The Ages of Man are the stages of human existence on the Earth according to Greek mythology. Two classical authors (Hesiod and Ovid) 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 existence to the current age of the writer, in which humans are beset by innumerable pains and evils. In the two accounts that survive from ancient Greece and Rome, this degradation of the human condition over time is indicated symbolically with metals of successively decreasing value.
Read more about Ages Of Man: Hesiod's Five Ages, Ovid's Four Ages, Historicity of The Ages
Famous quotes containing the words ages and/or man:
“The first place he went into was the Royal Exchange .... where men of all ages and all nations were assembled, with no other view than to barter for interest. The countenances of most of the people showed they were filled with anxiety; some indeed appeared pleased, but yet it was with a mixture of fear.... [David] resolved to stay no longer in a place where riches were esteemed goodness, and deceit, low cunning, and giving up all things to the love of gain were thought wisdom.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)
“In the man whose childhood has known caresses and kindness, there is always a fibre of memory that can be touched by gentle issues.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)