Aesop is one of the most representative names in the Western fable tradition. Public information about his life is limited: neither his nationality nor his dates of birth and death are reliably recorded, and later ages have generally regarded him as a legendary figure. The work handed down under his name, Aesop's Fables, gathers a large number of short, pointed animal fables, often using lions, foxes, wolves and tortoises to mirror human affairs. The language is concise, and each tale usually ends by stating its moral. Brief in length and brisk in plot, these stories suit both oral transmission and children's reading, and have therefore circulated widely in East and West, being repeatedly translated and adapted. They remain an important source for later fable writing and moral education. This site lists one work by the author, commonly categorized as inspirational growth.
