"Fables are suitable for public speaking, and they have this advantage that, while it is difficult to find similar things that have really happened in the past, it is easier to invent fables"
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| Aesop |
"Aesop's Fables", the words alone conjuring vivid stories of right and wrong, anthropomorphic animals and lessons learned. These three tales of Aesop, the same way that the myths of wicked men and malicious women did, vividly show us not only what was considered "right" by ancient Greece, but also individually give little insights into their world.
Fable 65 - The Astronomer
"An astronomer was in the habit of going out every evening to look at the stars. Then, one night when in the suburbs absorbed in contemplating the sky, he accidentally fell into a well. A passer-by heard him moaning and calling out. When the man realised what had happened, he called down to him:
'Hey, you there! You are so keen to see what is up in the sky that you don't see what is down here on the ground'".
This fable could be a message against boastful men who are incapable of doing everyday tasks, or a warning against that most Greek of all fears, Hubris, or excessive pride. Achilles, the great warrior of the Trojan War, is the most famous offender of hubris.
"Let the Acheans be hemmed in at the sterns of their ships and perish on the sea shore, that they may reap what joy they may of their king, and that Agamemnon may rue his derangement in offering insult to the best of the Acheans"
The repeated warnings against hubris shows up all over Greek myth and stories. It is clear that in many ways, no man was viewed as being "above" the Polis or his fellow men and believing yourself to be, would result in being "trapped in a well".
Fable 32 - The Fox and the Bunch of Grapes
"A famished fox, seeing some bunches of grapes hanging from a vine which had grown in a tree, wanted to take some, but could not reach them. So he went away saying to himself "Those are unripe".
This famous fable gave way to the phrase "sour grapes" and its meaning is a simple one, people regularly blame circumstance over their own inefficiency. This is an interesting fable as it hints at an ancient world complex and involved, where individuals moved up and down a social scale. This short fable alludes to the intricate nature of many of the Poleis and lives of ancient Greeks in a few short lines.
Fable 118 - Zeus and Shame
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| Body of a Youth "Kouros" from the British Museum |
"When Zeus fashioned man he gave him certain inclinations, but he forgot about shame. Not knowing how to introduce her, he ordered her to enter through the rectum. Shame baulked at this and was highly indignant. Finally she said to Zeus; "All right! I'll go in, but on the condition that Eros doesn't come in the same way; if he does, I will leave immediately". Ever since then all homosexuals are without shame"
This fable has a simple message, those who are prey to homosexual lust lose all shame. Although for its simple message, it is more complicated than that. Mentor relationships, with an educational as well as sexual aspect, between an elder and and a young male in his teenage years was common through classical Greece. However there was great shame to be seen as an elder man besotted or at the beck of a younger man and there are few to no references of elder homosexual relationships. This fable must be a warning against these elder homosexual relationships.
With the myths of ancient Greece, especially the tales of mortal men, there is a moral that go with the story. What those tales, along with the fables of Aesop show us is a complex society, with its own views of right and wrong. The underlying themes of avoiding hubris and not insulting the Gods run throughout Greek stories, Aesop himself has a fable for nearly every aspect of life and each one gives an insight into ancient life, be it the travelling merchant on the Mediterranean or washer woman by the beach.
Whatever moral or teaching you take away from Aesop, it's lesson learned.
Thanks for Reading
James
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