The Golden Age is a metaphor, because, firstly, it denotes a period of time that is not necessarily equal to a hundred years, and secondly, the noble metal here is only a poetic figure, showing a particularly high value, quality, emphasis on something ( like golden hands, golden youth, golden mean, golden ratio, golden wedding).
Since ancient times, in the cultures of many peoples, there has been a myth about the existence of a period in the distant past, when people lived in harmony with nature and with each other, there were no wars, no diseases, no hard work, the earth itself gave a person everything he needed, there was no need in laws, punishments, since no crimes were committed and there was universal prosperity. This immemorial blissful time was called the golden age.
The idea of a golden age can be traced culturally from the poem “Works and Days” by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod (about 700 BC), although the term “golden age” itself did not yet exist. Hesiod speaks of the “golden race” or “golden generation” of mankind, after which came the silver race, then the bronze (or copper) and, finally, the iron. Changes of generations correspond to the change of epochs in order of deterioration. Hesiod interprets history as a regressive process.
The term "golden age" is first encountered in the second half of the first century BC. e. in the poem "Aeneid" by the ancient Roman poet Virgil.
In Christianity and other Abrahamic religions, there is the same concept of a golden age - a lost paradise, life before the fall.
Apparently, the idea of a golden age is not purely mythological, but has some real grounds. According to historians, the primitive society was classless, there was no state or private property, people were engaged in gathering and hunting, people's needs were such that everything needed could be obtained with minimal effort. No wonder the classics of social science called the economic structure of that society primitive communism. Only in the era of the Neolithic revolution, no later than 10 thousand years ago, did a transition to a productive economy take place - agriculture and animal husbandry, the division of labor, and social inequality arose.
It is unlikely that the historical memory of mankind could convey at least some memories of that distant time, which were allegedly supplemented later by people's utopian ideas about a happy ideal society and artistically expressed in the concept of the "golden age". Most likely, the emergence (and existence until now) of the concept of the golden age is explained by the way of “thinking” of a large part of people - ascertaining-descriptive, sensual-intuitive, which is characterized by dogmatism, metaphysics, lack of evidence, lack of a dialectical approach, faith in the inviolability of a long time ago. of the established order, the truth initially communicated to people in any sacred book or the teachings of the prophets, conservatism (as opposed to the opposite type of thinking - rational, critical, doubting, independently and stubbornly seeking this truth, not believing in any authorities, sacred books and secret esoteric knowledge). Instead of seeing history as a consistent improvement of society, i.e. progress, in the minds of such people there is an idea of the existence of an ideal in the past, and history for them is a regression - a gradual departure from perfection, a slide into the abyss. Of the philosophers who profess this view, one can name J. J. Rousseau, who saw history as a process of deviation from the natural blissful and immaculate state. An opposite example is Henri Saint-Simon, who believed that the golden age was not in the past, but in the future.
The emergence of the idea of a golden age was facilitated, apparently, by the attitude of each person to his childhood, as the most carefree period of life. Mankind in the representation of people with a sensual-emotional view of reality is metaphorically likened to a person going through different periods of his development. The golden age is thus the childhood of mankind.
Each outgoing generation (some, albeit numerous of its representatives) scolds the new times, saying that it was better before. This is explained by a psychologically subjective change in the perception of the world with age, when children's carelessness, youthful hopes, faith in a better future are replaced by illnesses, disappointment, fear of approaching death. People with non-dialectical thinking tend to attach great importance to their feelings, to extend their inner experiences to the objective world, believing that it is the whole world that is getting worse, and not their psychological perception of it. In addition, such people are characterized by conservatism, rejection of everything new. Everything new seems bad to them only because it is different from the old.
It should be noted that religious faith is an ideal illustration of a dogmatic, metaphysical outlook on life: the world was immediately created ideal (God cannot create an imperfect world), then the fall occurred, in the future nothing good should be expected, it will only get worse and the end of the world is inevitable, Armageddon ("Revelation of John the Theologian" or "Apocalypse"). Separate consideration deserves the question of the need for an adequate understanding of reality in general and the dangers of such views in particular, from which logically follows humility with the existing state of affairs and the futility of any action to change the life of mankind for the better.
Over time, the expression "golden age" has acquired another meaning. In general, they began to call the golden age any period of history during which the highest results were achieved in art, science, culture, and other types of human activity: the golden age of Russian poetry, the golden age of Dutch painting, etc.
For the first time it is found in the ancient Greek Poet Hesiod (VIII–VII centuries BC) in the poem “Deeds and Days”. As Hesiod writes, there was once a time when people lived without worries, without wars, without suffering. And he calls this time the "golden age": Those lived ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions
A mythological representation that existed in the ancient world, about the happy and carefree state of primitive mankind. This idea is most clearly expressed in the poem “Works and Days” by Hesiod and in “Metamorphoses” by Ovid. According to Hesiod (Hes. ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology
Rise, peak, prosperity, best time, heyday, peak, age of astrea Dictionary of Russian synonyms. the golden age of the age of Astrea (outdated book.) Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova. 2011 ... Synonym dictionary
GOLDEN AGE Dictionary-reference book on Ancient Greece and Rome, on mythology
GOLDEN AGE- The Golden Age, along with the Silver, Bronze and Iron Ages, is one of the four periods of human development. This is how, in the form of a successive alternation of these four eras, the Greek poet Hesiod describes modern ... ... List of ancient Greek names
Modern Encyclopedia
In the ideas of many ancient peoples, the earliest time of human existence, when people remained forever young, did not know worries and sorrows, were like gods, but subject to death, which came to them like a sweet dream (described in Works and ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Golden age- GOLDEN AGE, in the views of many ancient peoples, the happy early time of mankind, when people remained forever young, did not know worries, were like gods, but subject to death, which came to them like a sweet dream. In a figurative sense, time ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
GOLDEN AGE- what [what, whose] The best, carefree period of life, a time of prosperity. It means that what l. time / th period (P) in the history of the people, country, social group (Y), in the development of civilization, science, culture, what l. activities (Q)… … Phraseological dictionary of the Russian language
Golden age- according to the ideas of the ancients, the period when people led a happy life without strife, wars and hard work. The legend arose in Hellas during the formation of a class society, when the life of some of the community members worsened: they had to ... ... Antique world. Dictionary reference.
Books
- The Golden Age, Aksenov Vasily Ivanovich. The collection of stories and short stories "The Golden Age" returns the reader to the world of the distant Siberian Yalani, already familiar to him from the novels of Vasily Ivanovich Aksyonov "Ten visits to my beloved", ...
- The Golden Age, Aksenov V.. The collection of stories and short stories "The Golden Age" returns the reader to the world of the distant Siberian Yalani, already familiar to him from the novels by Vasily Ivanovich Aksyonov "Ten visits to my beloved", "Spring in ...
golden age
in the ideas of many ancient peoples, the earliest time of human existence, when people remained forever young, did not know worries and sorrows, were like gods, but subject to death, which came to them like a sweet dream (described in Hesiod's Works and Days, Metamorphoses Ovid and others). In a figurative sense - the heyday of art, science, also a happy time.
Mythological dictionary
golden age
The mythological representation that existed in the ancient world is happy times when people led a carefree life, not overshadowed by strife, wars and hard forced labor. According to Hesiod, 3. c. reigned on earth when Kronos still ruled in heaven. The lands in those days were abundant, and people lived like gods, knowing neither grief, nor labor, nor old age. They spent their lives in feasts and contentment, and died, as if falling asleep. The people of this generation, after death, turned into good spirits, guarding order on earth. The Roman poet Ovid describes the 3rd century as follows, apparently borrowing this myth from the Greeks: “The golden age was sown first, knowing no retribution, Himself always observing, without laws, both truth and fidelity, There were no helmets, swords, military exercises not knowing Sweet tasted the peace of safely living people. Also, free from tribute, untouched by a sharp hoe, Not wounded by a plow, the earth itself brought them everything ... Spring was always standing; Pleasant cool breath, Affectionately unlived ether flowers that did not know the sowing. Moreover, the land brought harvest without plowing; Not resting, the fields turned golden in heavy ears, The rivers flowed milk, the nectar of the river also flowed, Dripping and golden honey, oozing from the green oak ... ”For the 3rd century. followed in order of deterioration the silver, copper and, finally, the iron age, the most difficult of all. Representations about 3. century. existed in many mythologies - Scandinavian, Chinese, Egyptian, Babylonian, Aztec, etc. In Christian mythology, they were reflected in the form of the life of the progenitors of mankind in Eden.
Wikipedia
Golden Age (film, 1930)
« Golden age is one of the first sound French films. Filmed in 1930 by director Luis Buñuel. In the ranking of the greatest movies of all time, compiled by the magazine Sight & Sound in a 2012 poll of 846 of the world's leading film critics, The Golden Age was ranked 110th.
Golden Age (film)
Golden age- Can mean:
- "Golden Age (film, 1930)" is a 1930 French film based on the novel The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade.
- "Golden Age (film, 1984)" ( golden age listen)) is a 1984 Bulgarian film directed by Lyuben Morchev.
- Golden Age (film, 2003) is a 2003 Russian film directed by Ilya Khotinenko.
- "The Golden Age (film, 2007)" is a 2007 historical drama about the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, starring Cate Blanchett.
Golden Age (disambiguation)
Golden age- a metaphor characterizing the period of prosperity of mankind or individual peoples, the highest achievements in culture, art, science and other areas of human activity. Refers to many periods of different lengths in history, usually for each territory or state to its own:
Golden Age (ballet)
"Golden age"- Dmitri Shostakovich's first ballet in three acts, six scenes. Libretto by Alexander Ivanovsky (original name of the libretto - "Dynamiada" - from the name of the team "Dynamo").
Golden Age (film, 2003)
"Golden age"- Russian film about the events of the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. in Russia, England and France.
Golden Age (film, 2007)
"Golden age" is a 2007 costume drama film about the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England from 1585 to 1590 during the Anglo-Spanish War, the victory over the Invincible Armada, and the queen's complex relationship with the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh.
The film is a sequel to the 1998 film Elizabeth. The screenplay of the film was written by William Nicholson and Michael Hirst and directed by Shekhar Kapur, as well as the first part. Starring Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen.
The film premiered on September 9, 2007 at the annual Toronto Film Festival. The film is an Academy Award winner in the Best Costumes category and was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Actress category (Cate Blanchett for her role as Elizabeth I).
The slogan (tagline) of the film: Woman. Warrior. Queen.
Golden age
Golden age- a representation that is present in the mythology of almost all peoples, the blissful state of primitive mankind, who lived in harmony with nature.
As Mircea Eliade, who has studied this topic in detail, has established, the golden age mythologeme dates back to the time of the Neolithic revolution and is a reaction to the introduction of agriculture. The golden age is invariably accompanied by the myths of "paradise lost" and "noble savage". This is the archetypal image that underlies any utopia.
The term "golden age" is usually erected to "Works and Days" by Hesiod, however, in Hesiod's original, the "golden race" appears.
The concept of a "golden age" aurea saecula) is recorded for the first time in ancient literature only in the 1st century BC. BC e .: in the "Metamorphoses" of Ovid (Metatorfoses, 1:89 - 90), "Aeneid" by Virgil (Aen. VI. 792-794). Prior to this, in the ancient tradition, not a “chronological”, but a “genealogical” interpretation of the myth of life under Kronos was widespread, each of which was created in turn by the gods and then disappeared from the face of the earth. The transition from the “golden race” to the “golden age” noted by Virgil and almost all of his followers was the most important qualitative shift in the interpretation of the myth, which made it possible to update the utopian content of ancient legends.
According to the legends, during the golden age, people and gods lived together.
mythological representation that existed in the ancient world, about the happy and carefree state of primitive mankind. This idea is most clearly expressed in the poem “Works and Days” by Hesiod and in “Metamorphoses” by Ovid. According to Hesiod (Hes. Orr. 104-201), the first generation of people during the reign of the supreme god Kronos enjoyed complete bliss. “Those people lived like gods, with a calm and clear soul, not knowing grief, not knowing work. And sad old age did not dare to approach them ... And they died as if enveloped in sleep ... A large harvest and plentiful themselves gave themselves grain-growing lands ... ". Dead people Z. v. exist now in the form of good "demons" that protect order on earth. But for Z. in. silver came, then copper, each heavier and more disastrous than the previous one. The fourth was the age of heroes (who fought near Thebes and near Troy) and, finally, the present one has come - the iron age, spoiled and cruel, when "works and sorrows do not stop during the day, not at night."
Similarly, he paints a picture of Z. in. the Roman poet Ovid (Met. I 89-162), apparently borrowing it from Greek myth: “The golden age was the first to be sown, knowing no retribution. Himself always observing, without laws, both truth and fidelity. There were no helmets, swords, exercises of the military, not knowing Sweet tasted the peace of safely living people. Also, free from tribute, untouched by a sharp hoe, Not wounded by a plow, the earth itself brought them everything. ... It was always spring; Pleasant cool breath, Affectionately unlived ether flowers that did not know the sowing. Moreover: the land brought the harvest without plowing; Not resting, the fields turned golden in heavy ears, Rivers flowed milk, streamed the nectar of the river, Dripped and golden honey, oozing from the green oak ... ". For Z. in. Ovid, like Hesiod, followed in order of gradual regression silver, then copper, and finally (bypassing the “age of heroes”), iron, the worst and heaviest of all.
But along with the myth of Z. in. the peoples of antiquity also knew a more realistic, albeit clothed in a mythological form, idea of the “early times” of creation, when primitive people eked out a miserable existence until they were endowed with the benefits of the culture of Athena, Demeter, Prometheus.
At the basis of the ancient version of the myth about Z. v. lie folk mythological representations. An early, embryonic form of such ideas can be found among the most backward peoples in the form of beliefs about "ancestors" who lived better than today's people and were endowed with special miraculous abilities. For example, among the natives of Australia, their totemic myths reflected a dual idea of "ancestors": on the one hand, they are depicted as shapeless and helpless, "unfinished" creatures, and on the other hand, some of the "ancestors" have special abilities: to sink underground , ascend to heaven, etc. In such beliefs and myths, the usual mythological motif is expressed - “from the contrary” (before everything was not the same as it is now, moreover, as a rule, it is better), which formed the basis for the development of Z. V. This motive, apparently, with particular force affected in the era of the decomposition of the primitive communal system, in the era of constant internecine wars, when the past, more peaceful time, in contrast to the cruel reality of the Iron Age, should have seemed to people a carefree, happy time. Like a kind of Z. in. the dawn of the universe is characterized in Scandinavian mythology (the newly created world is harmonious, the aces are joyful, everything is made of gold, etc.); the “first war” (aces and vans) puts an end to it. Chinese mythology speaks of the free life of ancient people during the time of the mythical sovereigns Yao and Shun. In Egyptian mythology, the happy time is the time when Osiris and Isis reigned on earth. In Sumer, they believed in the existence of the heavenly land of Tilmun, the “land of the living”, which knew neither disease nor death. Among the ancient Maya, the first people were intelligent, insightful, beautiful, that is, they possessed qualities that the jealous creator gods later deprived them of.
Representations about Z. in. can also be found in developed religious and mythological systems. Thus, the Parsis describe the happy reign of King Jamshid, when people and cattle were immortal, springs and trees never dried up, and food was not depleted, there was no cold, no heat, no envy, no old age. Buddhists recall the age of beautiful aerial beings hovering in infinity, who had neither sex nor the need for food until that unfortunate moment when, having tasted the sweet foam formed on the surface of the earth, they fell into evil and then were condemned to eat rice, give birth to children, build dwellings, divide property and establish castes. Subsequent history, according to Buddhist tradition, was a continuous process of degeneration of people. The first lie, for example, was told by King Chetya, and people, hearing about it and not knowing what a lie was, asked whether it was white, black or blue. Human life became shorter and shorter.
Idea about Z. in. there is also in the Babylonian, Aztec and some other mythologies.
A peculiar version of the myth about Z. in. composes a biblical story about the life of the first people in paradise, from where they were later expelled by God for disobedience (Gen. 1-3). Having later passed into the Christian doctrine, this biblical myth received a completely exceptional meaning in it, turning into one of the most important dogmas of the entire Christian religion: the “fall into sin” of the first people, as the main cause of the sinfulness of all mankind, hence the loss of paradise, and all world evil.
Images of the life of the first people in paradise are very frequent in medieval Christian iconography.
Continuing in the Christian teaching about the earthly paradise lost by the first people, the myth of the Z. century. had a strong influence on modern European science. When European navigators in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries encountered inhabitants of non-European countries who lived in a primitive communal system and did not know class oppression, they often perceived their way of life as confirmation of the familiar picture of the biblical paradise - Z. v. Hence the idea of a "good savage" living according to the reasonable laws of nature. This idea is often found in the literature of the 16th century. (P. Martyr, M. Montaigne and others), in the 17th century. (J. du Tertre), 18th century (J. J. Rousseau, D. Diderot, J. G. Herder) and even among 19th-century scientists who were inclined to idealize the “natural” state of ancient mankind (L. Morgan, N. Sieber, and others). In contrast to this idealization, V. I. Lenin wrote: “There was no golden age behind us, and primitive man was completely crushed by the difficulty of existence, the difficulty of fighting Nature.”
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in the ideas of ancient peoples, the earliest time in the development of mankind, when people remained forever young, did not know worries and sorrows, were like gods. In a figurative sense - the heyday of art, science, a happy and carefree time.
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Golden age
according to the ideas of the ancients, the period when people led a happy life - without strife, wars and hard work. The legend arose in Hellas during the formation of a class society, when the life of some of the community members worsened: they had to work for the nobility, experiencing humiliation. As Hesiod tells in the poem "Works and Days" (109 - 201), people "z.v." created by the gods when Kronos (Kronos) ruled. They knew neither grief, nor worries, nor old age, spending their days in feasts. The earth itself bore fruit, and numerous herds grazed on it.
Replaced "z.v." the silver age endowed people with all sorts of benefits. However, Zeus exterminated people because they did not want to make sacrifices to the gods. Then, according to Hesiod, the copper age came: people created copper tools and weapons, they existed due to wars and robberies, which destroyed themselves.
After them came a warlike, but just and noble generation of heroes. They died during the campaign of the seven against Thebes and the Trojan War. Hesiod calls his age iron: people are forced to constantly work, grief and worries do not leave them, and life itself has become short. Instead of laws, force rules on earth; shame has disappeared, and humanity is heading towards death - Zeus will destroy this generation as well.
The legend about "z.v." was also popular in Roman literature (see, for example, Ovid's Metamorphoses).
Hesiod. Works and days // Hellenic poets in translations by V.V. Veresaev. M., 1963; Ovid. Metamorphoses / Per. S. Shervinsky. M., 1977; Trencheni-Waldapfel I. Homer and Hesiod / Per. from Hung. M., 1956; Burn A.R. The world of Hesiod. New York, 1966.
(I.A. Lisovy, K.A. Revyako. The ancient world in terms, names and titles: Dictionary-reference book on the history and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome / Scientific ed. A.I. Nemirovsky. - 3rd ed. - Minsk: Belarus, 2001)
a mythological representation that existed in the ancient world - happy times when people led a carefree life, not overshadowed by strife, wars and hard forced labor. According to Hesiod, Z.v. reigned on earth when Kronos still ruled in heaven. The lands in those days were abundant, and people lived like gods, knowing neither grief, nor labor, nor old age. They spent their lives in feasts and contentment, and died, as if falling asleep. The people of this generation, after death, turned into good spirits, guarding order on earth. The Roman poet Ovid describes Z.v. in this way, apparently borrowing this myth from the Greeks: “The golden age was the first to be sown, knowing no retribution, Himself always observing, without laws, both truth and fidelity, There were no helmets, swords, military exercises not knowing Sweet tasted the peace of safely living people. Also, free from tribute, untouched by a sharp hoe, Not wounded by a plow, the earth itself brought them everything ... Spring was always standing; Pleasant cool breath, Affectionately unlived ether flowers that did not know the sowing. Moreover, the land brought harvest without plowing; Not resting, the fields turned golden in heavy ears of corn, Rivers flowed milk, streamed the nectar of the river, Dripped and golden honey, oozing from the green oak...” Za Z.v. followed in order of deterioration the silver, copper and, finally, the iron age, the most difficult of all. Ideas about Z.v. existed in many mythologies - Scandinavian, Chinese, Egyptian, Babylonian, Aztec, etc. In Christian mythology, they were reflected in the form of the life of the progenitors of mankind in Eden.
(Mythological Dictionary / G.V. Shcheglov, V. Archer - M.: ACT: Astrel: Transitbook, 2006)
The Golden Age, along with the Silver, Bronze and Iron Ages, is one of the four periods in the development of mankind. That is how, in the form of a successive alternation of these four epochs, the Greek poet Hesiod describes in his poem "Works and Days" his contemporary views on the origin of man and on the change of centuries. However, Hesiod makes some addition - between the copper and iron ages, he places the age of demigod heroes. It was then, in his opinion, that the heroes of Homer and other characters of ancient Greek mythology lived. His own life, full of work and deprivation, fell on disturbing, bleak times, called by Hesiod the Iron Age. Peaceful and idyllic was life in the golden age (see Arcadia). God Kronos justly and generously ruled in heaven; people remained forever young and happy. Horace, Virgil in the "Georgics" and Ovid in the "Metamorphoses" turned their eyes to the golden age; all classical literature is permeated with a nostalgic attitude towards a happy past. Hopes for changes for the better are reflected in the sixth eclogue of Virgil, inspired by the predictions of the prophetess Sibyl, according to which the world circle of life is a change of periods, circles, correlated with ten months and under the protection of certain deities. By the time the eclogue was written, the circle of Diana (the Iron Age) was ending and a new circle was beginning - Apollo, in which the return of the golden age was expected. We find the same theme in Shelley's poems:
The great age is returning to the world,
The golden years are coming...
(Modern reference dictionary: Antique world. Compiled by M.I. Umnov. M .: Olympus, AST, 2000)
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