THE LIFE and History of Aesop is involved, like that of Homer, in much obscurity. Several places contend for the distinction of being his birthplace. However, a few incidents are now generally accepted by scholars as established facts.
He is believed to have been born about 620 B.C. and was a slave by birth. Owned by two masters in Samos, he was granted liberty by the second, Jadmon, as a reward for his learning and wit. As a freedman, Aesop rose from servitude to high renown, actively engaging in public affairs.
Driven by a desire to instruct and be instructed, he traveled widely and came to Sardis, the capital of King Croesus of Lydia, a great patron of learning. At Croesus's court, he conversed with sages like Solon and Thales, reportedly pleasing the king so much that Croesus remarked, "The Phrygian has spoken better than all."
Invited by Croesus, Aesop settled in Sardis and was employed in various state affairs. On diplomatic missions, he visited Greek cities like Corinth and Athens, using his wise fables to reconcile citizens with their rulers.
One such mission to Delphi led to his death. Sent with gold for distribution, he was provoked by the citizens' covetousness and returned the money. The enraged Delphians accused him of impiety and executed him, despite his status as an ambassador. His death was said to be avenged by calamities upon Delphi, and "The blood of Aesop" became a proverbial adage about unpunished wrongs. Posthumously, a statue was erected in his honor in Athens.
These few reliable facts were first compiled by the French scholar Claude Gaspard Bachet de Mezierac, who published his Life of Aesop in 1632. Later scholarship has added little. Prior to Mezierac's work, the most common biography was by the 14th-century monk Maximus Planudes. However, Planudes's account is now universally condemned as filled with absurd, apocryphal stories, anachronisms, and false details, and is considered unworthy of any credit.