The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology , particularly the Works and Days of Hesiod , and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages , Gold being the first and the one during which the Golden Race of humanity ( Greek : χρύσεον γένος chrýseon génos ) lived. After the end of the first age was the Silver , then the Bronze , after this the Heroic age, with the fifth and current age being Iron .