Introducing Aesop's fables in the modern Greek language, adapted in the form of fairy tales, offers Greek children an opportunity to have fun and learn many beautiful truths that emerge naturally as conclusions, like the morals of these wise fables. Aesop's fables have not survived in their original form, as it seems that he did not write anything and others recorded them. In the 14th century, the Byzantine scholar Maximos Planoudes collected them and presented them in his own wording. These fables, as formulated by Maximos Planoudes, are the ones that have survived to this day.
The adaptation into modern Greek in the form of fairy tales closely approaches the original style of the ancient sage. The illustrations, in sections that depict people and human works, are done in a contemporary form. Aesop's work, although ancient, seems new and vibrant because its value is timeless, and its truths apply today just as they did in the past.
Aesop's life has become legendary, as he was likely born in Asia Minor or Samos, a common man with natural cleverness, who managed to free himself from his servitude. He wandered, visited many countries, and became sought after due to his allegorical fables. He was hosted in significant places of ancient Greece, and his fame accompanied him throughout his life.
Tradition holds that Aesop fell victim to the vengeful wrath of the priests of the Oracle of Delphi, who accused him of theft and condemned him to death. Aesop was the poet who first created fables in prose and is considered a precursor of Greek prose literature.
