The Golden Age was the first age of man which Thomas Bulfinch describes as a time "of innocence and happiness" (14). It began when Saturn, the most important of the Titans, or the Elder Gods, fled to Italy when he was dethroned by his son, Zeus and it "lasted for as long as he reigned" (Hamilton 25). The Golden Age seems analogous to the period of man's innocence in Eden. Because "truth and right prevailed," man was not subject to civil laws. War was unknown, and the earth provided all that was needed "without his labor in ploughing or sowing" ( Bulfinch 14). In fact, "perpetual spring reigned, flowers sprang up without seed, the rivers flowed with milk and wine and yellow honey distilled from the oaks" (14)

Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch's Mythology. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1947.

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: New American Library, 1953.

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