Par Aesop's fables means a set of prose fables attributed to Aesop, a Greek writer who lived towards the end of the 7th century BC and the beginning of the 6th century BC. Although freed and later naturalized Greek, Aesop was originally born in Nubia, and sold into slavery in Phrygia. Aesop's fables inspired many authors, who perfected the genre for 2 years, including Jean de la Fontaine.