Sjömansbiblioteket

Is talent more important to success than hard work? Sometimes if we are determined and focused on our goals, we can overcome even the strongest opponents. And vise versa: we should not only rely on talent to win.

In his timeless fables, Aesop whispers from the past knowledge which we think we know, but very often forget.


Aesop (620–564 BCE) was a storyteller that was believed to have lived in Ancient Greece. He is celebrated for a number of fables now collectively known as Aesop's Fables. In the few scattered sources about his life, Aesop was described as a slave who by his cleverness acquires freedom and becomes an adviser to kings and city-states.

Although Aesop's existence remains unclear, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a storytelling tradition that continues to this day.


Aesop's fables feature animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that speak, solve problems, and generally have human characteristics. All the stories story lead to a particular moral lesson.