Myths and legends of Ancient Greece. Five centuries

The poet Hesiod tells how the Greeks of his time looked at the origin of man and the change of centuries. In ancient times everything was better, but life on earth was constantly getting worse, and life was worst of all during the time of Hesiod. This is understandable for Hesiod, a representative of the peasantry and small landowners. During the time of Hesiod, class stratification deepened and the exploitation of the poor by the rich intensified, so the poor peasantry really lived poorly under the yoke of rich large landowners. Of course, even after Hesiod, the life of the poor in Greece did not get any better; they were still exploited by the rich.
Based on Hesiod's poem "Works and Days"
The immortal gods living on bright Olympus created the first human race happy; it was a golden age. God Kron ruled then in heaven. Like blessed gods, people lived in those days, knowing neither care, nor labor, nor sadness. They also did not know frail old age; Their legs and arms were always strong and strong. Their painless and happy life was an eternal feast. Death, which came after their long life, was like a calm, quiet sleep. During their lifetime they had everything in abundance. The land itself gave them rich fruits, and they did not have to waste labor on cultivating fields and gardens. Their herds were numerous, and they grazed calmly on rich pastures. The people of the golden age lived serenely. The gods themselves came to them for advice. But the golden age on earth ended, and none of the people of this generation remained. After death, people of the golden age became spirits, patrons of people of new generations. Shrouded in fog, they rush across the earth, defending truth and punishing evil. This is how Zeus rewarded them after their death.
The second human race and the second century were no longer as happy as the first. It was the Silver Age. The people of the Silver Age were not equal in strength or intelligence to the people of the Golden Age. For a hundred years they grew up foolish in the houses of their mothers, only when they matured did they leave them. Their life in adulthood was short, and since they were unreasonable, they saw many misfortunes and grief in life. The people of the Silver Age were rebellious. They did not obey the immortal gods and did not want to burn sacrifices for them on the altars; the Great Son of Cronos Zeus destroyed their family on earth. He was angry with them because they did not obey the gods living on bright Olympus. Zeus settled them in the underground dark kingdom. There they live, knowing neither joy nor sorrow; people also pay homage to them.
Father Zeus created the third generation and the third age - the Copper Age. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of the spear Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the Copper Age loved pride and war, abundant in groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth that gardens and arable land provide. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Their hearts were indomitable and courageous and their hands irresistible. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, and they worked with copper tools. They didn’t know dark iron back in those days. The people of the Copper Age destroyed each other with their own hands. They quickly descended into the dark kingdom of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death kidnapped them, and they left the clear light of the sun. As soon as this race descended into the kingdom of shadows, the great Zeus immediately created on the earth that feeds everyone the fourth century and a new human race, a nobler, more just race of demigod heroes equal to the gods. And they all died in evil wars and terrible bloody battles. Some died at the seven-gate Thebes, in the country of Cadmus, fighting for the legacy of Oedipus. Others fell at Troy, where they came for the beautiful-haired Helen, and sailed across the wide sea in ships. When death snatched them all away, Zeus the Thunderer settled them on the edge of the earth, far from living people. The demigod-heroes live a happy, carefree life on the islands of the blessed near the stormy waters of the Ocean. There, the fertile land gives them fruits three times a year, sweet as honey.

The last, fifth century and the human race is iron. It continues now on earth. Night and day, without ceasing, sorrow and exhausting work destroy people. The gods send people difficult worries. True, gods and good are mixed with evil, but still there is more evil, it reigns everywhere. Children do not honor their parents; a friend is not faithful to a friend; the guest does not find hospitality; there is no love between brothers. People do not observe this oath, they do not value truth and goodness. They are destroying each other's cities. Violence reigns everywhere. Only pride and strength are valued. The goddesses Conscience and Justice left people. In their white robes they flew up to high Olympus to the immortal gods, but people were left with only grave troubles, and they had no protection from evil.

"Five centuries". N.A.Kun . According to the poem Hesiod "Works and Days"

“The world is around you...”

general - to introduce students to the ideas of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod about the logic of the development of human society; discuss the problem reflected in the myth: “Which path is humanity moving: along the path of respecting generally accepted rules or neglecting them”;

private - introduce a new type of mythological narrative; continue to develop lexical skills; enrich students' understanding of such artistic means as epithet, allegory, metonymy.

Hesiod (late VIII-VII centuries BC) is the founder of the didactic epic in ancient Greek literature. Basic information about Hesiod is gleaned from his poem “Works and Days.” Despite the bitterness that permeates the poem, its mood is not hopeless. The poet strives to find traits of goodness in his age, to indicate the source of hope. Above all, he believes in gods and human labor. In his other poem, “Theogony,” Hesiod affirms the idea of the power and glory of Zeus, not only the most powerful, but also the wise ruler of the world. Zeus is helped to maintain the order of the universe by his consorts: the goddess of fertility Demeter and Themis, who personifies the natural order of things, who, in turn, gives birth to three Or - goddesses of the changing seasons: Eunomia, Dick, Irina (Lawfulness, Justice, Peace), denoting the foundations of ethical social normal These names are significant: they point to precisely those phenomena whose observance, according to Hesiod, was jeopardized.

Myth of Five Centuries

stated in the poem "Works and Days" ancient Greek poet and rhapsodist Hesiod, who lived in the 8th-7th centuries BC. e. According to the myth, the existing world order appeared as a result of a successive change of five centuries and, accordingly, five generations of people - gold, silver, copper, heroic and iron.

...Deeds of days gone by,
Legends of deep antiquity...
A.S. Pushkin

Vocabulary work

Cadmus is a hero of ancient Greek myths, the founder of Thebes. After Europa was abducted by Zeus, her brothers, including Cadmus, were sent by their father to search for their sister. The Delphic oracle ordered K. to stop searching, follow the cow he meets, and build a city where she stops. Fulfilling this command, K. arrived in Boeotia (along with Attica, the most significant region of Ancient Greece), where he founded Cadmea - a citadel around which Thebes later grew - the largest city of Boeotia, in Homer - the "seven-gate" Thebes.

Vocabulary work

Oedipus is the son of the Theban king Laius. The Delphic oracle predicted that Oedipus would in the future become the murderer of his father and the husband of his mother, therefore, by order of his father, he was thrown to be devoured by beasts as a child. Found by shepherds, Oedipus was handed over to the childless Corinthian king Polybus, who raised him as his son. The grown-up Oedipus met his father Laius at a crossroads and killed him, not knowing that it was his father. Oedipus freed Thebes from the Sphinx, solving its riddle, became king there and, suspecting nothing, married his mother. Having learned the truth, he blinded himself.

Vocabulary work

Kronos (Cronus) is one of the most ancient pre-Olympic gods, the son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth), the youngest of the Titans, who overthrew and crippled his father. Kronos's mother predicted that, like his father, he would be overthrown by one of his children. Therefore, Kronos swallowed all his newborn children. Only the youngest son of Kronos, Zeus, escaped this fate, instead of whom a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes was swallowed. Subsequently, Zeus overthrew his father and forced him to vomit up all the children he had swallowed. Under the leadership of Zeus, the children of Kronos declared war on the Titans, which lasted ten years. Together with the other defeated titans, Kronos was cast into Tartarus.

Vocabulary work

Ocean. 1. According to Hesiod - the son of Uranus and Gaia, titan, brother of Kronos, husband of Tethys, who bore him three thousand sons - river deities and three thousand daughters - oceanids. The ocean lives alone in an underwater palace and does not appear at the meeting of the gods. In later myths it is replaced by Poseidon. 2. Mythical river surrounding the earth. According to the ancients, all sea currents, rivers and springs originate in the Ocean. The sun, moon and stars (except for the constellation Ursa Major) rise from the Ocean and descend into it.

GOLDEN AGE

The immortal gods living on Olympus created the first human race happy; it was a golden age. God Kron ruled then in heaven. Like blessed gods, people lived in those days, knowing neither care, nor labor, nor sadness. They also did not know frail old age; Their legs and arms were always strong and strong. Their painless and happy life was an eternal feast. Death, which came after a long life, was like a calm, quiet sleep. During their lifetime they had everything in abundance. The land itself gave them rich fruits, and they did not have to waste labor on cultivating fields and gardens. Their herds were numerous, and they grazed calmly on rich pastures. The people of the golden age lived serenely. The gods themselves came to them for advice. But the golden age on earth ended, and none of the people of this generation remained. After death, people of the golden age became spirits, patrons of people of new generations. Shrouded in fog, they rush across the earth, defending truth and punishing evil. This is how Zeus rewarded them after their death.

SILVER AGE

The second human race and the second century were no longer as happy as the first. It was the Silver Age. The people of the Silver Age were not equal in strength or intelligence to the people of the Golden Age. For a hundred years they grew up foolish in the houses of their mothers, only when they matured did they leave them. Their life in adulthood was short, and since they were unreasonable, they saw a lot of misfortune and grief in life. The son of Cronus, Zeus, destroyed their race on earth. He was angry with the people of the Silver Age because they did not obey the gods living on Olympus. Zeus settled them in the underground dark kingdom. There they live, knowing neither joys nor sorrows; people also pay homage to them.

COPPER AGE

Zeus created the third generation and the third age - the Copper Age. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of the spear Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the Copper Age loved pride and war, abundant in groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth that gardens and arable land provide. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Their hearts were indomitable and courageous and their hands irresistible. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, and they worked with copper tools. They didn’t know dark iron back in those days. The people of the Copper Age destroyed each other. They quickly descended into the dark kingdom of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death kidnapped them, and they left the clear light of the sun.

AGE OF HEROES

As soon as this race descended into the kingdom of shadows, Zeus immediately created on earth the fourth century and a new human race, a more noble, more just race of demigods - heroes, equal to the gods. And they all died in evil waves and terrible bloody battles. Some died at the seven-gate Thebes, in the country of Cadmus, fighting for the legacy of Oedipus. Others fell at Troy, where they came for the beautiful-haired Helen, having sailed across the wide sea in ships. When death snatched them all away, Zeus the Thunderer settled them on the edge of the earth, far from living people. The heroes live a happy, carefree life on the islands of the blessed near the stormy waters of the Ocean. There, the fertile land gives them fruits three times a year, sweet as honey.

IRON AGE

The last, fifth century and the human race is iron. It continues even now on earth. Night and day, without ceasing, sorrow and exhausting work destroy people. The gods send people difficult worries. True, gods and good are mixed with evil, but still there is more evil, it reigns everywhere. Children do not honor their parents; a friend is not faithful to a friend; the guest does not find hospitality; there is no love between brothers. People do not observe this oath, they do not value truth and goodness. People destroy each other's cities. Violence reigns everywhere. Only pride and strength are valued.
The goddesses Conscience and Justice left people. In their white robes they flew up to high Olympus to the immortal gods, but people were left with only grave troubles, and they had no protection from evil.

1. Name the five centuries in the order in which they are listed in the myth. (Golden, silver, copper, age of heroes, iron.) What name of the century did we meet for the first time (Age of Heroes.) Do you know any myths that would tell about the life of people and gods in the age of heroes? (Some myths about Achilles, Hercules, the Argonauts.) Write down the names of all five centuries. Choose a word for a capacious, generalizing characteristic of each century. (Happy, cruel, heroic, tragic, noble, joyful, difficult, etc.)
2. What do you think, in the characteristics of the centuries, is our attention drawn to when the name of the centuries of heroes appears in the logical chain? Find in the description of each century words and expressions that characterize the lives of people of each century. Write them out. ( Gold: painless and happy life; people lived serenely. Silver: "unreasonable" people... Copper: scary and powerful people; they loved war, abundant in groans; destroyed each other. Age of Heroes: The human race is more noble, more just, however, they also died in wars and bloody battles. Iron: exhausting work, heavy worries; people do not honor each other, the guest does not find hospitality, they do not observe this oath, they do not value truth and goodness; they destroy each other's cities, violence reigns everywhere; They have no protection from evil...). How, according to Hesiod, did the life of people on Earth change with the change of centuries? Why? What technique helps to make such a conclusion? How, in your opinion, does the emotional connotation of words that characterize the lives of people of different centuries change? (The names of the centuries are given by analogy with metals, the comparative value of which is different: gold is more expensive than silver, silver is more expensive than copper, copper is more expensive than iron.)

Analytical work on the text:

3. In the lives of people in almost every century that Hesiod spoke about, there were light and dark sides: joy and sorrow. Which of the centuries is assessed by Hesiod as the most cloudless, the happiest for the people living in it? Why? Re-read the description of their lives. Based on this description, what synonyms could you find for the word “happy”? (Serene, calm, quiet.) Find metonymies and comparisons in the text that help create a feeling of a happy, calm life of people in the golden age. (“Their painless and happy life was an eternal feast”; “death... a calm, quiet sleep”; “The gods themselves came to them for advice.”) 4. Can the life of subsequent human generations be called calm and serene? In what centuries, created, according to the worldview of the ancient Greeks, by the gods of Olympus, did people have the opportunity to choose one or another line of behavior? What choices did they make? What were the consequences of this choice?

Analytical work on the text:

5. How does the story about the life of Iron Age people end? Who or what could change their life? (In the Iron Age, violence reigns on earth because people themselves do not behave as they should. Conscience and Justice have left the Earth. Consequently, positive changes depend primarily on the people themselves: they will begin to respect established, generally accepted rules - Conscience and Justice will be able return.) 7. Imagine that you have been asked to characterize the past centuries and the time in which you live now. Come up with, if you like, your own names for centuries and their time boundaries. Describe the life of people living in these centuries. Try to describe “your age” (that is, the time in which you live) from a variety of angles, without missing out on its bright sides or any problems that concern you.

Conclusions from the lesson Students do it themselves, answering the teacher’s questions:
Today the conversation was about organizing people's lives according to the rules.
Can this topic be classified as an “eternal” topic? Why?

Homework explanation

Read this myth to your family or friends who are older than you. Ask them about that “age,” that is, the time in which they lived when they were your age. How does it appear to them now? How do they characterize the time in which they live now? Write down the definitions and epithets that they will use to characterize the past and present. Prepare a story about the conversation that took place.

Based on Hesiod's poem "Works and Days".

The immortal gods living on bright Olympus created the first human race happy; it was a golden age. God Kron ruled then in heaven. Like blessed gods, people lived in those days, knowing neither care, nor labor, nor sadness. They also did not know frail old age; Their legs and arms were always strong and strong. Their painless and happy life was an eternal feast. Death, which came after their long life, was like a calm, quiet sleep. During their lifetime they had everything in abundance. The land itself gave them rich fruits, and they did not have to waste labor on cultivating fields and gardens. Their herds were numerous, and they grazed calmly on rich pastures. The people of the golden age lived serenely. The gods themselves came to them for advice. But the golden age on earth ended, and none of the people of this generation remained. After death, people of the golden age became spirits, patrons of people of new generations. Shrouded in fog, they rush across the earth, defending truth and punishing evil. This is how Zeus rewarded them after their death.
The second human race and the second century were no longer as happy as the first. It was the Silver Age. The people of the Silver Age were not equal in strength or intelligence to the people of the Golden Age. For a hundred years they grew up foolish in the houses of their mothers, only when they matured did they leave them. Their life in adulthood was short, and since they were unreasonable, they saw a lot of misfortune and grief in life. The people of the Silver Age were rebellious. They did not obey the immortal gods and did not want to burn sacrifices to them on the altars. The great son of Cronos, Zeus destroyed their race

1 The poet Hesiod tells how the Greeks of his time looked at the origin of man and the change of centuries. In ancient times everything was better, but life on earth was constantly getting worse, and life was worst during the time of Hesiod. This is understandable for Hesiod, a representative of the peasantry and small landowners. During Hesiod's time, class stratification deepened and the exploitation of the poor by the rich intensified, so the poor peasantry really lived poorly under the yoke of rich large landowners. Of course, even after Hesiod, the life of the poor in Greece did not become any better; they were still exploited by the rich.

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on the ground. He was angry with them because they did not obey the gods living on bright Olympus. Zeus settled them in the underground dark kingdom. There they live, knowing neither joys nor sorrows; people also pay homage to them.
Father Zeus created the third generation and the third age - the Copper Age. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of the spear Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the Copper Age loved pride and war, abundant in groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth that gardens and arable land provide. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Their hearts were indomitable and courageous and their hands irresistible. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, and they worked with copper tools. They didn’t know dark iron back in those days. The people of the Copper Age destroyed each other with their own hands. They quickly descended into the dark kingdom of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death kidnapped them, and they left the clear light of the sun.
As soon as this race descended into the kingdom of shadows, the great Zeus immediately created on the earth that feeds everyone the fourth century and a new human race, a nobler, more just race of demigod heroes equal to the gods. And they all died in evil wars and terrible bloody battles. Some died at the seven-gate Thebes, in the country of Cadmus, fighting for the legacy of Oedipus. Others fell at Troy, where they came for the beautiful-haired Helen, having sailed across the wide sea in ships. When death snatched them all away, Zeus the Thunderer settled them on the edge of the earth, far from living people. The demigod-heroes live a happy, carefree life on the islands of the blessed near the stormy waters of the Ocean. There, the fertile land gives them fruits three times a year, sweet as honey.
The last, fifth century and the human race is iron. It continues now on earth. Night and day, without ceasing, sorrow and exhausting work destroy people. The gods send people difficult worries. True, gods and good are mixed with evil, but still there is more evil, it reigns everywhere. Children do not honor their parents; a friend is not faithful to a friend; the guest does not find hospitality; there is no love between brothers. People do not observe this oath, they do not value truth and goodness. People destroy each other's cities. Violence reigns everywhere. Only pride and strength are valued. The goddesses Conscience and Justice left people. In their white robes they flew up to high Olympus to the immortal gods, but people were left with only grave troubles, and they had no protection from evil.

Prepared according to the edition:

Kun N.A.
Legends and myths of ancient Greece. M.: State educational and pedagogical publishing house of the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR, 1954.

State Polar Academy

Department of Russian Language and Literature

Hesiod's myth of the five centuries. Origin and Parallels in other mythologies.

Completed by: Remizov Dmitry

Group: 211-A

St. Petersburg 2002

The time of Hesiod's life can only be roughly determined: the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 7th century. BC. He is thus a younger contemporary of the Homeric epic. But while the question of an individual "creator" of the Iliad or Odyssey is a complex and unsolved problem, Hesiod is the first clearly defined personality in Greek literature. He himself names his name or provides some biographical information about himself. Hesiod's father left Asia Minor due to dire need and settled in Boeotia, near the “Mount of Muses” Helicon

Near Helikon he settled in the joyless village of Askra,

"Works and Days"

Boeotia belonged to the relatively backward agricultural regions of Greece with a large number of small peasant farms, with weak development of crafts and urban life. Monetary relations were already penetrating this backward region, undermining the closed subsistence economy and traditional way of life, but the Boeotian peasantry defended its economic independence for a long time. Hesiod himself was a small landowner and at the same time a rhapsode (wandering singer). As a rhapsode, he probably also performed heroic songs, but his own work belongs to the field of didactic (instructive) epic. In an era of disruption of ancient social relations, Hesiod acts as a poet of peasant labor, a teacher of life, a moralist and a systematizer of mythological legends.

Two poems survive from Hesiod: Theogony (The Origin of the Gods) and Works and Days (Works and Days).

The reason for writing the poem “Works and Days” was the trial of Hesiod with his brother Persian over the division of land after the death of his father. The poet considered himself offended by the judges from the family nobility; at the beginning of the poem he complains about the corruption of these “kings”, “devourers of gifts”

...glorify the gift-eating kings,

Our dispute with you was fully resolved as you wished.

In the main part, Hesiod describes the work of the farmer during the year; he calls on the ruined brother Persian to honest work, which alone can give wealth. The poem ends with a list of “happy and unlucky days.” Hesiod is distinguished by great powers of observation; he introduces vivid descriptions of nature, genre paintings, and knows how to attract the reader’s attention with vivid images.

Particular attention in the poem should be paid to the myth of the five centuries. According to Hesiod, all world history is divided into five periods: the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Copper Age, the Heroic Age and the Iron Age.

The immortal gods living on bright Olympus created the first human race happy; This was golden age. God Kron ruled then in heaven. Like blessed gods, people lived in those days, knowing neither care, nor labor, nor sadness. They also did not know frail old age; Their legs and arms were always strong and strong. Their painless and happy life was an eternal feast. Death, which came after their long life, was like a calm, quiet sleep. During their lifetime they had everything in abundance. The land itself gave them rich fruits, and they did not have to waste labor on cultivating fields and gardens. Their herds were numerous, and they grazed calmly on rich pastures. The people of the golden age lived serenely. The gods themselves came to them for advice. But the golden age on earth ended, and none of the people of this generation remained. After death, people of the golden age became spirits, patrons of people of new generations. Shrouded in fog, they rush across the earth, defending truth and punishing evil. This is how Zeus rewarded them after their death.
The second human race and the second century were no longer as happy as the first. It was silver Age. The people of the Silver Age were not equal in strength or intelligence to the people of the Golden Age. For a hundred years they grew up foolish in the houses of their mothers, only when they matured did they leave them. Their life in adulthood was short, and since they were unreasonable, they saw many misfortunes and grief in life. The people of the Silver Age were rebellious. They did not obey the immortal gods and did not want to burn sacrifices for them on the altars; the Great Son of Cronos Zeus destroyed their family on earth. He was angry with them because they did not obey the gods living on bright Olympus. Zeus settled them in the underground dark kingdom. There they live, knowing neither joy nor sorrow; people also pay homage to them.
Father Zeus created the third generation and the third age - copper age. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of the spear Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the Copper Age loved pride and war, abundant in groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth that gardens and arable land provide. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Their hearts were indomitable and courageous and their hands irresistible. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, and they worked with copper tools. They didn’t know dark iron back in those days. The people of the Copper Age destroyed each other with their own hands. They quickly descended into the dark kingdom of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death kidnapped them, and they left the clear light of the sun.

As soon as this race descended into the kingdom of shadows, immediately the great Zeus created on the earth that feeds everyone the fourth century and a new human race, a nobler, more just race equal to the gods demigod heroes. And they all died in evil wars and terrible bloody battles. Some died at the seven-gate Thebes, in the country of Cadmus, fighting for the legacy of Oedipus. Others fell at Troy, where they came for the beautiful-haired Helen, and sailed across the wide sea in ships. When death snatched them all away, Zeus the Thunderer settled them on the edge of the earth, far from living people. The demigod-heroes live a happy, carefree life on the islands of the blessed near the stormy waters of the Ocean. There, the fertile land gives them fruits three times a year, sweet as honey.
The last, fifth century and the human race - iron. It continues now on earth. Night and day, without ceasing, sorrow and exhausting work destroy people. The gods send people difficult worries. True, gods and good are mixed with evil, but still there is more evil, it reigns everywhere. Children do not honor their parents; a friend is not faithful to a friend; the guest does not find hospitality; there is no love between brothers. People do not observe this oath, they do not value truth and goodness. They are destroying each other's cities. Violence reigns everywhere. Only pride and strength are valued. The goddesses Conscience and Justice left people. In their white robes they flew up to high Olympus to the immortal gods, but people were left with only grave troubles, and they had no protection from evil.

From a socio-historical point of view, this passage is extremely important, as it depicts the disintegration of family ties and the beginning of a class society, where everyone really is each other’s enemies.

The picture of the change of centuries has absolutely exceptional significance in world literature. The poet for the first time captured in it the idea of antiquity about continuous regression in the spiritual and material spheres. It is a development of more general worldly wisdom in Homer (Od. II, 276):

Rarely are sons like their fathers, but for the most part

Parts are all worse than fathers, only a few are better.

The transfer of a state of earthly perfection to distant, immemorial antiquity - the doctrine of the “golden age” - is characteristic of popular ideas and is known among many peoples (ethnologist Fritz Graebner notes it, for example, among the Indians of Central America). It should also include the biblical teaching about an earthly paradise, based on Babylonian myths. Similar points are found in Indian philosophy. But this general idea was developed by Hesiod into a whole system of the stepwise fall of humanity. Later literary formulations of the same idea are found, for example, in the Metamorphoses of Ovid, a Roman poet who lived from 43 BC. to 18 AD

Ovid presents four centuries: golden, silver, copper and iron. A golden age in which people lived without judges. There were no wars. No one sought to conquer foreign lands. There was no need to work - the land brought everything itself. It was spring forever. Rivers of milk and nectar flowed.

Then came the Silver Age, when Saturn was overthrown and Jupiter took over the world. Summer, winter and autumn appeared. Houses appeared, people began to work to earn food for themselves. Then came the Copper Age

He was more severe in spirit, more prone to terrible abuse,

But not criminal yet. The last one is all made of iron.

Instead of shame, truth and loyalty, deception and deceit, intrigues, violence and a passion for possession appeared. People began to travel to foreign lands. They began to divide the land and fight with each other. Everyone began to fear each other: guest - host, husband - wife, brother - brother, son-in-law - father-in-law, etc.

However, there are differences between the ideas of Ovid and Hesiod: in Ovid there is a continuous decline, figuratively expressed in a decrease in the value of the metal that denotes “age”: gold, silver, copper, iron. In Hesiod, the descent is temporarily delayed: the fourth generation is the heroes, the heroes of the Trojan and Theban wars; The lifespan of this generation is not determined by any metal. The scheme itself is certainly older than the time of Hesiod. Heroes are outside of it. This complication is probably a tribute to the authority of the heroic epic, although the opposition of the class to which Hesiod belongs is directed against its ideology. The authority of Homer's heroes forced the author to take them beyond the gloomy picture of the third (“copper”) generation.

Also in ancient literature we find a legend about the change of centuries, in addition to Ovid, in Aratus, partly in Hergilius, Horace, Juvenal and Babrius.

List of used literature:

1. THEM. Tronsky. History of Ancient Literature. Leningrad 1951

2. N.F. Deratani, N.A. Timofeeva. Reader on Ancient Literature. Volume I. Moscow 1958

3. Losev A.F., Takho-Godi A.A. and others. Ancient literature: Textbook for higher school. Moscow 1997.

4. ON THE. Kun. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece. Kaliningrad 2000

5. History of Greek Literature, vol.1. Epic, lyric, drama of the classical period. M.–L., 1947.

6. Hesiod. Works and days. Per V. Veresaeva. 1940

Painful in summer, bad in winter, never pleasant.

Rarely are sons like their fathers, but for the most part

Father Zeus created the third generation and the third age - copper age. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of the spear Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the Copper Age loved pride and war, abundant in groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth that gardens and arable land provide. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Their hearts were indomitable and courageous and their hands irresistible. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, and they worked with copper tools. They didn’t know dark iron back in those days. The people of the Copper Age destroyed each other with their own hands. They quickly descended into the dark kingdom of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death kidnapped them, and they left the clear light of the sun.