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Myths and legends of Ancient Greece. five centuries

THEN AND NOW
(The material is designed for 2 - 3 training hours)

The main humanistic idea of the section:
- humanity naturally moved towards the need to create rules that would organize the coexistence of various individuals. Respect for the rules, including those that would limit the manifestation of violence in conflicts between people, is an indispensable condition for the preservation of mankind.

The ethical purpose of the section:

Lead students to understand the meaning of the rules governing the behavior of people in general and limiting violence in their power rivalry in particular.

Texts for reading followed by analysis or discussion
myth "Five Centuries"(retelling by the historian N.A. Kun of a fragment of Hesiod's poem "Works and Days"), which reflects the idea of the ancient Greek poet about the trend in the development of human society towards disrespect for the established rules;
fairy tale by R. Kipling "The cat that walked by itself" , which allows us to discuss the possibility of a reasonable coexistence of various individuals capable of respecting the rights and obligations of each other.

Dictionary of concepts:

Custom- the generally accepted order, traditionally establishing the rules of social behavior.

rule- position, installation, principle, serving as a guide to something; one's way of thinking or acting.

Treaty- a written or oral agreement, a condition of mutual obligations.

If the teacher considers it possible to start working on the assimilation of the concepts of "humane", "humanistic", "humanitarian" already at the first lessons on this EMC, he can refer to the definitions of these concepts on page 70 of the methodological recommendations.

TO THE LESSON ON THE MYTH "FIVE CENTURIES"

Goals:

are common- to acquaint students with the ideas of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod about the logic of the development of human society; discuss the problem reflected in the myth: "Which way humanity is moving: along the path of respect for generally accepted rules or neglect of them";

private- introduce a new kind of mythological narrative; continue the formation of skills of lexical work; enrich students' ideas about such artistic means as epithet, allegory, metonymy.

Possible course of the lesson

"Deeds of bygone days..."

The teacher prepares a record of the conditional name of the lesson on the board in advance.

Things of bygone days
Traditions of antiquity deep ...

These Pushkin lines will allow us to start talking about a really distant time, about things so old that they now seem mythical to us ...

However, a little later I will ask you to turn to these lines again and answer the question: "Those questions that we will discuss after getting acquainted with the works created a long time ago are really" things of bygone days "that were important and interesting THEN "Or do they still concern us who live NOW?"

Preparation for the perception of the text

On the board, the teacher writes the words "silver, iron, gold, copper." Then he asks the students to arrange these words in a logical sequence and explain why they suggest such an arrangement of words. The following chains are possible: gold-silver-copper-iron, or vice versa - in this case, the words are arranged as the degree of value of natural materials decreases or increases.

Then the teacher can address the students with the words:
- Today we have to get acquainted with the ancient Greek myth - it is called "Five Centuries". It was retold for us by the historian N.A. Kuhn after the poem of Hesiod "Works and Days".

(You can recall the content of the term "myth": it should be presented as a "pre-logical", and not "alogical" awareness of the world. There are more emotions in myths than logic. They reflect the initial ideas of people about the universe and the connections in it, based on behavior gods with human properties - emotions first of all.The whole story of Hesiod, which children will get acquainted with a little later, is based on an emotional comprehension of the world and its changes.This type of story is close to a fairy tale in that there is no exact dating in the presentation of events (time in myth indefinite) and evidence. However, it differs from a fairy tale by focusing on the most important events, problems in people's lives.)

In this myth, the words from which you built logical chains are arranged in a special way, "played out". Can you guess from the name of the myth how exactly the words gold, silver, copper, iron will be played in it? (Students are given the opportunity to express their guesses, the teacher can briefly record their guesses on the board.) Read the text, make sure your guess is correct or false.

Hesiod(late VIII-VII century BC) - the founder of the didactic epic in ancient Greek literature. Basic information about Hesiod is taken from his poem "Works and Days". Despite the bitterness that permeates the poem, her mood is not hopeless. The poet seeks to find traits of goodness in his age, to point out the source of hope. Above all, he believes in the gods and human labor. With another poem, "Theogony", Hesiod affirms the idea of the power and glory of Zeus, not only the most powerful, but also the wisest ruler of the world. The order of the universe is helped to maintain Zeus by his spouses: the goddess of fertility Demeter and personifying the natural order of things Themis, which, in turn, gives birth to three Or - goddesses of the changing seasons: Eunomia, Dika, Irina (Legality, Justice, Peace), denoting the foundations of ethical social norms. These names are significant: they indicate exactly those phenomena, the observance of which, according to Hesiod, was threatened.

By M. Nikola

Reading text

In preparation for the lesson, the teacher may find additional information about Hesiod useful.

In the book for the student, not all the words that name ancient Greek realities are explained, since some of them are already familiar to students from the history course. In addition to those indicated in the children's book, the following words may also need explanation:

Cadmus- the hero of ancient Greek myths, the founder of Thebes. After the abduction of Europa by Zeus, her brothers, including Cadmus, were sent by their father in search of their sister. The Delphic oracle ordered K. to stop looking, follow the cow he meets, and build a city where she stops. Fulfilling this command, K. arrived in Boeotia (along with Attica, the most significant region of ancient Greece), where he founded Cadmea - a citadel around which Thebes later grew - the largest city of Boeotia, at Homer - "seven-gate" Thebes.

Oedipus- the son of the Theban king Laius. The Delphic oracle predicted that Oedipus would become the murderer of his father and the wife of his mother in the future, so by order of his father, as a child, he was thrown to be eaten by animals. Found by shepherds, Oedipus was handed over to the childless Corinthian king Politus, who raised him as his own son. The grown-up Oedipus met his father Laius at the crossroads and killed him, not knowing that this was his father. Oedipus freed Thebes from the Sphinx, solving its riddle, became king there and, suspecting nothing, married his mother. When he learned the truth, he blinded himself.

Kronos(Kron) - one of the oldest pre-Olympic gods, the son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth), the youngest of the titans, who overthrew and crippled his father. Kronos' mother predicted that, like his father, he would be overthrown by one of his children. Therefore, Kronos swallowed all his newborn children. Only the youngest son of Kronos Zeus escaped this fate, instead of whom a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes was swallowed. Subsequently, Zeus overthrew his father and forced him to vomit all the children he swallowed. Under the leadership of Zeus, the children of Kronos declared war on the titans, which lasted ten years. Together with other defeated titans, Kronos was thrown into Tartarus.

Initially, Kronos, apparently, was the god of agriculture, harvest (in some myths, a sickle was considered a weapon and an attribute of Kronos). Kronos is associated with the legend of the golden age, during which Kronos ruled the world.

Folk etymology brought the name of Kronos closer to the Greek designation of time - chronos, and Kronos began to be regarded as the god of time.

Ocean. 1. According to Hesiod, the son of Uranus and Gaia, a titan, brother of Kronos, husband of Tethys, who bore him three thousand sons - river deities and three thousand daughters - oceanides. Ocean lives in seclusion in an underwater palace and does not appear at the meeting of the gods. In later myths, it is supplanted by Poseidon. 2. Mythical river surrounding the earth. In the Ocean, according to the ideas of the ancients, all sea currents, rivers and springs originate. From the Ocean, the sun, moon and stars rise and fall into it (except for the constellation Ursa Major).

1. Name the five centuries in the order in which they are listed in the myth. (Golden, silver, copper, age of heroes, iron.) What is the name of the age we met for the first time (Age of heroes.) Do you know myths that would tell about the life of people and gods in the age of heroes? (Some myths about Achilles, Hercules, Argonauts.)
Write down the names of all five centuries. Choose a word for a capacious, generalizing characteristic of each century. (Happy, cruel, heroic, tragic, noble, joyful, heavy, etc.)

2. What do you think, what in the characterization of the centuries draws our attention with the appearance in the logical chain of the name of the age of heroes? Find in the description of each century the words and expressions that characterize the life of the people of each century. Write them out.
(Gold: a painless and happy life; people lived serenely.
Silver: "unreasonable" people...
Copper: terrible and powerful people; loved the war, plentiful groans; destroyed each other.
Age of Heroes: the human race is more noble, more just, however, they also died in wars and bloody battles.
Iron: exhausting work, heavy worries; people do not honor each other, the guest does not find hospitality, they do not keep this oath, they do not value truth and kindness; each other's cities are destroyed, violence reigns everywhere; they have no defense against evil...).

How, according to Hesiod, did the life of people on Earth change with the change of centuries? Why? What technique helps to draw such a conclusion? How, in your opinion, does the emotional coloring of words that characterize the life of people of different centuries change? (The names of the centuries are given by analogy with metals, the comparative value of which is different: gold is more expensive than silver, silver is more expensive than copper, copper is iron.)

3. In the life of people in almost every age, which Hesiod spoke about, there were their bright and dark sides: joy and sorrow. Which of the centuries is estimated by Hesiod as the most cloudless, the happiest for the people living in it? Why? Read the description of their lives. Based on this description, what synonyms could you pick for the word "happy"? (Serene, calm, quiet.) Find in the text metonyms, comparisons that help create a feeling of a happy, calm life for people in the golden age. ("Their painless and happy life was an eternal feast"; "death ... calm, quiet sleep"; "The gods themselves came to consult them.")

4. Can the life of subsequent human births be called calm, serene? In what centuries, created, according to the worldview of the ancient Greeks, by the gods of Olympus, did people have the opportunity to choose one or another line of behavior? What choice did they make? What were the consequences of this choice?

5. How does the story about the life of people of the Iron Age end? Who or what could change their lives? (In the Iron Age, violence reigns on earth, because people themselves do not behave as they should. Conscience and Justice have left the Earth. Therefore, positive changes depend primarily on the people themselves: if they respect the established, generally accepted rules, Conscience and Justice will be able to return.)

7. Imagine that you were asked to characterize the past centuries and the time in which you live now. Come up with, if you like, your own names of centuries and their time limits. Describe the lives of people living in these centuries. Try to describe "your age" (that is, the time in which you live) from a variety of angles, without missing either its bright sides or any problems that concern you.

Lesson Conclusions students themselves, answering the questions of the teacher:
Today the conversation was about organizing people's lives according to the rules. Can this topic be classified as "eternal" topics? Why?

Homework explanation

Read this myth to your relatives or friends who are older than you. Ask them about the "age," that is, the time they lived in when they were your age. How does it look to them now? And how do they characterize the time in which they live now? Write down the definitions, epithets that they will use to characterize the past and present. Prepare a story about the conversation.

TO A LESSON ON THE FAIRY TALE OF R. KIPLING "THE CAT WALKING BY ITSELF"
(The material is designed for 1-2 training hours)

Goals:

general- encourage students to think about the meaning of the rules and laws that allow different individuals to coexist;

private- deepen the understanding of schoolchildren about the genre of a literary fairy tale; continue work on the formation of skills in lexical analysis of the text; to draw the attention of schoolchildren to the role of lexical and compositional repetitions.

Possible course of the lesson

Preparation for the discussion of the central problem of the work (2 min.)

Let's move from Ancient Greece to another time - the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It was during this period that the English writer Rudyard Kipling created his works. Along with a variety of problems, he was also occupied with the question of the possibility of a reasonable coexistence of various individuals capable of respecting the rights and obligations of each other. Reflections on this subject are reflected in his fairy tale " A cat walking by itself.

In preparation for the lesson, the teacher may need additional information about the writer.

Rudyard Kipling- English writer (1865-1936). He was born and spent his early childhood in India. At that time, India was dependent on Great Britain, was its colony. In an ancient beautiful country, English officials were in charge. Rudyard Kipling's father also served in India. He was director of the art museum in Bombay. In this large Indian city, the childhood years of the future writer passed. And when Rudyard Kipling grew up and it was time to go to school, he was sent to England...

In England, Kipling did not live with relatives, but with strangers who were found through an ad. Soon the boy's life became unbearable: the mistress of the house completely hounded him: she beat him, locked him in a dark room, humiliated him in every possible way ... He learned to read very late and with great difficulty, and getting bad marks, he tried to hide them. The hostess found, as it seemed to her, a way to deal with this. Once, when Kipling threw away his diary with the marks for the month, she stuck a piece of paper with the inscription "liar" on the boy's back and sent him to school in this form. But that didn't help either...

The only thing in which, over time, he found salvation was reading. Rudyard read voraciously everything, every printed page that came across to him. But his tormentor began to take away his books.

The boy began to have nervous exhaustion, he quickly lost his sight.

Upon learning of what was happening, his mother came to England, and when she went into her son's room and leaned over to kiss him goodnight, he instinctively blocked himself from the blow. This settled the matter. The boy was sent to another school, after which he returned to India.

According to N.P. Mikhalskaya and Yu.I. Kagarlitsky

After leaving college, Kipling became a journalist in India, becoming famous as a writer and poet. In our country, he received special fame "Jungle Books" And "Tales Just Like That" . "Fairy tales" composed in the family circle, literally at home. That's probably why they have so much homely warmth. Kipling's children were their first listeners. Fairy tales were written for them and, in a sense, about them. "Tales" are imbued with a domestic spirit, or rather, with the idea of the House.

Over the years, the attitude towards the personality and work of Kipling has changed in his homeland and in our country. However, time is the best critic. The British Empire has fallen, but the best of Kipling's writing lives on. It's not only " The Jungle Books And "Tales are just like that." T.S. Eliot, who mocked Kipling on the eve of the First World War, during the second published his selected poems, accompanied by a large preface in which he recognized him as a great Master of the Word. S. Maugham publishes an anthology of stories by R. Kipling in the middle of the century and ends his essay about him with a categorical statement: "Rudyard Kipling is the only author in our country who can be put next to Maupassant and Chekhov. He is our greatest master of storytelling." This is how it will enter the 21st century.

According to G. Ionica

Reading text by role

There is a continuation in the text of the tale - a poem translated by S. Marshak, which interested schoolchildren can get acquainted with on their own by contacting the library.

Analytical work on the text:

After reading the fairy tale, students are invited to answer questions that help reveal their perception, for example: "Did you like the fairy tale? Which of the episodes, characters was remembered most vividly?" and so on.

1. Why is the word "wild" so often repeated in the text of the tale? Choose synonyms for this word.

2. For each of the newly coming animals, the Woman sets a condition, the observance of which guarantees him certain benefits. Why do animals agree to comply with these conditions? How does a woman achieve this - peacefully or violently? (Each animal has a reason for willingly accepting the Woman's offer; each animal receives a reward for meeting the conditions. If time permits, one can ask: "Why exactly does the author force the Woman to change the life of this world and make a contract?" The discussion of this question is related with a comparison of male and female principles (matriarchal and patriarchal) in the organization of the life of human society.)

3. There are several agreements in the tale: the Cat enters into agreements with the Woman, the Man and the Dog; A woman makes contracts with animals. What are the clauses of these agreements? How are they similar and how are they different? (It is important to identify the typological similarity of all contracts: they consist of a formulation of the rights and obligations of each of the contracting parties.)

4. We have already observed the "transformations" of three characters - the Dog, the Horse. Cows. What is the role of the Cat in the fairy tale?
The cat "roams where it pleases and walks by itself." How do you understand the expression "by itself"? Do you think that being "on your own" is always good, always bad, or something else?

5. Why does the Cat, so appreciating freedom, seek to penetrate the cave? How does the Cat manage to get the right to sit by the fire and drink milk? Has the Cat changed after the conclusion of the contract with the Woman?

6. With the help of what artistic means does the author emphasize at the beginning of the tale the existence of animals and people according to the principle "everyone for himself"?

You can work on the board or in notebooks:
How?
- the word "wild"

You can introduce students to the meaning of this word:

" Wild: 1. Being in a primitive state (about people), uncultivated (about plants), untamed, undomesticated (about animals). 2. trans. Rough, unbridled. 3. trans. Ridiculous. 4. Not associated with any organizations, acting independently (colloquial)."

But it is better to first listen to the statements of students and rely on them in analytical work. Acquaintance with a dictionary entry summarizes, but by no means replaces the statements of schoolchildren. It is important to emphasize that "wild" is chaotic, disorganized;

Repeating the word "wild": "The dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild ..." (lexical repetition);

The repetition of the word "wild" with epithets that reinforce the emotionally negative assessment: "The man, of course, was also wild, terribly wild, terribly wild"; "wild-pre-wild, the wildest";

Contrasting "tame - wild" (antithesis).

To make the writing on the board look complete, students are asked to answer the following question:

Is it possible to find a literary term that is common to all of the above methods? (Students will name the epithet.)

7. What artistic means does the author use to emphasize the transition from one level of relationships between people and animals to another level?

As a result of the work, a note appears on the board:
Wild Homemade
My enemy My friend
My Enemy's Wife My Friend's Wife
Wild Dog First Friend
Wild Horse First Servant
Wild Cow Giver of Good Food

8. Find in the text and write down all the words that name all the participants in the events taking place.

The teacher writes the words on the blackboard after the students in such a way that the result is the following entry:

Cave
Woman Dog Curtain Fire
Male Cat Dairy Pot Witchcraft
Child Horse Song
Cow
Bat

Would anything change in the fairy tale if these same words were written not with a capital letter, but with a lowercase letter? (The use of a capital letter enhances the symbolic meaning of the tale.)

Why did the Wild Cat begin to be called simply the Cat and did not receive a new name, like other wild animals after the conclusion of the contract with the Woman?

9. Does this tale resemble the folk tales you know? How? What effect does Kipling achieve by repeatedly using the triple compositional repetition characteristic of the fairy tale genre?

Homework explanation

1. Is this story known to your family? If not, briefly retell its content (do not forget to convey its main idea). What episodes will you definitely include in your retelling? Find out the attitude of your listeners to the need to observe generally accepted rules in relationships between people, even if they are very different from each other. Ask what is more difficult for your interlocutors: to exercise their right or to fulfill their duties.

2. Prepare an answer to the question: "Can the life of human society be organized according to the principle of "everyone for himself"?"

Final work on the section

1. You had the opportunity to get acquainted with the reflections of Hesiod and R. Kipling. These people lived a long time ago, "then".
You yourself thought, heard the opinions of classmates. It happened just now, "now."
What in the old, "then" reflections of Hesiod and Kipling seems to you important, relevant in today's, "now" day?

2. Discuss in writing on one of the following topics:
My hypothesis about the reasons for the appearance of rules in people's lives. Why do people need rules?
Describe those situations in which the rules must be observed, and those situations in which they are not needed.

In the following lessons, you will get acquainted with those works (or fragments from them) in which various problems will be discussed, in particular such as:

The role of rules in people's lives;

The vulnerable, defenseless position of people who find themselves at the mercy of natural forces or at the mercy of the arbitrary actions of other people (including during armed conflicts) and the need to protect victims of such circumstances;

Consequences of committed actions and responsibility for them and many others.

Prepare to start such a conversation and read excerpts from the novel by W. Scott "Ivanhoe", from the novel by A. Dumas " Three Musketeers", which you will find in the section "The eternal dispute: Who is better? Who is stronger?".

The second human race and the second age were no longer as happy as the first. It was the silver age. Were not equal

Neither by force nor by reason are the people of the silver age to the people of the golden age. For a hundred years they grew up foolish in the houses of their mothers, only when they grew up did they leave them. Their life was short in adulthood, and since they were unreasonable, they saw many misfortunes and grief in life. The people of the Silver Age were rebellious. They did not obey the immortal gods and did not want to burn their sacrifices on the altars, the Great son of Cronos Zeus destroyed their family on earth. He was angry with them because they did not obey the gods living on the bright Olympus. Zeus settled them in the underground gloomy kingdom. There they live, knowing neither joy nor sorrow; they, too, are honored by the people.

Father Zeus created the third generation and the third age - the age of copper. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of a spear, Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the copper age loved pride and war, plentiful with groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth, which give gardens and arable land. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Indomitable, courageous was their heart and irresistible their hands. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, they worked with copper tools. They did not know even in those days of dark iron. With their own hands, people of the copper age destroyed each other. They quickly descended into the gloomy realm of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death stole them, and they left the clear light of the sun.

As soon as this race descended into the kingdom of shadows, immediately the great Zeus created the fourth century on the earth that feeds everyone and a new race of people, a nobler, more just, equal to the gods race of demigods-heroes. And they all died in evil wars and terrible bloody battles. Some died at the seven gates of Thebes, in the country of Cadmus, fighting for the legacy of Oedipus. Others fell near Troy, where they came for the beautifully curly Helen, sailed across the wide sea on ships. When all of them were kidnapped by death, Zeus the Thunderer settled them on the edge of the earth, away from living people. The demigod-heroes live a happy, carefree life on the islands of the blessed by the stormy waters of the Ocean. There, the fertile land gives them fruits as sweet as honey three times a year.

The last, fifth century and the human race is iron. It continues to this day on earth. Night and day, without ceasing, sadness and exhausting work destroy people. The gods send people heavy worries. True, the gods and good are mixed with evil, but still there is more evil, it reigns everywhere. Children do not honor their parents; a friend is not faithful to a friend; the guest does not find hospitality; there is no love between brothers. People do not keep this oath, they do not appreciate the truth and kindness. Each other's cities are being destroyed. Violence reigns everywhere. Only pride and strength are valued. Goddesses Conscience and Justice left people. In their white clothes, they flew up to the high Olympus to the immortal gods, and only serious troubles remained for people, and they have no protection from evil.

five centuries

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Many crimes were committed by people of the copper age. Arrogant and impious, they did not obey the Olympian gods. The Thunderer Zeus was angry with them; The king of Likosura especially angered Zeus in ...
For a long time, the great and powerful Kron, the god of Time, reigned in the world, and people called his kingdom the golden age. The first people were then just born on Earth, ...
A certain man lived in the Chola country on the banks of the Kaveri River. Since childhood, he loved gambling - and in his native village he was nicknamed "Player" ....
Once upon a time there lived an orphan boy. He lived badly, barely survived from day to day. Once he said to himself: "I'll go somewhere, get hired as workers. Maybe I'll start living well" ...
At the top of Mount Olympus, where a protected garden of the gods was laid out among an impregnable cliff, the celestials were feasting under the crowns of evergreen trees. Zeus looked into the distance, where in distant Boeotia, in ...

The second human race and the second age were no longer as happy as the first. It was the silver age. The people of the Silver Age were not equal either in strength or intellect to the people of the Golden Age. For a hundred years they grew up foolish in the houses of their mothers, only when they grew up did they leave them. Their life was short in adulthood, and since they were unreasonable, they saw many misfortunes and grief in life. The people of the Silver Age were rebellious. They did not obey the immortal gods and did not want to burn their sacrifices on the altars, the Great son of Cronos Zeus destroyed their family on earth. He was angry with them because they did not obey the gods living on the bright Olympus. Zeus settled them in the underground gloomy kingdom. There they live, knowing neither joy nor sorrow; they, too, are honored by the people.

Father Zeus created the third generation and the third century - the age of copper. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of a spear, Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the copper age loved pride and war, plentiful with groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth, which give gardens and arable land. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Indomitable, courageous was their heart and irresistible their hands. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, they worked with copper tools. They did not know even in those days of dark iron. With their own hands, people of the copper age destroyed each other. They quickly descended into the gloomy realm of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death stole them, and they left the clear light of the sun.

Five Centuries Nikolai Kun Based on Hesiod's poem "Works and Days" The poet Hesiod tells how the Greeks of his day looked at the origin of man and at the change of centuries. In ancient times, everything was better, but life on earth was constantly deteriorating, and life was worst in the time of Hesiod. This is understandable for Hesiod, a representative of the peasantry, small landowners. In the time of Hesiod, the stratification into classes deepened more and more and the exploitation of the poor by the rich intensified, so the poor peasantry really lived poorly under the yoke of the rich large landowners. Of course, even after Hesiod, the life of the poor in Greece did not get any better, they were still exploited by the rich. Zeus and Hera. Relief from the sanctuary of Hera on about. Samos. Tree. End of 7th c. BC e. Zeus and Hera. Relief from the sanctuary of Hera on about. Samos. Tree. End of 7th c. BC e. The immortal gods living on the bright Olympus created the first human race happy; it was a golden age. God Kron ruled then in the sky. Like blessed gods, people lived in those days, knowing neither care, nor labor, nor sorrow. Nor did they know feeble old age; their legs and arms were always strong and strong. Their painless happy life was an eternal feast. Death, which came after their long life, was like a calm, quiet dream. They had everything in abundance during their lifetime. The land itself gave them rich fruits, and they did not have to spend labor on cultivating fields and gardens. Their flocks were numerous, and they grazed quietly on rich pastures. The people of the golden age lived serenely. The gods themselves came to consult them. But the golden age on earth ended, and none of the people of this generation remained. After death, people of the golden age became spirits, patrons of people of new generations. Shrouded in mist, they rush all over the earth, defending the truth and punishing evil. So Zeus rewarded them after their death. The second human race and the second age were no longer as happy as the first. It was the silver age. The people of the Silver Age were not equal either in strength or intellect to the people of the Golden Age. For a hundred years they grew up foolish in the houses of their mothers, only when they grew up did they leave them. Their life was short in adulthood, and since they were unreasonable, they saw many misfortunes and grief in life. The people of the Silver Age were rebellious. They did not obey the immortal gods and did not want to burn their sacrifices on the altars, the Great son of Cronos Zeus destroyed their family on earth. He was angry with them because they did not obey the gods living on the bright Olympus. Zeus settled them in the underground gloomy kingdom. There they live, knowing neither joy nor sorrow; they, too, are honored by the people. Father Zeus created the third generation and the third century - the age of copper. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of a spear, Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the copper age loved pride and war, plentiful with groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth, which give gardens and arable land. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Indomitable, courageous was their heart and irresistible their hands. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, they worked with copper tools. They did not know even in those days of dark iron. With their own hands, people of the copper age destroyed each other. They quickly descended into the gloomy realm of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death stole them, and they left the clear light of the sun. As soon as this race descended into the kingdom of shadows, immediately the great Zeus created the fourth century on the earth that feeds everyone and a new race of people, a nobler, more just, equal to the gods race of demigods-heroes. And they all died in evil wars and terrible bloody battles. Some died at the seven gates of Thebes, in the country of Cadmus, fighting for the legacy of Oedipus. Others fell near Troy, where they came for the beautifully curly Helen, sailed across the wide sea on ships. When all of them were kidnapped by death, Zeus the Thunderer settled them on the edge of the earth, away from living people. The demigod-heroes live a happy, carefree life on the islands of the blessed by the stormy waters of the Ocean. There, the fertile land gives them fruits as sweet as honey three times a year. The last, fifth century and the human race is iron. It continues to this day on earth. Night and day, without ceasing, sadness and exhausting work destroy people. The gods send people heavy worries. True, the gods and good are mixed with evil, but still there is more evil, it reigns everywhere. Children do not honor their parents; a friend is not faithful to a friend; the guest does not find hospitality; there is no love between brothers. People do not keep this oath, they do not appreciate the truth and kindness. Each other's cities are being destroyed. Violence reigns everywhere. Only pride and strength are valued. Goddesses Conscience and Justice left people. In their white clothes, they flew up to the high Olympus to the immortal gods, and only serious troubles remained for people, and they have no protection from evil.

Based on Hesiod's poem "Works and Days".

The immortal gods living on the bright Olympus created the first human race happy; it was a golden age. God Kron ruled then in the sky. Like blessed gods, people lived in those days, knowing neither care, nor labor, nor sorrow. Nor did they know feeble old age; their legs and arms were always strong and strong. Their painless and happy life was an eternal feast. Death, which came after their long life, was like a calm, quiet sleep. They had everything in abundance during their lifetime. The land itself gave them rich fruits, and they did not have to spend labor on cultivating fields and gardens. Their flocks were numerous, and they grazed quietly on rich pastures. The people of the golden age lived serenely. The gods themselves came to consult them. But the golden age on earth ended, and none of the people of this generation remained. After death, people of the golden age became spirits, patrons of people of new generations. Shrouded in mist, they rush all over the earth, defending the truth and punishing evil. So Zeus rewarded them after their death.
The second human race and the second age were no longer as happy as the first. It was the silver age. The people of the Silver Age were not equal either in strength or intellect to the people of the Golden Age. For a hundred years they grew up foolish in the houses of their mothers, only when they grew up did they leave them. Their life was short in adulthood, and since they were unreasonable, they saw a lot of misfortune and grief in life. The people of the Silver Age were rebellious. They did not obey the immortal gods and did not want to burn their victims on the altars. The great son of Kron, Zeus destroyed their race

1 The poet Hesiod tells how the Greeks of his day looked at the origin of man and the change of centuries. In ancient times, everything was better, but life on earth was constantly deteriorating, and life was worst in the time of Hesiod. This is understandable for Hesiod, a representative of the peasantry, small landowners. During the time of Hesiod, the stratification into classes deepened more and more and the exploitation of the poor by the rich intensified, so the poor peasantry really lived poorly under the yoke of rich large landowners. Of course, even after Hesiod, the life of the poor in Greece did not get any better; they were still exploited by the rich.

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on the ground. He was angry with them because they did not obey the gods living on the bright Olympus. Zeus settled them in the underground gloomy kingdom. There they live, knowing neither joys nor sorrows; they, too, are honored by the people.
Father Zeus created the third generation and the third century - the age of copper. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of a spear, Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. The people of the copper age loved pride and war, plentiful with groans. They did not know agriculture and did not eat the fruits of the earth, which give gardens and arable land. Zeus gave them enormous growth and indestructible strength. Indomitable, courageous was their heart and irresistible their hands. Their weapons were forged from copper, their houses were made of copper, they worked with copper tools. They did not know even in those days of dark iron. With their own hands, people of the copper age destroyed each other. They quickly descended into the gloomy realm of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death stole them, and they left the clear light of the sun.
As soon as this race descended into the kingdom of shadows, immediately the great Zeus created the fourth century on the earth that feeds everyone and a new race of people, a nobler, more just, equal to the gods race of demigods-heroes. And they all died in evil wars and terrible bloody battles. Some died at the seven gates of Thebes, in the country of Cadmus, fighting for the legacy of Oedipus. Others fell near Troy, where they came for the beautifully curly Helen, sailing across the wide sea in ships. When all of them were kidnapped by death, Zeus the Thunderer settled them on the edge of the earth, away from living people. The demigod-heroes live a happy, carefree life on the islands of the blessed by the stormy waters of the Ocean. There, the fertile land gives them fruits as sweet as honey three times a year.
The last, fifth century and the human race is iron. It continues to this day on earth. Night and day, without ceasing, sadness and exhausting work destroy people. The gods send people heavy worries. True, the gods and good are mixed with evil, but still there is more evil, it reigns everywhere. Children do not honor their parents; a friend is not faithful to a friend; the guest does not find hospitality; there is no love between brothers. People do not keep this oath, they do not appreciate the truth and kindness. Each other destroy the people of the city. Violence reigns everywhere. Only pride and strength are valued. Goddesses Conscience and Justice left people. In their white clothes, they flew up to the high Olympus to the immortal gods, and only serious troubles remained for people, and they have no protection from evil.

Prepared by edition:

Kun N.A.
Legends and myths of ancient Greece. Moscow: State Educational and Pedagogical Publishing House of the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR, 1954.

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