Aesop: Ancient master of persuasion

Aesop has long been recognized as a master story-teller, but his true genius was in his incomparable capacity for persuasion. Aristotle patterned his theory of argument after Aesop's fable form. Human conduct explained and advocated through fable made it possible for Aesop's fables to both edify and entertain. Though the ancient writers freely credited Aesop's work as the basis for rhetorical principles, modern analysis has negated his role in philosophy and the development of argumentation to that of a children's storyteller. It is unfortunate that the man credited by Aristotle as the original master of rhetoric---of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos---would be relegated as simply a mythical figure who told children's stories. By disguising counsel in fiction, Aesop was able to persuade the peoples of ancient Greece politically, ethically, and intellectually, masterfully combining each of the elements necessary to persuasion.