Ages of Man

This article is about mythology. For the speech by Shakespeare, see As You Like It

The Ages of Man are the stages of human existence on the Earth according to Classical mythology.

This body of work generally refers to four ages most often referred to as the Iron, Bronze, Silver and Golden ages. The four ages are also known by their qualatative terms: Age of Man (Iron), Age of the Hero (Bronze), Age of the Demi-Gods (Silver) and Age of the Gods (Golden).

In his Works and Days, the Boeotian poet Hesiod described Five Ages of Man:

1. The Golden Age, the last one beginning with and taking place during the rule of Cronus when it is said that men lived among the gods, and freely mingled with them. Peace and harmony prevailed during this age. Humans lived to a very old age but with a youthful appearance and eventually died peacefully. The Old Testament and ancient myth and folklore make reference to people of very advanced age (Seth, Methsusela) that lived to such an age. Spring was eternal and people were fed on acorns from a great oak as well as wild fruits and honey that dripped from the trees. This race declined as the earth descended towards the lower ages of the Great Year (Plato's term for the cycle of all ages). Their spirits live on as "guardians".
2. The Silver Age, beginning with the birth of Apollo and the rule of Zeus - These people lived for one hundred years as children without growing up, then they suddenly aged and died. It appears that Hesiod is trying to say they lived old and also retained youth for many years but they did not live as long or enjoy the quality of youth as much as the higher Golden Age. Zeus destroyed these people because of their impiety.
3. Bronze Age or Brazen Age, (sometimes also known as the copper age) beginning with the Ogygian Deluge - These humans were fierce and warlike and their tools and implements were made of bronze. They did not live as long as people in the Silver Age and supposedly destroyed one another with their violence.
4. The Heroic Age (Second Brazen Age), beginning with Deucalion's flood - In this period lived noble demigods and heroes. It was the heroes of this Age who fought at the seven-gated Thebes as well as at the Trojan War. This race of humans died and went to Elysium.
5. The Iron Age, beginning with the Dorian invasion - This is the lowest age in which humans must struggle to stay alive, when the world is full of pain, discontent and vice. Gods no longer contact mortals. Zeus will someday destroy this race of humans. This time will come when babies are born with white hair. This is among others comparable to Hinduism's Kali Yuga or the Judeo-Christian End Times.

In Metamorphoses, Ovid followed a similar tradition, translated into Roman terms. Ovid described Four Ages of Man: Golden, Silver, Brazen, and Iron. Because Hesiod differs with Ovid, the Hindu and other traditions that discuss cycles some scholars believe that Hesiod's Bronze Age and Herioc Age are one and the same.

In the Old Testament Book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a statue made of the four metals which is interpreted by Daniel. Whether this story derives from a common literary tradition with that of the classical accounts is uncertain, but it utilizes the same four metals to describe changing periods of history. It also describes the changing character of mankind during the four ages.

These mythological ages are sometimes associated with historical timelines. In particular, the Bronze Age and Iron Age are well known eras in archaeology, which may have some relation to the mythology. However, the periods ascribed to these periods by modern archaeologists differ from the periods given in various myth and folklore.

In the in the chronology of Saint Jerome the Golden Age lasts ca. 1710 to 1674 BC, the Silver Age 1674 to 1628 BC, the First Brazen Age 1628 to 1472 BC, the Heroic Age 1460 to 1103 BC, while the Iron Age was considered as still ongoing by Hesiod in the 8th century.

The Hindu and Vedic writings also make reference to four ages termed: Satya (Golden), Treta (Silver), Dwapara (Bronze) and Kali (Iron). According to the Laws of Manu these four ages total 12,000 years in declining order and 12,000 years in ascending order (for a total of 24,000 years in one complete cycle, and are equivelent to seasons of history or seasons of man.

The timelines for the four ages as given by Swami Sri Yukteswar in his book Holy Science, and by Lori Pratt in her series of articles entitled Astrolgical World Ages are roughly: 11,500BC to 6700BC descending Golden Age, 6700BC to 3100BC descending Silver Age, 3100BC to 700BC descending Bronze Age, 700BC to 500AD descending Iron Age. The cycle then bottomed out and began the ascending phase with the Iron Age lasting from 500AD to 1700AD. The rennaisance marked the rough transition from the lowest age into the nest highest age. We are now said to be in the early stages of the ascending Bronze Age which they also term the atomic or electrical age.

There are also many other references to various types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi (worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former professsor of the history of science, mentions approximately thirty ancient cultures that believed in the concept of a series of ages and the rise and fall of history, with alternating Dark and Golden Ages. This information is documented in the book Hamlet's Mill by de Santillana and von Dechend in 1969.

See also

Ages of Man (play)