Fables have been around as long as the human race. Some of the most popular fables that exist are those by Aesop.
Fables were probably being told long before there was writing - so the origin of them has not been recorded.
Shakespeare is not famous for have been written fables, but he did. He wrote one intitled "The tree and the reed".
No. It is from fables/legends
as long as the earth's been round!
Aesop's fables or Babrius Babrius may have written a collection of fables, which was discovered in the 19th century) based on Aesop's fables, only in Greek verse. Babrius may have been a Hellenistic Roman.
Fables and legends are from a different source. Fables are made up to express a point or moral. Legends have origins that may or may not have been true but are usually embellishments of the truth to emphasize the meaning of the story. So the answer to fables is no. Legends? Maybe.
Aesop died long before the Roman Empire did. This was long before there was copy write protection and even if there was, it expired long ago. The fables entered the public domain a long long time ago.
They have been round for hundreds of years
The fables are called 'The Aesop Fables'. A weird name Aesop.
Aesop is the author of esophagi fables.
They are classified as fables because we don't have any documented history that can prove his existence, and all of the legends came well after that historical period, and are almost certainly fictional.