# Silver Age explained — Metamorphoses

> Chapter companion for Metamorphoses by Ovid.

## What happens

The Silver Age begins after Saturn's banishment and Jove's ascension. The earth degenerates, seasons become distinct, and mortals must labor and seek shelter from harsh weather, marking a decline from the Golden Age.

## Themes in this chapter

### Mortality and Immortality

The Silver Age introduces human hardship, labor, and seasonal extremes, contrasting with the eternal ease of the Golden Age.

## Character check-ins

### Jove

Jove assumes dominion after Saturn's banishment, presiding over the Silver Age.

## Key lines

> The earth, no longer under the dominion of Saturn, begins to exhibit marks of degeneracy.

With Saturn gone, the world starts to show signs of decline.

_This line marks the transition from the Golden to the Silver Age._

> Then summer, autumn, winter, did appear; And spring was but a season of the year;

The distinct seasons of summer, autumn, winter, and spring now exist.

_The Silver Age introduces seasonal change and climatic extremes._

> Then ploughs, for seed, the fruitful furrows broke, And oxen labour'd first beneath the yoke.

Humans began plowing fields and yoking oxen for agriculture.

_This describes the onset of farming and labor in the Silver Age._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/silver-age
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metamorphoses_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters