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98 iadmon and aesop AFTER THEY HAD KILLED the slave Aesop, the Delphians were uneasy in their minds and consulted the Oracle of Apollo. The oracle said that in order to cleanse themselves of guilt, they must pay damages to the owner of Aesop. Accordingly, the Delphians announced their willingness to do this, and Iadmon, the grandson of the former Iadmon who had owned Aesop, came forward to claim his damages. [ 198 ] He was a young man who had long since spent his inheritance, and this windfall of unexpected money was a pleasant occurrence indeed, but to his surprise, he found that Aesop, after his death, had taken on a certain importance. People went about mourning for him, repeating his sayings, and predicting that his like wouldn't be seen again in Lydia for many a day. "How could the Delphians have done such a thing?" they asked. "How could they murder harmless old Aesop?" Young Iadmon listened to these things and thought in bewilderment, "Why do they make such a fuss over Aesop? I can't see that his life was of any particular importance. I think the Delphians acted wisely in throw· ing him off the cliff." He jingled the gold coins in his pocket. They made a comforting and a convincing sound. "What else could the Delphians have done?" he said. "How could they have acted othenvise?" r 199 ] ...

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