Файл:Golden-age-mu-map.jpgThe metaphor of a Golden Age is often invoked for high points of lost knowledge in the mythical past of mankind, also in the context of lost continents such as Lemuria or Mu (also known as Kumari Kandam).
A golden age is a period considered the peak in the history of a country or people, a time period when the greatest achievements were made. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets, who used it to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure (see Golden Age).
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. This was part of fivefold division of Ages of Man, starting with the Golden age, then the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Age of Heroes (including the Trojan War), and finally, the current Iron Age.[1] The concept was further refined by Ovid, in his Metamorphoses, into the four "metal ages" (golden, silver, bronze, and iron).[2]
The Golden age as described by Hesiod was an age where all humans were created directly by the Olympian gods. They lived long lives in peace and harmony, and were oblivious of death. The "Golden race" were however mortals, but would die peacefully and in their sleep unmarked by sickness and age.[1] Ovid emphasizes the justice and peace that defined the Golden Age. He described it as a time before man learned the art of navigation, and as a pre-agricultural society.[3] The idea of a Golden age lingered in literature and historical understanding throughout the Greek and Roman periods.[4] It was partly replaced by the Christian Six Ages of the World based on the biblical chronology in the early Middle Ages.[5]
Evolution from period to metaphor
The term "Golden age" has always had a metaphoric element. 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.[6] The classical idea of the "metal ages" as actual historical periods held sway throughout the Greek and Roman periods.[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.[5]
At the birth of modern archaeology in the 18th century, the "Golden age" was associated with a pre-agricultural society. However, already in the 16th century, the term "Golden age" was replaced by "Stone Age" in the three-age system.[7][8] Still, Rousseau used the term for a loosely defined historical period characterized by the "State of nature" as late as the late 18th century.[9] While the concept of an Iron and Bronze Age are still used by historians and archaeologists, the "Golden age" of Hesiod was a purely mythical period, and has come to signify any period in history where the state of affairs for a specific phenomenon appear to have been on their height, better than in the periods proceeding it and following the "Golden Age". It is sometimes still employed for the hunter-gatherer tribal societies of the Mesolithic, but only as a metaphor.[10]
Golden age of Christian monasticism, 8th–12th centuries, its peak being 11th century to early-mid 12th century. Understood to be a golden age in the European continent of strictly religious matters, and not in comparison to other golden ages of the era
Golden Age in Indonesian history from about 1293 to around 1500 when the Hindu–Buddhist Majapahit kingdom in eastern Java, under Gajah Mada, extended its influence to much of southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Bali.
Second Golden Age of Bulgaria, the prosperity of Bulgarian culture, literature and arts during Emperor Ivan Alexander (1331–1371)
The history of Malta under the Order of Saint John (1530–1798) is generally considered as a "golden age" of architecture, the arts, health and education, especially between the late 1560s and the early 1770s[15]
Golden Age of Capitalism, a period of rapid growth in the economies of the west, and Japan, from 1945 to 1970. Also used for the Gilded Age of the late 19th century
Likewise in the United States, the American Century may be taken to represent a golden age of global cultural influence and political hegemony
Culture and technology
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A golden age is often ascribed to the years immediately following a technological innovation that allows new forms of expression and new ideas. Examples include:
The Golden Age of radio-controlled buggies, 1983–1992. A period when model companies shifted towards practical electric-powered buggies, leading to numerous companies (including toy manufacturers) entering the market and helping it to become the dominant class.
Golden age of hip hop, mid 1980s–mid 1990s a period when hip-hop music was arguably at its creative and artistic peak
Golden age of race queens had enjoyed two eras; the first was the swimsuit clad race queen bubble of the late 1980s to late 1990s[34] and the miniskirted second golden age of race queen of the 2000s, when the influx of models came with the ability to draw the same as or bigger popularity than some of the drivers competing in the events.[35]
At least one technology had its "Golden Age" in its latter years:
A cultural "golden age" can feature in the construction of a national myth.[36]
Genres
Technology and creativity spawn new genres or new surges in the production of literature and the arts. The onset (or dominance or heyday) of a new genre/movement, in popular parlance, becomes its "Golden Age". For example:
Golden age of Swordplay, period of sword skills from the 16th to the 18th centuries
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