Motif
Moral decline of an age or race
moral_decline_of_an_age_or_race
A motif of the Sacred Time and Ritual Cycle family, within the sub-family World Ages and Historical Cycles. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
greek
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Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica INTRODUCTION / BIBLIOGRAPHY / HESIOD / HESIODS WORKS AND DAYS; lines 1704-1800 confidence: high
The speaker wishes not to be among the fifth generation, calls it a race of iron, and says people do not rest from labour and sorrow while gods lay trouble on them.
The passage portrays the current iron race as declining into labour, family rupture, dishonour, violence, falsehood, and abandonment by moral powers.
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