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The Ages of the World
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Brief presentation
In this article, the term "Ages of the World" refers to the phases into which tradition has divided the past of the human race (such as "The Golden Age" or "The Iron Age"), whereas by the expression "Ages of Man" the phases of individual life (such as "Childhood" and "Old Age") are meant. In ancient sources, the myth of the ages refers to the Ages of the World, and not to the phases of individual life, although tradition has wished to discern a similar cyclical pattern in both, as well as in other realities such as the hours of the day, the phases of the moon, the seasons of the year, or the alternations of the four elements. The "Ages of the World" have no relation with the divisions of the past into periods made afterwards by geology or history. In myth, there is neither "precambrian" nor "pleistocene" nor "paleolithic" [1], since myth addresses issues in ways different from those of natural science or history. The "Ages of the World" have neither been philosophically demonstrated nor have they been object of religious dogma. Rather their "prophets" have been poets, artists, and other visionaries, in whose accounts atoms of all other disciplines may be found. They did not create the myth, but the myth created them, or so they claim. The more systematic sources for the myth of the Ages of the World are the accounts of Hesiod and Ovid. The Races of Hesiod are 5, and the Ages of Ovid are, in principle 4, but some details in Ovid's texts allow for more than 4 ages. In any case, the 4 metals mentioned by Hesiod (Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Iron) are also used by Ovid in the continuous part of his description of the ages of the world (Metamorphoses 1.89–150) which thus may be said to total 4. As H. C. Baldry has remarked, Hesiod (c. 750 BC), who is the first extant source for this myth, referred to "Races", not to "Ages". It was posterity that introduced the latter term. Yet this modification did not alter the idea's core: different Races lived in succeeding times, each reflecting a certain Zeitgeist, which is the bringer or bearer of their customs and spiritual qualities. The Ages (or Races) are mainly defined by moral or spiritual qualities which are seen as degenerating in the course of time. Thus the first age (the Golden) is an era of peace, justice, simplicity, and happiness. But the succeeding Races, being spiritually inferior, cause both the world and the life of man to increasingly fall under the rule of hate, greed, war, and injustice. In this context, material progress—for example, the conquests of navigation—is not counted as an improvement, but rather as a symptom—if not a cause—of decline. Accordingly, the sequence Gold–Silver–Bronze–Iron illustrates a process of decay in the course of which evil replaces good in all manifestations: peace turns into war, piety into impiety, justice into injustice, simplicity into greed, and spirituality into materiality. The history of man is thus seen as a process, not of improvement and progress, but of decadence and fall, which, however, might not be definitive: a new cycle is sometimes expected to begin after the end of the last age. |
A pictorial introduction: The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole (1801–48)
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In the third stage, the world of nature has been replaced, as civilization flourishes, by the world of man. The natural environment is barely visible, and has been covered by buildings, bridges, towers, and ships. The preserved luminosity does not disguise the luxurious artificiality of an Imperial Age. The "earthquake" caused by man's folly is depicted in the fourth picture ("Destruction") through the violence that derives from his own greed—made apparent in "Consummation"—now accompanied by hate. Thus comes "Desolation", and perhaps extinction (last picture). |
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I. The Ages of the World
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I. The Ages of the World |
II. Ancient Texts |
III. The Ages of Man |
IV. Notes |
V. Bibliography |
The Golden Age is the reign of Cronos/Saturn, implying "the manner of life" under his rule (o epí Krónou Bíos, or Saturnia regna). This is the age of Right, Trust, Simplicity, Innocence, Peace, and Everlasting Spring. The gods have intercourse with men, and the Earth yields, without being forced, a diet necessarily vegetarian. The beasts are neither hunted nor forced; blood is not shed, not even among animals. There is no navigation, no mining, no laws, no judges, no war. For more details, see the commented Ancient Texts below; some obvious deductions are summarized here: The Golden Age appears as a lost paradise which has been associated with the irretrievable reverie of Childhood: it is a state of innocence, purity, freedom, and simplicity, ruled by Justice and obviously permeated by the significance and beauty of the natural world. The spiritual power of this age is revealed by the circumstance that the world is enchanted or 'bewitched', as must be a world in which men have intercourse with gods. In this age, the mind prevails over the physical, as may be deduced by the growing 'materiality' of the succeeding ages.
Death has not been discovered yet, which suggests that the shepherds in Poussin's painting 'Et in Arcadia Ego' belong to the Silver Age. For the man of the Golden Age, ignoring significant divisions or classifications, has no knowledge of the difference between Life and Death, and the man of the Brazen Age is already too acquainted with it.
In such a world, Time cannot know any sections: there is no 'past', 'present', or 'future', but rather an everlasting present in a timeless world:
This timelessness could resemble the negation of time that Oswald Spengler (1880–1936) in the Introduction [4] to his The Decline of the West attributes to antiquity. For he affirms, thinking of Herodotus or Sophocles, that the Greeks regarded Cosmos not as becoming but as being, and that consequently the Greek man never became but always was. In the view of Plato, Virgil, and Ovid there were no seasons either (a form of timelessness), and the men of the Golden Age enjoyed an "Everlasting Spring", the seasons being first established in the following age. Since there is no past, there is no history, and no beginning. Man lives in the beginning, which is a perennial form of the 'past' that for him appears as everlasting present. Accordingly, there are neither memory, nor myths nor religion. But, the world being for him naturally sacred, he lives both 'myth' and 'religion' as immanent realities, and consequently ignores both evocation and invocation. Why did the Golden Age come to an end? Hesiod simply says that the earth covered this generation, but 'love of gain' is often mentioned as the cause ending the golden past, as in Pindar (518–438 BC):
Still, Ovid suggests that a heavenly event—the dethronement of Cronos —brought this age to an end. Then was created a new generation—the men of the Silver Age—that was less noble than its predecessor. But as we read elsewhere (Apd.1.4.5; Hes.The.210)., the change of rule had been predicted, being written—so to say—in the book of Fate. Consequently, the Golden Age should necessarily come to an end, and necessity must also apply if the Golden Age is just a phase in a cycle (Virgil, Eclogues 4.4; Hesiod,Works and Days, 174ff.). Necessity (Ananke) is the mother of the Moerae (Pla.Rep.617c.)—the three sisters deciding on human fate. "Four seasons" When the Silver Age begins, most of the gods have returned to heaven. But Justice (Astraea/Dike) is still on earth. Not that she was pleased: she reviled the men of the Silver Age and "yearned for the ways of the men of old" (Aratus, Phenomena 115)., but nevertheless she stayed until the Brazen Age dawned. There is no war in this age, and blood is not shed, but Justice predicts that the Silver men will breed a viler and warlike progeny. Following Ovid(Metamorphoses 1.115), the creation of the seasons—which put an end to the Everlasting Spring of the Golden Age—could be regarded as the most important event of this age. Still there are no ships, but now toil has made its entrance, and man lives by the oxen and the plough (Aratus, Phenomena 110). It was Ceres (Demeter), says Ovid, who "forced bulls to yield their necks to the yoke" (Fasti 4.400). In Georgics 1.125, Virgil apparently means that it is during this age that Jove created enmity between beasts and men, hiding from the latter the means of sustenance, including fire (just as Cronos had hidden copper, silver, gold, and iron during his rule — Amores 3.8.35). But before the rule of Zeus, men were "talking with the animals", and all creatures learned from one another (Plato, Statesman 272c). "The lamentable works of Ares" With the Race of Bronze arrive the eating of flesh, arms, and war ("the lamentable works of Ares"—as Hesiod says). Now Justice leaves the earth forever (Aratus). The most outstanding feature of the Race of Bronze is its warlike character. "Nobler and more righteous" The Heroic Race only appears in Hesiod's account. Although it was "nobler and more righteous", they were nevertheless destroyed by wars (those of Thebes and Troy). Yet, some among the men of the Heroic Race did not perish for ever, and these now dwell in the Islands of the Blest, an oceanic place ruled by Cronos, who, in this manner, keeps the Golden Age alive for a limited number of happy heroes and heroines. Remarkably, this age arrests for some time mankind's decline: a sort of 'Indian Summer' in a 'Great Year'. "Labor and sorrow by day, and perishing by night" The Iron Age is 'our own', more so for Hesiod than for Ovid, whose texts open other possibilities. This is the last age, but beyond it there are other ages, most probably a new Golden Age. The Iron Age achieves the complete inversion of all features of the Golden Age: Where there was freedom and ease, now there is slavery and toil. Piety turns into impiety; love into hate; peace into war. All evil qualities flourish like black flowers in a desolate landscape: ingratitude, violence, and envy work unhindered in a forsworn world. Men are dispossessed of honour: the wicked prevail over the worthy, and kinsman slays kinsman. "Labor and sorrow by day, and perishing by night"—that is how Hesiod summarizes the life of this Race. Aidôs (Reverence) leaves, and also Nemesis abandons the earth, which obviously means that the world is so utterly cursed that just retribution and punishment for the wicked cannot be expected. However, that is rather what will come: The nature or character of a given age remains the same from the beginning to the end with the exception of the Iron Age. As Jean-Pierre Vernant has pointed out ("Le mythe hésiodique des races. Sur en essai de mise au point", in La Grèce ancienne p. 70. Seuil, 1990) a 'development' may be observed within the Iron Age itself. Hesiod, though already living in the Iron Age, refers to the future of this age rather than to the time in which he lives: "The father will not agree with his children" ... "Men will dishonor their parents" ... "There will be no favor for the man who keeps his oath" ... "Strength will be right, and reverence will cease to be" ... "there will be no help against evil", etc. This allows for a distinction between 'early, and 'late' Iron Age, full decay being first achieved in the 'late' phase. In Eclogues 4.4, Virgil indicates that the Iron Age may be succeeded by a new Golden Age. This cyclic notion is also found in Plato's Statesman. But palingenesis—a rebirth of the ages or their cyclic recurrence—appears already in Hesiod (Works and Days, 174ff.), who, having been born during the cruel Iron Age, desires either to have died before that age or else to have been born afterwards. And this "afterwards", we must deem it better than the Iron Age, or else Hesiod's desire would be vain. That "afterwards" could be a new Golden Age, as Virgil suggests, or else a retrograde movement of the Ages going from Iron through Bronze and Silver back to Gold—but very little seems to suggest this alternative, except perhaps Ovid's description of the changes undergone by the four elements:
Later authors have added significance to Hipparchus' discovery of the precession of the equinoxes [4], reasoning that if there is a meaning in the movements of the earth with its tilted axis—rotation, and revolution around the sun—then the movements implied in the precession should have a cyclic significance of its own. Thus, for example, Dante Alighieri (1265–1321):
During the Golden Age, men lived from the earth which "unforced bare them fruit abundantly and without stint". Consequently, "they dwelt in ease and peace upon their lands with many good things"(Hesiod, Works and Days 115). During this blessed period, "no creature was wild, nor did they eat one another, and there was no war among them, nor any strife whatsoever..."(Plato, Statesman 271e). And men did not "defile their lips with blood"(Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.96ff.). Also the Silver men were vegetarian, and knew not 'hateful strife', although the oxen and the plough appear in this age, which means that the earth must be forced to yield food: "Then first the seeds of grain were planted in long furrows, and bullocks groaned beneath the heavy yoke". Nevertheless, they still lived a simple life, and ships did not yet bring their livelihood from afar. But the men of the Brazen Age, who replaced the Silver Race, were "the first to eat of the flesh of the ploughing-ox" (Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.120). And along with that novel custom, they also forged "the sword of the highwayman" (Aratus, Phenomena 130). It was then, says Aratus, that Justice, loathing that race, flew to Heaven where she still remains. The notion that killing animals is the preamble of war persisted in later ages: Having described the gifts with which nature blessed man, Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469–1536), wondering at man's degeneration, believed that it must have been through many stages that man became the fierce creature he is today. In the view of Erasmus, the violence of man could only have increased step by step:
Voilà a relevant question that could have been first raised when it was suspected that the devil did not appear with horns and tail, but wearing the attire of righteousness! It may be noticed that Erasmus, in his description, adheres to the formula expressed by Juvenal (c. AD 60–135):
... and that he, following the tradition inaugurated by Hesiod, believes that the moral qualities of man decay in the course of time, leading to a lawless and cruel existence. Similar steps are found in the account of Seneca, Hippolytus 525ff.
animals
and against men:
In general it will be noticed that whereas the ox is yoked to the plough during the Silver Age—a technological innovation that did not gravely disrupt the simplicity of life—sailing, mining, and war appear between the Brazen and the Iron Age. The ox is eaten first by the Brazen Race (Aratus, Phenomena 130). The ships theme is addressed by Hesiod (soon after the description of the Races—see excerpt), and by several other authors, whereas the criticism against mining is found (among our authors) only in Ovid and Boethius. Seneca's technology section refers mainly to construction ("massive walls, set with many towers"), and then to the lamentable progresses in the art of war. For Ovid, houses appear in the Silver Age. The "frenzy of war, and the passion for gain" (Vir.Aen.8.313) go hand in hand in several accounts, and both are contemporaneous with technological progress (mainly navigation and advanced weaponry, but also mining: for the purpose of mining is profit, as are the purposes of navigation and war). For our authors navigation reveals the degree of evil that man has already attained, for it unveils his violent intentions, both towards the trees of the mountains and towards foreign shores. They are not tempted by the blessings of peaceful commerce either. For commerce, being ruled by 'love of gain', is an evil in itself, probably a form of disguised pillage. A man, they affirm, has all he needs if he stays peacefully in his Heimat; but by leaving his house and travelling abroad, he calls upon himself famine and disaster. Also Anacharsis —one of the Seven Sages of Greece—shared this aversion to navigation:
Anacharsis is credited with the invention of the anchor, which also illustrates the vain efforts of technology: one invention cancels another. Even the 20th century AD, although it had grown accustomed to mass production and mass destruction made possible by technology, exposed its dangers:
But, some would say, it is as easy for the iron man to become golden, as for winter to look like summer, or for night to be as bright as day. Obviously, the ancient authors in our list were affected by Nostalgia—a feeling as unknown to the men of the Golden Age as is unknown to Childhood. Nostalgia represents a certain deprivation, and appears first when the awareness of a spiritual loss becomes manifest. At the same time, Nostalgia nurtures and expresses the desire to return to a state in which purity, freedom, beauty and simplicity will be redeemed, justice recovered, and meaning found. When time has gone by, and all these things are irremediably lost, Nostalgia sings its sweet tune, inspired by the irretrievable world and the memory of times past. However, these authors' nostalgic tune appears blended with a severe tone of reproach against the blind greed and violence with which man attacks man, destroys harmless creatures, and ravages the world of nature. Their reproach is so uncompromising that at times it is even directed against the god, who, having dethroned his father, put a heavier burden on our race. But in that way they prove, once more, that Nostalgia's song is sweet at the beginning, and bitter at the end:
As Dante says, to remember may make a man miserable. But still more miserable could be he, who, unable to recall one single golden instant, cannot cherish it; or he who, remembering it, betrays it. And that seems to be the thought of these authors, who, having preserved our golden memories, still remind us of who we were, are, and might be. |
II. Ancient texts on the Races/Ages of the World
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II. Ancient Texts |
III. The Ages of Man |
IV. Notes |
V. Bibliography |
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Authors |
Deities leave in (age) |
Oxen |
Navigation |
Mining |
Palingenesis |
No. of Ages mentioned |
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Aidôs and Nemesis, in Iron |
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(√) excerpt |
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√ |
5 |
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√ |
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Astraea, in Bronze |
Yoked in Silver |
After Silver |
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3+? |
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1+? |
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Astraea (Virgo) |
√ |
Silver |
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√ |
3+? |
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1+? |
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2+? |
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Astraea in Iron |
Yoked in Silver |
Iron |
Iron |
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4+2 |
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√ |
√ |
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After Silver |
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√ |
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Astraea |
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√ |
√ |
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1+? |
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Comments on Hesiod: |
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Works and Days 106–200: |
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Or if you will, I will sum you up another tale well and skilfully—and do you lay it up in your heart,—how the gods and mortal men sprang from one source. |
Within the tradition inaugurated by the Greeks (the 'Western' tradition), Hesiod is the oldest extant source describing the Races (later called 'Ages'). In a brief preamble, Hesiod declares that his purpose is to explain "how the gods and mortal men sprang from one source", but he fails to identify that source.
Hesiod counts not four but five races: Golden, Silver, Brazen, Heroic, and Iron. In Hesiod's description, the men of the Heroic Race are more righteous than those of the preceding race (the Brazen), which appears to disrupt the pattern of decay generally attributed to the succession of the ages.
According to Hesiod, the races of mortal men are created by "the gods who dwell on Olympus" (Golden and Silver), or by Zeus (Brazen, Heroic, Iron). The Golden generation simply disappeared "covered by the earth"; the Silver Race was destroyed by Zeus because of their impiety; and the Brazen Race destroyed itself through war. Then one part of the Heroic Race was destroyed, also in war, but another part still lives in the Islands of the Blest, which are ruled by Cronos. Hesiod predicts that the Iron Race will also be destroyed by Zeus.
In the view of Hesiod, the successive races of mortal men were created by the gods, whereas other sources have asserted that man was created by Prometheus.[7] Then there is the matter of womankind (Pandora)—also a creation of the gods, "the price of fire". In Hesiod's view, she became the cause of all ills that afflict mankind. For before Pandora opened the jar, men lived free from ills, toil, and sicknesses (Hesiod, Works and Days 90). Thus the appearance of womankind seems to mark the definitive end of the Golden Race.[8] When comparing Hesiod's account in Theogony 453ff., with his references to Cronos in Works and Days 110, this question may arise: How could "the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus" have made a Golden Race, flourishing under the reign of Cronos, if they had been devoured by him (except Zeus, who was hiding)? There is no simple answer to that question, and the uncertainties of the passage (some sections of which have been subject to restoration) could add more difficulties. The myth of the Ages is not escathological as is that of the Islands of the Blest which Cronos rules—a reward for heroes after death—even though there is a strong resemblance between the life of men in those islands (or in the Elysian Plain of Homer, and later Virgil), and the life they lived during the Golden Age.
Yet, escathology is not completely avoided, since a kind of immortality is enjoyed by the spirits of the men of the Golden and Silver Races. Those of the first became protective spirits living on earth, and those of the second are described as spirits of the underworld. The men of the Brazen Race, "seized by black Death", went "to the dank house of chill Hades", and we may suppose that there's little hope for the men of the Iron Race, given that they are even worse. The ships theme is addressed by Hesiod soon after the description of the Races (return to, or see also section Technology): "[230] Neither famine nor disaster ever haunt men who do true justice; but light-heartedly they tend the fields which are all their care. The earth bears them victual in plenty, and on the mountains the oak bears acorns upon the top and bees in the midst. Their woolly sheep are laden with fleeces; [235] their women bear children like their parents. They flourish continually with good things, and do not travel on ships, for the grain-giving earth bears them fruit. But for those who practice violence and cruel deeds far-seeing Zeus, the son of Cronos, ordains a punishment. [240] Often even a whole city suffers for a bad man who sins and devises presumptuous deeds, and the son of Cronos lays great trouble upon the people, famine and plague together, so that the men perish away, and their women do not bear children, and their houses become few, [245] through the contriving of Olympian Zeus. And again, at another time, the son of Cronos either destroys their wide army, or their walls, or else makes an end of their ships on the sea." |
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First of all [110] the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus made a golden race of mortal men who lived in the time of Cronos when he was reigning in heaven. And they lived like gods [115] without sorrow of heart, remote and free from toil and grief: miserable age rested not on them; but with legs and arms never failing they made merry with feasting beyond the reach of all evils. When they died, it was as though they were overcome with sleep, and they had all good things; for the fruitful earth unforced bare them fruit abundantly and without stint. They dwelt in ease and peace upon their lands with many good things, [120] rich in flocks and loved by the blessed gods. But after the earth had covered this generation—they are called pure spirits dwelling on the earth, and are kindly, delivering from harm, and guardians of mortal men; [125] for they roam everywhere over the earth, clothed in mist and keep watch on judgements and cruel deeds, givers of wealth; for this royal right also they received; |
We may assume that Cronos' realm was Olympus (Heaven): "First from heavenly Olympus came Saturn ...", says Virgil [Aen.8.313]. According to Pausanias 5.7.6, the antiquaries of Elis affirmed that the men of the Golden Age had built in Olympia a temple to Cronos, 'the first king of heaven'. But in the account of Apollodorus 1.1.1, the first to rule the universe was Uranus. His son Cronos hated him (Hes.The 137) from his birth, and later dethroned him (Hes.The.170ff.). These men lived beyond evil, which is how the Golden Race is unanimously conceived. But Hesiod is the only author to make this generation survive as 'good spirits of the earth'. |
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Silver —then they who dwell on Olympus made a second generation which was of silver and less noble by far. It was like the golden race neither in body nor in spirit. [130] A child was brought up at his good mother's side a hundred years, an utter simpleton, playing childishly in his own home. But when they were full grown and were come to the full measure of their prime, they lived only a little time and that in sorrow because of their foolishness, for they could not keep from sinning and [135] from wronging one another, nor would they serve the immortals, nor sacrifice on the holy altars of the blessed ones as it is right for men to do wherever they dwell. Then Zeus the son of Cronos was angry and put them away, because they would not give honor to the blessed gods who live on Olympus. [140] But when earth had covered this generation also—they are called blessed spirits of the underworld by men, and, though they are of second order, yet honor attends them also. |
"Less noble by far". The author makes plain the stupidity of this race. Hesiod is again alone in giving such a low grade to the Silver Race. Although they lived such a little time as grown up men, their mother must in any case have lived one hundred years of adulthood to take care of her childish darlings. The impiety of this Silver Race is generally reserved, in other authors, for later ages. Despite their stupidity and impiety, Hesiod honours them with some kind of immortality as he has also done with the men of the previous age. |
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Brazen —Zeus the Father made a third generation of mortal men, a brazen race, sprung from ash-trees ; and it was in no way equal to the silver age, [145] but was terrible and strong. They loved the lamentable works of Ares and deeds of violence; they ate no bread, but were hard of heart like adamant, fearful men. Great was their strength and unconquerable the arms which grew from their shoulders on their strong limbs. [150] Their armor was of bronze, and their houses of bronze, and of bronze were their implements: there was no black iron. These were destroyed by their own hands and passed to the dank house of chill Hades, and left no name: terrible though they were, [155] black Death seized them, and they left the bright light of the sun. |
"In no way equal...", i.e. mainly that they were not childish and stupid like the previous race, but terrible and strong, and lovers of war. The hardness of this race is represented not only by their utensils, but also by their houses. The warlike and fierce character of the Bronze Race is its most prominent feature, and almost nothing else is told of them. Hesiod grants no immortality to these men, as he has done with the two previous races. |
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But when earth had covered this generation also, Zeus the son of Cronos made yet another, the fourth, upon the fruitful earth, which was nobler and more righteous, a god-like race of hero-men who are called [160] demi-gods, the race before our own, throughout the boundless earth. Grim war and dread battle destroyed a part of them, some in the land of Cadmus at seven-gated Thebes when they fought for the flocks of Oedipus, and some, when it had brought them in ships over the great sea gulf [165] to Troy for rich-haired Helen's sake: there death's end enshrouded a part of them. But to the others father Zeus the son of Cronos gave a living and an abode apart from men, and made them dwell at the ends of earth. [170] And they live untouched by sorrow in the islands of the blessed along the shore of deep-swirling Ocean, happy heroes for whom [173] the grain-giving earth bears honey-sweet fruit flourishing thrice a year, [169] far from the deathless gods, and Cronos rules over them; [169a] for the father of men and gods released him from his bonds. [169b] And these last equally have honor and glory. [169c] And again far-seeing Zeus made yet another generation, the fifth, of men [169d] who are upon the bounteous earth. |
The Heroic Age only appears in the account of Hesiod, disrupting the pattern of decay that generally is associated with the myth of the ages. This is the only race that is nobler than its predecessor. In the view of this poet, the men of the Heroic Race are closer to the gods than those of the Silver, Brazen and Iron Races. For they are "god-like", and several among them joined the gods, living a blessed life in the Islands of the Blest ruled by Cronos. Still, a part of them perished in war, like the men of the previous age. |
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Iron [return to sections Golden Age or to Recurrence] [174] Thereafter, would that I were not among the men of the fifth generation, [175] but either had died before or been born afterwards. For now truly is a race of iron, and men never rest from labor and sorrow by day, and from perishing by night; and the gods shall lay sore trouble upon them. But, notwithstanding, even these shall have some good mingled with their evils. [180] And Zeus will destroy this race of mortal men also when they come to have grey hair on the temples at their birth. The father will not agree with his children, nor the children with their father, nor guest with his host, nor comrade with comrade; nor will brother be dear to brother as aforetime. [185] Men will dishonor their parents as they grow quickly old, and will carp at them, chiding them with bitter words, hard-hearted they, not knowing the fear of the gods. They will not repay their aged parents the cost of their nurture, for might shall be their right: and one man will sack another's city. [190] There will be no favor for the man who keeps his oath or for the just or for the good; but rather men will praise the evil-doer and his violent dealing. Strength will be right, and reverence will cease to be; and the wicked will hurt the worthy man, speaking false words against him, and will swear an oath upon them. [195] Envy, foul-mouthed, delighting in evil, with scowling face, will go along with wretched men one and all. [200] And then Aidôs and Nemesis, with their sweet forms wrapped in white robes, will go from the wide-pathed earth and forsake mankind to join the company of the deathless gods: and bitter sorrows will be left for mortal men, and there will be no help against evil. |
"...been born afterwards" shows that Hesiod hoped for a better life after the end of the iron generation (see also Recurrence) which is not the 'last' race. New and better races come afterwards. Whereas the Golden men are beloved of the gods, the Iron men are shunned by them. The Iron Race represents the inversion of the Golden Race. Consequently, the last deities (Reverence and Divine Retribution) leave the earth. The departure of Nemesis indicates that punishment for evil deeds cannot be expected ("there will be no help against evil") until Zeus destroys the whole race. In the view of other authors, the last deity to fly heavenward was Astraea (see Summary). Aging is considered in this passage. The Iron Race is an 'old' race, and therefore the Golden Race must have been a 'young' one. Thus the Golden appears as the 'first' age, and the Iron as the 'last'. Accordingly, the Iron men have a tendency to aging, and they will be destroyed "when they come to have grey hair on the temples at their birth". Thus it is suggested that humanity, like a man, goes from Childhood to Old Age through intermediate phases (see The Ages of Man). As Jean-Pierre Vernant has pointed out, Hesiod speaks of the future although this is his own time: "The father will not agree with his children" ... "Men will dishonor their parents" ... "There will be no favor for the man who keeps his oath" ... "Strength will be right, and reverence will cease to be" ... "there will be no help against evil", etc. Obviously, Hesiod conceived an 'early, and a 'late' Iron Age, full decay being the lot of the 'late' phase. |
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Hesiod translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, LCL 1914 |
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Comments on Plato |
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[return to section Recurrence] Stranger: Of the portents recorded in ancient tales many did happen and will happen again. Such an one is the portent connected with the tale of the quarrel between Atreus and Thyestes. You have doubtless heard of it and remember what is said to have taken place. |
The account of the Stranger may be summarized as follows: God (also called Creator—or Demiurgus—Father, Composer, Supreme Spirit, and Pilot) causes the world to revolve in a 'forward' direction during a certain period of time. God is the extrinsic cause of this motion. This is the time of the Autochthons (earthborn or 'sons of the soil') and of "the reign of Cronos". God supervises man, and a number of deities rule the beasts and different regions of the world. Later, God withdraws (along with the administrative deities), a cataclysm occurs, the world starts revolving 'backwards' of its own accord, and thus "the age of Zeus" commences. When the cataclysm subsides, there is order again; for the world remembers and practises the teachings of the Creator. But in the course of time the world grows oblivious, and the ensuing carelessness threatens destruction. At this point, God restores order again through the 'forward' motion to prevent complete dissolution. "The reign of Cronos" or Golden Age occurs when God steers the motion of the universe. Plato does not mention the other ages in this context, but when the pattern of the ages is combined with the phases derived from the motion of the universe described by the Stranger, the following sequence is obtained: 1. Golden Age. "The reign of Cronos" [271d] When the third period comes after the cataclysm, all deities have already left. As a way of compensating the solitude and defenceless of man, the gifts of the gods are given to him by deities such as Hephaestus, Athena, Prometheus, Demeter, and Dionysus [274c]. In periods 3, 4, and 5, man takes care of himself without any further divine help. But man's self-government ends in disaster (5) and God intervenes again (6), reversing the motion of the universe and putting it under His direction. The description of the reign of Cronos [from 271d] coincides in general with other accounts. An important feature of this dialogue is the idea of recurrence exposed by the Stranger: the Ages belong to a cycle and will happen again. The harmonious life under the reign of Cronos is illustrated and emphasized by the friendly relation between men and beasts [272c], made possible by a common language. At this time man understands the language of nature, whereas in later times the language of animals and of the earth must necessarily be perceived as nonsensical 'noise'. The generation ruled by Cronos was, in this account, earthborn (Autochthonous or 'sons of the soil'), but other authors say otherwise. This is the reason why, explains Plato [272a], there were no families or states. This is not a 'beginning' nor is this a 'first' race, since these men had "no recollection of their former lives". They had evidently lived before, and, as we read [269c], this phase forms part of a cosmic cycle. During this time, says Plato [272a], the climate was temperate, which coincides with the 'everlasting spring' of Ovid. Compared with the age of Cronos, that of Zeus is known by "own experience", a milder reproach than the list presented by Virgil (Georgics 1.125). |
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Plato translated by Harold North Fowler, LCL 1925 |
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Comments on Aratus: |
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Phaenomena 96–136: |
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Beneath both feet of Bootes mark the Maiden, who in her hands bears the gleaming Ear of Corn. Whether she be daughter of Astraeus, who, men say, was of old the father of the stars, or child of other sire, untroubled be her course! [100] But another tale is current among men, how of old she dwelt on earth and met men face to face, nor ever disdained in olden time the tribes of men and women, but mingling with them took her seat, immortal though she was. [105] Her men called Justice; but she assembling the elders, it might be in the market-place or in the wide-wayed streets, uttered her voice, ever urging on them judgements kinder to the people. Not yet in that age had men knowledge of hateful strife, or carping contention, or din of battle, but a simple life they lived. [110] Far from them was the cruel sea and not yet from afar did ships bring their livelihood, but the oxen and the plough and Justice herself, queen of the peoples, giver of things just, abundantly supplied their every need. Even so long as the earth still nurtured the Golden Race, she had her dwelling on earth. [115] But with the Silver Race only a little and no longer with the utter readiness did she mingle, for that she yearned for the ways of the men of old. Yet in that Silver Age was she still upon the earth; but from the echoing hills at even-tide she came alone, nor spake to any man in gentle words. [120] But when she had filled the great heights with gathering crowds, then would she with threats rebuke their evil ways, and declare that never more at their prayer would she reveal her face to man. "Behold what manner of race the fathers of the Golden Age left behind them! Far meaner than themselves! but ye will breed a viler progeny! [125] Verily wars and cruel bloodshed shall be unto men and grievous woe shall be laid upon them." Even so she spake and sought the hills and left the people all gazing towards her still. But when they, too, were dead, and when, more ruinous than they which went before, [130*] the Race of Bronze was born, who were the first to forge the sword of the highwayman, and the first to eat of the flesh of the ploughing-ox, then verily did Justice loathe that race of men and fly heavenward and took up that abode, where (135] even now in the night time the Maiden is seen of men, established near to far-seen Bootes. *return to sections Carnivora and War or Technology |
The text of Aratus of Soli, consecrated to the constellation of Virgo (Parthénos), emphasizes the departure, during the Bronze Age, of Astraea (Dike, or Justice), also mentioned by Ovid and Virgil but omitted by Hesiod, who instead predicts the departure of Aidôs (Reverence) and Nemesis during the times of the Iron Race. These deities being gone, says Hesiod, "there will be no help against evil". According to Ovid, Astraea "abandoned the blood-soaked earth" during the Iron Age. Having left the earth, says Aratus, Astraea is now the constellation of Virgo, which, according to other sources, could represent someone else (as recorded by Hyginus, Astronomica 2.25, or by Manilius, Astronomica 2.32, 4.542). The men of the Silver Age live by the oxen and the plough, and have not yet learned the art of navigation. The simple agricultural life is the kind of life that Justice cherishes, and the only one capable to provide both sustenance and happiness: "O happy farmers! too happy, should they come to know their blessings! for whom, far from the clash of arms, Earth herself, most fair in dealing, unbidden pours forth from her soil an easy sustenance." (Vir.Geo.2.458). According to Hesiod, Theogony 902, Astraea (Dike) is the daughter of Zeus and Themis. "... but ye will breed a viler progeny..." Although the Races are generally thought to have been created by the gods, man himself is responsible for the spiritual decay. Reproaches (on account of degeneration) are addressed sometimes against the gods (Virgil, particularly Georgics 1.125), and sometimes against man (but mainly against the latter). |
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Aratus translated by G. R. Mair, LCL 1921 |
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Comments on Diodorus |
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Diodorus 5.66.1–4: "The Titans numbered six men and five women [...] Cronos, since he was the eldest of the Titans, became king and caused all men who were his subjects to change from a rude way of living to civilized life, and for this reason he received great approbation and visited many regions of the inhabited earth. Among all he met he introduced justice and sincerity of soul, and this is why the tradition has come down to later generations that the men of Cronos' time were good-hearted, altogether guileless, and blest with felicity." |
In this euhemeristic account, Diodorus makes men of the Titans, and of Cronos a king and benefactor who introduced decency in his realm. See also Virgil (Aeneid) and Dionysius of Halicarnassus below. Diodorus says further that Cronos' kingdom was pre-eminent in the western regions, but still the 'civilized life'—as shown by this paragraph—consists of spiritual qualities. |
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Diodorus translated by C. H. Oldfather, LCL 1939 |