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How did Giambattista Vico describe the age of the gods?
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Giambattista Vico
Giambattista Vico, from an Italian postage stamp, 1968.
In his philosophy of history, Giambattista Vico described human societies as evolving through distinct stages of growth and decay. He identified the age of the gods as the first stage to emerge following humanity’s initial, primitive "bestial" condition.1
During this age, Vico characterized human existence as being governed by a pervasive fear of the supernatural. This period is fundamentally distinguished by the role of mythology in shaping the consciousness of humankind. Vico viewed the development of religion as a dominant principle in the birth of nations, noting that the age of the gods established the foundational human customs of marriage and the burial of the dead.12