The title of my general writings here is inspired by Works and Days, a poem/book by the ancient Greek author Hesiod. My activities and life experiences fit under those categories, I think. Hesiod and Homer are the foundation authors of the Greek tradition, which became Western culture, and affected us all whether we like it or not. Hesiod is known for his descriptions of the Greek gods and the creation story in Theogony, which is where we see the appearance of the familiar myths. Homer continued the tradition in the Iliad and Odyssey.

One of the parts of Hesiod’s  Works and Days that is both important to those of us who dabble in philosophy and healing, and is just very cool in general, is the description of the Metal Men.

In times of old…there was a golden age (according to Hesiod and other world traditions). This was the era of the men of gold.They had “happy hearts” and never knew sorrow, or death, and didn’t have to work for a living. They lived in the time of Kronos, who came before Zeus, and the Olympians.

This age gave way to the age of the silver men.This race was long-lived, but also foolish, and did not honor the gods. They couldn’t control themselves, so they too passed from the scene.

The third age was the time of the men of bronze. These men were “strange and full of power,” and loved war–but they destroyed themselves in spite of their invincibility.

Then came the fourth age and the race of heroes and god-like men. They are ones that knew the gods, fought the Trojan war, and did mighty deeds. Despite being up to their necks in death, they were transported to the Blessed Isles, where they lived in the heroes afterlife.

The fifth age is now upon us, and we are the men living in the age of iron. We know what it’s like on the planet earth, and Hesiod says this time of death, grieving, and working without purpose shall come to an end–destroyed by Zeus.

Plato takes up the theme of the Metal Men in his book The Republic 400 years after Hesiod. He too says that there are men of gold, silver, bronze, and other “metals.” He is, of course, talking about he make-up of the soul, or the individual’s character. He is speaking to what we do in this lifetime, not some distant past age.

The alchemists used this symbolism also. Turning lead into gold was not about physical chemistry (but that could be included); it was symbolic of allowing the substance of our inner nature to be transformed into a higher character and expression, that of “gold.”