AESHOP

BACK	Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own. A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. The level of our success is limited only by our imagination. Appearances are often deceiving. No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in. The unhappy derive comfort from the misfortunes of others. United we stand, divided we fall. If you allow men to use you for your own purposes, they will use you for theirs aswell. It is with our passions as it is with fire and water, they are good servants, but bad masters. We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified. It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow. Familiarity breeds contempt. Self-conceit may lead to self destruction. It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray. Aesop -625 έως -560 (65)
Aesop was an ancient Greek fabulist, considered the founder of the literary genre now called parable or allegory, the first to use prose as until then authors created exclusively in verse form (poetry). Born probably from a family of slaves, in 625 BC, in Amory of Phrygia, as a slave of the Samian philosopher Iadmonas. He lived in Samos, traveled to Egypt and the East (he lived some time in the court of King Croesus) and died at Delphi in 560 BC, after an unjust conviction. By another version was a slave of a landowner who employed him as a shepherd, he had a quarrel with the superintendent and the landowner sold him in Ephesus slave market. He was bought by a wise man, Xanthos with him they traveled all around the known world. Years later Xanthus sold him to Ladmona who appreciated his spiritual gifts and especially his wisdom and let him free. In both versions of his story, the ending is the same. It seems that he satirized the priests of the Oracle who wanted to take revenge and hid in his luggage an artifact. They accused him of theft and sacrilegious. They killed him by throwing him off the cliff from the top of Mount Parnassus. From later sources, we learn that Aesop was very ugly, but he was intelligent and had great talent in creating and narrating myths. His myths had for protagonists mainly animals such as fox, lion, deer, wolf, etc., he was giving them voice and soul to such an extent that one can consider that the myths were once reality and all that recounts had occurred. He used mainly dialogues formulated briefly and in simplicity. He was giving symbolic character, allegorical and moralistic to his stories, there is always a postscript, simple and easy to understand by children and simple people. Some modern historians argue that those myths are not his own creations but he merely assembled them and spread them, possible changing somewhat. Anyway, they have been associated with his name. Aesop did not write a single word, he simply narrated them and they spread in space and time. In the 4th century, were recorded for the first time by Demetrius from Faliro, but they haven’t survived to our days. The collections we have are projects of the 2nd and 1st century BC and the first printing of the stories was done in 1479 in Milan. Until today, the myths are still topical, a fact that demonstrates their excellence and importance.

BACK

Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own.
A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
The level of our success is limited only by our imagination.
Appearances are often deceiving.
No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.
Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in.
The unhappy derive comfort from the misfortunes of others.
United we stand, divided we fall.
If you allow men to use you for your own purposes, they will use you for theirs aswell.
It is with our passions as it is with fire and water, they are good servants, but bad masters.
We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified.
It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
Self-conceit may lead to self destruction.
It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray.

Aesop -625 έως -560 (65)

Aesop was an ancient Greek fabulist, considered the founder of the literary genre now called parable or allegory, the first to use prose as until then authors created exclusively in verse form (poetry). Born probably from a family of slaves, in 625 BC, in Amory of Phrygia, as a slave of the Samian philosopher Iadmonas. He lived in Samos, traveled to Egypt and the East (he lived some time in the court of King Croesus) and died at Delphi in 560 BC, after an unjust conviction. By another version was a slave of a landowner who employed him as a shepherd, he had a quarrel with the superintendent and the landowner sold him in Ephesus slave market. He was bought by a wise man, Xanthos with him they traveled all around the known world. Years later Xanthus sold him to Ladmona who appreciated his spiritual gifts and especially his wisdom and let him free. In both versions of his story, the ending is the same. It seems that he satirized the priests of the Oracle who wanted to take revenge and hid in his luggage an artifact. They accused him of theft and sacrilegious. They killed him by throwing him off the cliff from the top of Mount Parnassus.

From later sources, we learn that Aesop was very ugly, but he was intelligent and had great talent in creating and narrating myths. His myths had for protagonists mainly animals such as fox, lion, deer, wolf, etc., he was giving them voice and soul to such an extent that one can consider that the myths were once reality and all that recounts had occurred. He used mainly dialogues formulated briefly and in simplicity. He was giving symbolic character, allegorical and moralistic to his stories, there is always a postscript, simple and easy to understand by children and simple people. Some modern historians argue that those myths are not his own creations but he merely assembled them and spread them, possible changing somewhat. Anyway, they have been associated with his name. Aesop did not write a single word, he simply narrated them and they spread in space and time. In the 4th century, were recorded for the first time by Demetrius from Faliro, but they haven’t survived to our days. The collections we have are projects of the 2nd and 1st century BC and the first printing of the stories was done in 1479 in Milan. Until today, the myths are still topical, a fact that demonstrates their excellence and importance.