THE AGES OF MAN

Recently as I was reading I came upon a reference to ‘The Ages of Man.’ I then went on a search.  I discovered that many traditions refer to an age of man.  I spent some time with a number of them and yesterday I decided to share one of them with you, gentle reader.  I found the following intriguing and familiar and , so, perhaps you , gentle reader, will also find one or more of them to be intriguing and perhaps familiar.  The Greek poet Hesiod [700 B.C.] wrote about what he called ‘The Five Ages of Man’ in his poem the ‘Works and Days.’

The Works and Days is a poem of some 800 verses.  This poem is perhaps best known for its two mythological causes for the toil and pain that define the human condition: the story of Prometheus and Pandora, and the so-called Myth of Five Ages.  What follows is a brief summary of Hesiod’s Five Ages of Man.

HESIOD’S FIVE AGES OF MAN
·    Golden Age – The Golden Age is the only age that falls within the rule of Cronus [Cronus is the father of Zeus].  Humans were said to live among the gods, and freely mingled with them. Peace and harmony prevailed during this age. Humans did not have to work to feed themselves, for the earth provided food in abundance. They lived to a very old age but with a youthful appearance and eventually died peacefully. Their spirits live on as “guardians”. Plato recounts the golden race of men who came first. He describes these men as daemons upon the earth; they are beneficent, preventing ills, and guardians of mortals.
·    Silver Age – The Silver Age and every age that follows fall within the rule of Cronus’ successor and son, Zeus. Zeus created  humans out of the ash tree. Men in the Silver age lived for one hundred years under the dominion of their mothers. They lived only a short time as grown adults, and spent that time in strife with one another. During this Age men refused to worship the gods and Zeus destroyed them for their impiety. After death, humans of this age became “blessed spirits” of the underworld.
·    Bronze Age – Men of the Bronze Age were hardened and tough, as war was their purpose and passion. Their arms and tools forged of bronze. The men of this Age were undone by their own violent ways and left no named spirits; instead, they dwell in the “dank house of Hades”. This Age came to an end when Zeus became fed up with their hubris and drowned them in a flood; only one man and one woman were spared so that ‘man’ would not be totally destroyed.
·    Heroic Age – The Heroic Age is the one age that does not correspond with any metal. It is also the only age that improves upon the age it follows. These humans were created from the bones of the earth (stones) through the actions of Deucalion and Pyrrha [the man and woman who survived the flood].  In this period men lived with noble demigods and heroes. It was the heroes of this Age who fought at Thebes and Troy. This race of humans died and went to Elysium.
·    Iron Age – Hesiod finds himself in the Iron Age. During this age humans live an existence of toil and misery. Children dishonor their parents, brother fights with brother and the social contract between guest and host is forgotten. During this age might makes right, and bad men use lies to be thought good. At the height of this age, humans no longer feel shame or indignation at wrongdoing; “there will be no help against evil.”