Information about Golden Age

This article is about about mythological Golden age(s). For metaphorical uses, see Golden Age (metaphor). For other uses, see Golden Age (disambiguation).

The Golden Age by Pietro da Cortona.

The term Golden age stems from Greek mythology. It refers to the highest age in the Greek spectrum of Iron, Bronze, Silver and Golden ages, or to a time in the beginnings of Humanity which was perceived as an ideal state, or utopia, when mankind was pure and immortal. A "Golden Age" is known as a period of peace, harmony, stability and prosperity. In literary works, the Golden Age usually ends with a devastating event, which brings about the Fall of Man (see Ages of Man). An analogous idea can be found in the religious and philosophical traditions of the Far East. For example, the Vedic or ancient Hindu culture saw history as cyclical composed of yugas with alternating Dark and Golden ages. The Kali yuga (Iron Age), Dwapara yuga (Bronze Age), Treta yuga (Silver age) and Satya yuga (Golden age) correspond to the four Greek ages. Similar beliefs can be found in the ancient Middle East and throughout the ancient world.

According to Giorgio de Santillana, the former professor of history at MIT, and co-author of the book Hamlet's Mill^[1], there are over 200 myth and folkstories from over 30 ancient cultures that spoke of a cycle of the ages tied to the movement of the heavens. Some Utopianist beliefs, both political and religious, hold that the Golden Age will return after a period of blessedness and gradual decadence is completed. Other proponents, including many modern day Hindus, believe a Golden age will gradually return as a natural consequence of the changing yugas.

Some pastoral works of fiction depict life in an imaginary Arcadia as being a continuation of life in the Golden Age; the shepherds of such a land have not allowed themselves to be corrupted into civilization.^[2]

History

It happens both in Europe as well as in the Middle East, the idea of a Golden Age is part of a mythical interpretation of history, which divides history into several consequent ages, or (predominantly in the Middle East) into empires or historical epochs. The Golden Age (in India the Satya Yuga) is perceived to have been the first and best age, followed by the Silver Age and so on. The lowest and worst age was the Kali yuga of the Dark Ages when the decay of civilisation reached its nadir, prior to the renaissance period and the present Dwapara yuga. This perception of history is different from the current linear paradigm which does not recognize any cyclicality. The theory of historical ages is often thought to be the mythical expression of a philosophy of history marked by cultural pessimism, or simply the belief of primitive cultures. A few modern theorists such as Walter Cruttenden, author of Lost Star of Myth and Time, believe the cycle of the ages has a basis in fact indirectly due to the motion of the solar system around another form..

Greek and Roman antiquity

A myth of ages can be seen in Europe in the writings of Hesiod in the late 8th and early 7th century BC.

The Greek poet Hesiod, around the 8th century BC, in his compilation of the mythological tradition (the poem Works and Days), explained that, prior to the present era, there were four other progressively more perfect ones, the oldest of which was called the Golden age. In this stage:

[...] they lived like gods 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, rich in flocks and loved by the blessed gods.

In this age, Hesiod writes, mankind lived in absolute peace, carefree like the gods because they never aged and death was a falling asleep. The main characteristic of this age according to Hesiod was that the earth produced food in abundance, so that agriculture was rendered superfluous. This characteristic also defines almost all later versions of the myth.

The Orphic school, a religious movement from Thrace which spread to Greece in the 6th century BC, held similar beliefs, including the denomination of the ages with metals. Some Orphics identified the Golden Age with the era of the god Phanes, who was regent over the Olympus before Cronus. In classical mythology however, the Golden Age took place during the reign of Cronus. In the 5th century BC, the philosopher Empedocles emphasised the idea of original peacefulness, innocence and harmony in all of nature, including human society.

The Golden Age by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Several centuries later (29 BC) the Golden Age was depicted in Virgil's The Georgics. Here, the poet looked back again to sing the good old times before Jupiter, when:

Fields knew no taming hand of husbandmen;

To mark the plain or mete with boundary-line-

Even this was impious; for the common stock

They gathered, and the earth of her own will

All things more freely, no man bidding, bore.

The topic is taken up again by Ovid's in his Metamorphoses (AD 8):

The golden age was first; when Man yet new,

No rule but uncorrupted reason knew:

And, with a native bent, did good pursue.

Unforc'd by punishment, un-aw'd by fear, [...]

Peace and harmony prevailed during this age. Humans did not grow old, but died peacefully. 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. The spirits of those men who died were known as Daimones and were guides for the later ancient Greeks (who considered themselves to live in the later Iron Age.)

This race eventually died out when Prometheus (a Titan) gave the secret of fire to humans. Zeus punished humans, allowing Pandora to open her box which unleashed all evil in the mortal world.

Within sequences or cycles of eras, the golden age stands alongside the silver age and the Iron Age, and conditions can improve or decline according to one's conception of mythic progression.

Also Plutarch, the Greek historian and biographer of the 1st century, dealt with the blissful and mythic past of the humanity.

Norse

The Old Norse word gullaldr (literally "Golden Age") was used in Völuspá to describe the period after Ragnarök where the surviving gods and their progeny build the city Gimlé on the ruins of Asgard.

Hindu

The Indian teachings differentiate the four world ages (Yugas) not according to metals, but according to quality depicted as colors, whereby the white color is the purest quality and belongs to the first, ideal age. These colors were originally assigned to the planet Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury and Mars just like the metals. After the world fall at the end of the fourth, worst age (the Kali yuga) the cycle should be continued, eventually culminating in a new golden age.

The Krita Yuga also known as the Satya yuga, the First and Perfect Age, as described in the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic:

[...] Men neither bought nor sold; there were no poor and no rich; there was no need to labour, because all that men required was obtained by the power of will; the chief virtue was the abandonment of all worldly desires. The Krita Yuga was without disease; there was no lessening with the years; there was no hatred or vanity, or evil thought whatsoever; no sorrow, no fear. All mankind could attain to supreme blessedness. [...]

The Hindus make reference to at least two overlapping yuga cycles, driven by celestial motions, that affect conditions on earth. One cycle, the Maha Yuga, is millions of years in length and therefore difficult to relate to human history or events. The shorter yuga cycle lasts 24,000 years, including an ascending age of 12,000 years (one daiva yuga) and a descending age of 12,000 years, for a total equal to one precession of the equinox. Both cycles are comprised of the four eras, and the Satya Yuga is the first and the most significant age in each cycle. This Golden Age era lasts 7200 years (out of the 12,000 years in the ascending period) and another 7200 years (out of 12,000 years in the descending period) in the precessional cycle. Knowledge, meditation, and communion with Spirit hold special importance in this era. The average life expectancy of a human being in Satya Yuga is believed to be about 400 years. During Satya Yuga, most people engage only in good, sublime deeds and mankind lives in harmony with the earth. Ashrams become devoid of wickedness and deceit. Natyam (such as Bharatanatyam), according to Natya Shastra, did not exist in the Satya Yuga "because it was the time when all people were happy".

Christianity

According to Tom Whyte and John Ashton's The Quest for Paradise, the Golden Age idea contributed to the modern Christian views of Heaven.

The Golden Age is identified with Eden. It is considered to return during the Kingdom of God, the reign of Christ which will never end. See also millennialism. The church father Lactantius availed himself with his description "golden age" of the future thousand-year old of Christ's Kingdom including the usual characteristics (blessedness of entire nature, sumptuous fertility, animal peace, disappearing agriculture and navigation).

Book of Isaiah ch. 65, which somehow is reminisce of the mythological Golden Age descriptions, is believed to refer to that state.

17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.

24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
– Book of Isaiah

Another connection made by early Christians and Jews was that this was a reference to the Nephilim spoken of in the book of Genesis, as referenced from the Book of Enoch, a pseudopigraphal work. The book of Enoch is quoted in Jude 14, 15.

Early modern Europe

In early modern Europe, some called the Enlightenment a second Golden Age (the first assumed to be that of the ancient authors Homer, Aristophanes, Virgil and especially Horace); in England, the Augustan Age and the 18th century were then considered a Golden Age for the progress made in thought (David Hume), science (Royal Society), and literature (Jonathan Swift, Daniel Defoe, Alexander Pope).

Fantasy

In modern fantasy worlds whose background and setting sometime draw heavily on real-world myths, similar or compatible concepts of Golden Age exist in the said world's prehistory; when Deities or Elf-like creatures existed, before the coming of humans.

For example, a Golden Age exists in Middle-earth legendarium. Arda (the period of our world where The Lord of the Rings is set), was designed to be symmetrical and perfect. After the wars of the Gods, Arda lost its perfect shape (known as Arda Unmarred) and was called Arda Marred. Another kind of 'Golden Age' follows later, after the Elves awoke; the Eldar stay on Valinor, live with the Valar and advance in arts and knowledge, until the rebellion and the fall of the Noldor, reminiscent of the Fall of Man. Eventually, after the end of the world, the Silmarilli will be recovered and the light of the Two Trees of Valinor rekindled. Arda will be remade again as Arda Healed.

In The Wheel of Time universe, the Age of Legends is the name given to the previous Age: In this society, channelers were common and Aes Sedai - trained channelers - were extremely powerful, able to make angreal, sa'angreal, and ter'angreal, and holding important civic positions. The Age of Legends is seen as a utopian society without war or crime, and devoted to culture and learning. Aes Sedai were frequently devoted to academic endeavours, one of which inadvertently resulted in a hole - 'The Bore' - being drilled in the Dark One's prison. The immediate effects were not realised, but the Dark One gradually asserted power over humanity, swaying many to become his followers. This resulted in the War of Power and eventually the Breaking of the World.

Another example is in the background of the Lands of Lore classic computer game, the history of the Lands is divided in Ages. One of them is also called Golden Age, where the Lands were ruled by the 'Ancients', no wars existed yet, until that age was over with the 'War of the Heretics'.

References

1. ^ Giorgio de Santillana, Herta von Dechend: Hamlet's Mill: An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and its Transmission through Myth, ISBN-10: 0879232153 (Hamlet´s Mill at amazon.com)
2. ^ Bridget Ann Henish, The Medieval Calendar Year, p96, ISBN 0-271-01904-2

External Links

• • [ e] Concepts of Heaven
Christian:	Kingdom of God • Garden of Eden Paradise • New Jerusalem • Pearly gates
Jewish:	Gan Eden • Olam Haba
Islamic:	Jannah • Sidrat al-Muntaha
Latter Day Saint:	Celestial kingdom • Terrestrial kingdom • Telestial kingdom • Spirit world
Ancient Greek:	Elysium • Empyrean • Hesperides
Celtic:	Tr na ng • Mag Mell
Norse:	Valhalla • Asgard
Egyptian:	Aaru
Indo-European:	Paradise • Svarga • The Summerland • Myth of Er • Fortunate Isles
Related concepts:	Nirvana • Millennialism • Utopianism • Golden Age • Arcadia • The guf • Well of souls

golden age is a period in a field of endeavour where great tasks were accomplished. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets who used to refer to a time when mankind lived in a utopia and was pure (see Golden Age).
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Golden age is a mythological period in the beginnings of Humanity which was perceived as an ideal state, when mankind was pure and immortal.

Golden Age (metaphor), any period in a field of endeavour where great tasks were accomplished

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The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. 750 BC^[1] (the archaic period) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest). It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization.
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Utopia (from Greek: οὐ no, and τόπος, place, i.e. "no place" or "place that does not exist," as well as "perfect place") is a fictional island near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean written about by Sir Thomas More as the
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original research or unverifiable claims.
* It needs additional references or sources for verification.

Please help [ improve the article] or discuss these issues on the talk page.

''For other uses, see Peace (disambiguation).

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Fall of Man, the Story of the Fall, or simply, the Fall, refers to man's transition from a state of innocence to a state of knowing only dualities such as "good and bad" or "life and death". The cause of this Fall, according to Genesis, was disobedience to God.
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The Ages of Man are the stages of human existence on the Earth according to Classical mythology. Two classical authors in particular offer accounts of the successive ages of mankind, which tend to progress from an original, long-gone age in which humans enjoyed a nearly divine
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Far East refers to the countries of East Asia^[1] It was well popularized in the English language during the period of the British Empire as a blanket term for lands to the east of British India.
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Middle East is a historical and political region of Africa-Eurasia with no clear boundaries. The term "Middle East" was popularized around 1900 in Britain, and has been criticized for its loose definition.
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Hamlet's Mill: An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and Its Transmission Through Myth
Author Giorgio de Santillana, Hertha von Dechend
Cover artist Sara Eisenman (1st paperback edition; 1977)
Country United States
Language English
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Pastoral, as an adjective, refers to the lifestyle of shepherds and pastoralists, moving livestock around larger areas of land according to seasons and availability of water and feed.
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Arcadia (Greek: Ἀρκαδία) is a modern Greek province dating back to antiquity. As a consequence of its sparsely inhabited mountainous topography it was occupied mainly by pastoralists.
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shepherd is one who takes care of sheep, usually in flocks in the fields.

History

Shepherding is one of the oldest professions, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat, and especially their wool.
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Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
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Cultural pessimism is a variety of pessimism, as formulated by what is nowadays called a cultural critic.

Contemporary proponents

Towards the end of the 20th century, cultural pessimism surfaced in a prominent way.
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Hesiod (Greek: Ἡσίοδος Hesiodos) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BC.
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Greek}}}
Writing system: Greek alphabet
Official status
Official language of: Greece
Cyprus
European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
European Union
Italy
Turkey
Regulated by:
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A poet is a person who writes poetry. This is usually influenced by a cultural and intellectual tradition. Some consider the best poetry to be, to some extent, and universal, and to address issues common to all humanity; others are more absorbed by its particular, personal and
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Hesiod (Greek: Ἡσίοδος Hesiodos) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BC.
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The 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC.

Overview

The 8th century BC was a period of great changes in civilizations. In Egypt, the 23rd and 24th dynasties led to rule from Nubia in the 25 Dynasty.
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Works and Days (in ancient Greek Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι, which sometimes goes by the Latin name Opera et Dies
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Orphism (more rarely Orphicism) was a mystery religion in the ancient Greek world. Its founder was alleged to be the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into Hades and returned.
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Thrace, (Turkish: Trakya, Romanian: Tracia, Bulgarian: Тракия or Trakiya, Greek:
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Phanes can mean:

Phanes (butterfly), a genus of butterflies in the grass skipper family.
Phanes (mythology), the Greek deity
Phanes (organic chemistry), a structural sub-unit in nomenclature

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Mount Olympus (Greek: Όλυμπος; also transliterated as Mount Ólympos, and on modern maps, Óros Ólimbos) is the highest mountain in Greece at 2,919 meters high (9,576 feet)^[1].
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Classical or Greco-Roman mythology usually refers to the mythology, and the associated polytheistic rituals and practices, of Classical Antiquity. Originally cognate but still markedly different, Roman religion converged with Greek over time, beginning when Greeks first
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Cronus (Ancient Greek Κρόνος, Krónos), also called Cronos or Kronos, was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky.
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Empedocles (Greek: Ἐμπεδοκλῆς, ca. 490–430 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek colony in Sicily.
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