We all watched Aesop's Fables when we were kids, right? But few people know that there were many slave writers in Greece at that time who expressed their emotions through article stories, and Aesop and Terrence, as we know them, are two of them, and I will introduce the lives of these two people below:
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" >, Aesop</h1>
Traditionally, Aesop was a Greek slave, and today he is known only for the fable type. Aesop's fables (most of which feature anthropomorphic animals as the main characters) have been popular throughout history and are still taught as moral courses and as themes for a variety of entertainment, especially children's games and cartoons.
Few people know where Aesop came from, and little is recorded in the book. Some claim that his name may have come from "Aethiopian", a word that the ancient Greeks often used to refer to anyone with dark skin from Africa.
His date of birth is equally uncertain, but the best estimate is probably around 620 BC. According to some medieval traditional books, he looked extremely ugly and deformed, although there is no contemporary evidence of this.
He is said to have been a slave to a man named Gatsos in Samos and lived like this for a while. Then at some stage he must have been released (probably his second master, Jaden, as a reward for his knowledge and wisdom) as he was later recorded as a public defender of a demagogue on the Greek island of Samos.
Other reports say he later lived at the court, where he met solon and the seven greek sages (apparently they were impressed by his wisdom) and that he was said to have visited Athens during the Empire of Percestratus.
According to historian Herodotus Esop, Aesop suffered violent deaths at the hands of the inhabitants of Delphi, although a variety of different reasons have been proposed. The best estimate of the date of his death is around 560 BC, at the age of 60.
It is likely that Aesop himself never used his "fables" for writing, and it is possible that these stories were transmitted orally. It is thought that even Aesop's original fables may have been a compilation of stories from different sources, many of which originated from slave writers who lived long ago.
In short, there were many slave writers of the time who used their work to advocate for swift justice and abolitionism, but Aesop's Fables differed in his use of metaphorical writing. For example, the fable writer's Fable of the Frog describes a pond full of frogs who were dissatisfied after receiving a log in response to a prayer for the king. So they were sent a deadly water snake to replace the logs, and this snake ate them with impunity. The snake symbolizes the slave owner, while the frog symbolizes the slave.
With the help of his fables, Aesop succeeded in convincing a group of potential revolutionaries who endured further tyranny for fear of change.
Aesop was also a pessimist, and in his works the cunning fox always won, and the honest animal was always deceived, but there was nothing he could do about it.
In a trial of embezzlement, Aesop defended the defendants with the parable of the fox and the hedgehog. Aesop advocated leniency for an undisguised criminal because he believed that if he did not do so, a worse criminal would emerge.
In this case, at least, Aesop's worldview is a terrible pessimism, a worldview that denies the possibility of changing in a better direction.
His books proved inadequate to appease the righteous, and there is no denying that Aesop's lasting impact on Western culture is undeniable. As with his intellect and storytelling, his reactionary politics was a strange anomaly in a world of slaves to writers.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="26" > two, Terrence</h1>
Terrence was brought to Rome as a slave by Trentius Lucanus, an unknown Roman senator who was impressed by Terrence's abilities and gave Terrence a general education and subsequent freedom.
From the beginning of his writing career, Terrence was fortunate to have the help of Lucius Ambivius Turpio, a male actor who propelled the career of Caecillius, a major comedy playwright of the previous generation.
Now in old age, the actor did the same for Terrence. However, not all of Terrence's work was a success. Hessilla failed twice.
Terrence also faced the hostility of jealous opponents, especially an old playwright, who made a series of accusations against the new playwright. Terrence has also been slandered by artificial rumors, accused of believing that his work was ghostwritten by someone and that his work did not follow the traditional mode of writing.
Terrence died young. When he was 35 years old. He visited Greece and never returned from his journey. So he died either in Greece or in shipwreck on the way back. Nothing is known about his family life, except that he left a daughter and a small but valuable estate outside the city of Rome on the Apulan Road.
Terrence eventually passed away with his talent unknown.