Aesop, as we learn from a passage by Herodotus, who provides the oldest testimony, lived in the sixth century BC; he hailed from Phrygia and was a slave in Samos to Iadmon, who later granted him his freedom.

He was on a diplomatic mission to Delphi; however, for reasons unknown, he was killed by the locals. He was apparently renowned for his narratives, which were brief, swift, and dense in proverbial content.

Around these stories and his life, a tradition formed from generation to generation, accumulating the rich material of the 'Fables of Aesop'. Experts believe that some of these fables existed before the sixth century BC; nevertheless, the reader can easily discern that there are others that mention figures known from history who lived two to three centuries after Aesop.