The Age of Gold. In the time when Cronus Saturn was king in heaven, the Olympian gods made a golden race of mortals, who lived as though in a paradise, without toil, trouble or cares. All good things were theirs in abundance, and the fertile earth brought forth fruit of its own accord. They lived in peace and harmony, never grew old, and died as though overcome by sleep. The earth covered over this race, but they still exist as holy spirits who wander over the earth.
The Age of Silver. The Olympian gods made a second race of silver, far less favored than the one of gold. Their childhood lasted a hundred years and when they grew up their lives were short and distressful.
For they were arrogant against one another and refused to worship the gods or offer them sacrifice. Zeus in his anger at their senselessness hid them under the earth where they still dwell. The Age of Bronze. Zeus made a third race of mortals, a terrible and mighty one of bronze. Their implements and weapons were of bronze, and they relentlessly pursued the painful and violent deeds of war.
They destroyed themselves by their own hands and went down to the realm of Hades without leaving a name. The Age of Heroes. Zeus made still another race, also valiant in war but more just and more civilized. This was the race of the heroes, also called demigods, who were involved in the legendary events of Greek saga.
They fought, for example, at Thebes and in the Trojan War. When they died, Zeus sent some of these heroes to inhabit the Islands of the Blessed, a paradise at the far ends of the earth, ruled over by Cronus Saturn , who had been deposed and freed by Zeus.
The Age of Iron. Zeus made still another race, that of iron, troubled by toil and misery, although good is intermingled with their evils. More and more will this become an age of wickedness, strife, and disrespect for the gods, until Shame itself and righteous Retribution will abandon mortals to their evil folly and doom. Dominant in the tradition about creation is the myth that Prometheus not Zeus was the creator of human beings from clay and Athena breathed into them the divine spirit.
In the version of Hesiod, although his account is far from logical and clear, it seems that Prometheus fashioned only mankind. Womankind was created later, through the agency of Zeus, in the person of Pandora.
Although Prometheus had fought on the side of Zeus in his war against Cronus, the two mighty gods soon came into conflict once Zeus had assumed supreme power. The Nature of Sacrifice. Their antagonism began when Prometheus dared to match wits with Zeus. There was a quarrel between mortals and the gods, apparently about how the parts of the sacrificial animals should be apportioned.
For the gods, however, he deviously and artfully wrapped up the bones of the ox in its enticing, rich, white fat. Thus it was that when the Greeks made sacrifice to the gods, they enjoyed feasting upon the best edible portions of the animals, while only the white bones that remained were burned for the gods. The Theft of Fire. He took away from them fire, essential to their livelihood and progress. Prometheus, defiantly our champion, once again tricked Zeus who this time was presumably at first unaware?
The Punishment of Prometheus. A further defiance of Prometheus was his refusal to reveal to Zeus a crucial secret that he knew and Zeus did not. According to another story the gods created man, and man existed on earth while the Titan Cronus ruled.
The first race of men lived in complete happiness. During that Golden Age men were free from pain, toil, and old age. Dying was as easy as falling asleep. They enjoyed the fruits of the earth in plenty. And once this race had died out these mortals remained as spirits to protect men from evil.
Then the gods created the men of the Silver Age, who were far inferior. These men remained children for a hundred years under the dominance of their mothers. And when they finally matured they died off shortly because of their foolishness. In this age men had to work, and the year was divided into seasons so that men knew cold and heat.
Crime and impiety also had their beginnings in this period, so Zeus put an end to this race. Next Zeus created the men of the Bronze Age out of ash spears. These men were mighty, tall, and ferocious, a violent race of warriors who worked in metal and produced a few rudiments of civilization.
In the end these men destroyed themselves with their warfare. The next period was the Heroic Age, a time of notable heroes and deeds. Heracles and Jason, Theseus, and the great men of the Trojan War existed then. As a tribute to them Zeus established the Elysian Fields as a resting place for their spirits after death. Still not discouraged, Zeus created the men of the Iron Age, the worst race ever to appear on earth and one destined to become totally depraved.
Hard work, trouble, pain, and weariness were the lot of this group of men, which still exists. At the last the gods will totally abandon this vicious race, leaving it in utter pain.
At one time Zeus was so thoroughly disgusted with man and his impious, evil ways that he decided to annihilate the species with a deluge. Prometheus, who was still at large then, warned his son Deucalion to prepare a chest.
When the rains began to fall Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha climbed into the chest, which was loaded with provisions, and they floated on the ocean that drowned the rest of the world. To show her gratitude, Athena taught Prometheus astronomy, mathematics, architecture, navigation, metalworking, writing, and other useful skills.
He later passed this knowledge on to humans. Champion of Humankind. Prometheus created humans by shaping lumps of clay into small figures resembling the gods. Athena admired these figures and breathed on them, giving them life. Zeus disliked the creatures, but he could not uncreate them.
He did, however, confine them to the earth and denied them immortality. Prometheus felt sorry for humans, so he gave them fire and taught them various arts and skills. Prometheus was given the task of determining how sacrifices were to be made to the gods. He cut up a bull and divided it into two portions.
One contained the animal's flesh and skin, but they were concealed beneath the bull's stomach, the least appetizing part of the animal. The other consisted of the bones, wrapped in a rich layer of fat. Prometheus then asked Zeus to choose a portion for himself, leaving the other for humans. Fooled by the outward appearance of the portions, Zeus chose the one containing the bones and fat. Prometheus thus ensured that humans got the best meat.
Angered by this trick, Zeus punished humans by withholding fire from them so that they would have to live in cold and darkness and eat meat raw. Prometheus was reputed to have felt pity on the early days of humanity, and decided to share with them the gift of fire, which only the deities knew.
For this, he was punished by being chained to a pole on the side of a mountain and have his subsequently regenerating liver eaten day after day by an eagle. To punish humanity, Zeus sent Pandora along with Pandora's box. After 30, years, Prometheus was released from his torture because he possessed a great secret. This secret was that Zeus could only be overthrown by a child he fathered by the nymph Thetis.
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