Golden ages, iron ages. Mythical present and past in Hesiod

Abstract

The myth of ages should be understood as changing the status of the Works and Days, for it explains the present times by means of mythical categories. The general sense of the myth is a degeneration of ages. Along the way, there are two moments of regeneration, where two kinds of “return” to the golden age and two manifestations of cyclical temporality occur. Together, the iron and the golden age form the two major pillars in the composition of the myth. In the alternative, which the iron people are confronted with, between good and justice/evil and injustice, the ultimate meaning of the myth and the possibility of the second manifestation of cyclical temporality are at stake.