Ages of Man in Classical Mythology

In Ovid's Metamorphoses, four ages of man are proposed: Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Iron. In Hesiod's version, a fifth is added: the Age of Heroes. The Golden Age is an eternal-spring utopia, with no war, disease or working. This age comes to an end when Zeus overthrows Cronus, instituting the Silver Age, and a new race of men. The seasons are introduced, and men, who remain children for a century, must now work the land and build shelter. These gives way to a warlike, but pious Bronze Age race. Ovid places the Iron Age next, But Hesiod added a fifth, the Age of Heroes. These were the predecessors of the Greeks and the heroes in their myths, in which many were slain in the great battles and wars of legend, with some attaining the Isle of the Blessed. It seems that Hesiod wanted to connect his (then) modern Hellenistic culture with a past that was somehow nobler than the dreary , hellish Age of Iron, where men are neither peaceful nor moral.

The Golden Age by Pietro da Cortona

In both versions the Golden Age, ruled by Cronus before he was overthrown by his son Zeus, is described at length. This is a time of prosperity and peace, and the first race of humans live at one with nature, neither toiling the land nor requiring shelter. They are heroic, peaceful and obedient to the gods, and attained very long lifespans without ageing, eventually becoming guardians of the blessed realms in the underworld. This Eden-like existence is brought to a close when Prometheus gives men the knowledge of fire and other arts. As punishment, the now reigning Zeus sends to the people the curious Pandora with her forbidden box. When she inevitably opens it, evil and strife are released into the human realm, and doom is spelled for the Golden Age.

The Silver Age by Lucas Cranach the Elder

The Silver Age by Pietro Berrettini da Cortona

In the Silver Age, the new race of men remained children for 100 years, while cared for by their mothers. This race was less heroic, to match their less eventful and less idyllic Age, and they were much less pious in their duties toward the gods. In instituting the seasons, Zeus ended the eternal spring, and men were forced to seek shelter and grow food for the first time. Upon becoming centenarians, they soon aged and died. These people were petty and warlike, constantly fighting one another, But it was because of their impiety that they were finally destroyed by Zeus in the Ogynian Deluge, ushering in the Bronze Age.

The Flood by Johann Heinrich Schönfeld

The men of the Bronze Age were strong and warlike, having weapons and houses made of bronze. Though they did honor the gods, their worship was centered around Ares, the god of war. Even more bloodthirsty than their predecessors, the men of this age were in constant warfare, and even practiced cannibalism. For these reasons, they too were destroyed by Zeus in a great deluge, the Flood of Deucalion. Their souls were sent to the underworld as well; not to the Blessed Realms like their forbears, but to deep and dark places of suffering.

Labors of Heracles, Roman relief.

The next age according to Hesiod is the Age of Heroes, though Ovid omits this era. These noble people respected the gods, and some were demigods themselves. They took part in many of the great tales of heroism of classical mythology, such as the Trojan War, Jason and the Argonauts, and the Seven Against Thebes. The souls of these heroes would eventually spend a happy eternity on the Isles of the Blessed.

Iron Age by Virgil Solis

The final age is the Age of Iron, of which Hesiod, Ovid and us are all a part. The Iron race is beset by troubles and worries, grows old quickly, and lacks all morality. People feel no shame in wrongdoing, and must work very hard to stay alive. The gods are forsaken, and in turn leave people alone to their own devices. Hesiod believed that one day Zeus would return to destroy this race as he had done to the others before us.