Golden age (metaphor)

The ancient Greek poet Hesiod introduced the term in his Works and Days, when referring to the period when the "Golden Race" of man lived.

A few centuries after Hesiod, Plato pointed out that the "Golden race" were not made from gold as such, but that the term should be understood metaphorically.

[4] While supplemented by St. Augustine's "Six Ages of the World", the classical ideas were never entirely eradicated, and it resurfaced to form the basis of division of time in early archaeology.

[10] A society's Golden Age marks that period in its history having a heightened output of art, science, literature, and philosophy.

[citation needed] A golden age is often ascribed to the years immediately following a technological innovation that allows new forms of expression and new ideas.