Hesiod’s five ages is based on a religious notion that man has lived through five ages that include a golden age, where man did not have to toil and lived with the gods. The second stage, termed the silver age, consisted of man living a short time in strife because of the lack of worship of the gods. The third stage, known as the bronze age, consisted of man in a constant war with each other. The fourth stage, known as the heroic age, consisted of a time of heroes. The final stage, known as the iron age, where man is in his worst state and does not practice xenia and lives in a constant wretched