamentally simpler to ours—one with clear good and plain evil—but nonetheless one that is marked by political nuance and literary complexity.

Today’s guest is Robin Waterfield, author of “Aesop’s Fables: A New Translation.” Newly translated and annotated by renowned scholar Robin Waterfield, this definitive translation shines a new light on four hundred of Aesop’s most enduring fables. We look at historical accounts of Aesop, how his tales were recorded, and shine a new light on four hundred of Aesop’s most enduring fables.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Scott here with another episode of the History and Plug Podcast.
0:08.0	You've definitely heard Aesop's fables even if you don't know who Aesop is.
0:12.0	Stories like the Tortoise and the hair,
0:14.0	the goose that lay the golden eggs,
0:15.0	and hundreds of others like this.
0:17.0	But who was Aesop?
0:19.0	His origin is a bit unclear,
0:21.0	but from biographies about him that were written in
0:23.7	antiquity which survived to today, we think he lived in the sixth century BC and was a
0:28.4	slave in ancient Greece but was of non-Greek background. He could have been from Asia Minor or Thrace.
0:34.0	But that status as an outsider gave Aesop a unique perspective
0:38.0	where he could criticize those around him
0:40.0	and satirize those in power without the objects of a scrutiny realizing what was going on.
0:44.0	Because of his focus on timeless themes, that's why his collection has survived for about 2,600 years.
0:50.0	In today's episode, I'm speaking to Robin Waterfield, a translator of Aesop, an author of Aesop's fables in new translation.
0:56.5	But we're going to dive deeper into his background, how his stories survive for hundreds of years,
1:01.0	as oral histories, why so many of his stories feature animals, whether it's a story. for originally intended for children, but they evolved and became out over time.
1:13.3	Hope you enjoy this discussion with Robin Waterfield. And one more thing before we
1:20.0	get started with this episode, a quick break for word from our sponsors.
1:27.7	Robin, thank you for joining us today.
1:29.6	Thank you very much for the invitation, Scott.
1:32.4	This is an interesting exploration of Aesop's fables because everyone knows about it even if they don't know the name they've heard of one but they haven't considered the background of Aesop, the construction of the fables, the whole historical angle.
	...

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