Golden age

For the mythological meaning see Golden Age, for other uses see Golden Age (disambiguation)

A golden age is a period in a field of endeavour when great tasks were accomplished. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets who used to refer to a time when mankind lived in a utopia and was pure (see Golden Age).

Golden Age in society

A society's Golden Age marks that period in its history having a heightened output of art, science, literature, and philosophy.

• Athenian Golden Age presided by Pericles
• Golden age of Latin literature, the period in Latin literature between Cicero and Ovid.
• Golden age of India, the period love between the 3rd century to the 6th century CE, during which Indians made large achievements in mathematics, science, culture, religion, philosophy and astronomy under the leadership of the Gupta Empire.
• Islamic Golden Age, from the beginning of Islam (622) until the sack of Baghdad (1258)
• Golden Age of Bulgaria, the reign of Emperor Simeon I the Great, late 9th - early 10th centuries.
• The Golden Age of Kiev
• Chinese Golden Age, around 1000 CE. From the beginning of the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Song Dynasty.
• Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula, period between 900 and 1100
• Georgian Golden Age, the period of prosperity and cultural flourishing in Georgia in the 12th and early 13th centuries.
• Second Golden Age of Bulgaria - prosperity of Bulgarian culture, literature and arts during Emperor Ivan Alexander (1331-1371).
• Siglo de oro:
  • the powerful Spanish Empire between 16th and 17th centuries
  • the later Spanish Golden Age of the arts in the 17th century.
• Golden Age of England presided by Elizabeth I of England.
• Dutch Golden Age, 17th century
• Polish Golden Age, 16th century, early 17th century
• Golden age of Belarusian history, 1500s–1570s, esp. 1550s–1570s
• Grand Siècle, the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV.
• The Golden Age of Piracy, 1690-1730.
• Early Christian Ireland, when Ireland was united under one High King and was at the forefront of European art
• The Genroku era (1688-1704) in Japan is widely considered a "golden age" for literature, drama, and the arts
• The Golden Age of Graffiti, (occurred in New York City from approximately 1974 - 1984.)

Culture and technology

A golden age is often ascribed to the years immediately following some technological innovation. It is during this time that writers and artists ply their skills to this new medium. Therefore, there are Golden Ages of both radio and television. During this nascent phase the technology allows new ideas to be expressed, as new art forms flower quickly into new areas:

• The Golden Age of Radio, 1920s-1940s
• The Golden Age of American animation, between 1928 (sound) and the 1960s (television).
• Golden Age of Arcade Games, the early 1980s to early 1990s
• Golden Age of Television (referring to U.S. television circa 1950s) when television was still a fairly recent invention. Programs such as Kraft Television Theatre, Playhouse 90, and later Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone brought a level of writing to American commercial television that would rarely be seen in the next several decades.
• Golden Age of Aviation, period between the two World Wars, 1920s and 1930s. Also sometimes refers to the period between the late 1950s and early 1970s when the jet engine entered widespread use in both commercial and civil aviation.
• Golden Age of Pornography, period between the mid 1970s and mid 1980s. During this period Pornographic films emerged from the underground studios and became a full scale industry with aspirations towards mainstream cinema.

At least one technology had its "Golden Age" in its latter years:

• The Golden Age of Sail, 19th century.

Genre

Technology and creativity spawn new genres in literature and theatre. The onset of a new genre will be its Golden Age:

• Golden age of Swordplay, period of sword skills between 16th and 18th century.
• The Golden Age of Detective Fiction, an era of detective fiction between World Wars I and II, epitomised by Agatha Christie.
• Golden Age of Science Fiction, period from the early 1940s through the 1950s
• Golden age of the Italian Horror movie (ca. 1957-1979)
• The Golden Age of the British whodunit, early 20th century
• Golden Age of Comic Books, period between roughly 1938 and 1945, though exact definitions vary
• Golden age of the cinema of Mexico, beginning in 1935 and ending in the late 1950s
• Golden Age of the Western, of the Western movie, 1930s-1950s.

Science

• The Golden age of general relativity, upon its entering the mainstream of theoretical physics, 1960-75.

Freethought

The Golden Age of Freethought is regarded the era from about the 1870s through the beginning of World War I in which freethought flourished in the United States. Social trends clashed with religious orthodoxy and caused people to question their traditional ideas about the world.

Senior citizen

Companies will use "Golden Age" as a marketing euphemism to replace "senior citizen":

• Golden Age Passport, a National Park Service pass for citizens who are 62 or older.

Sport

• Golden age of alpinism, 1854–65, is the period during which many major peaks in the Alps saw their first ascents

See also

• Heroic Age (disambiguation)
• Gilded Age