Five Ages of Man (by Hesiod)

The story of Prometheus, the Theft of godly fire and creation of Pandora
consequently brought mischief among other bad things to the mortals. And at the
end of the story, he says that there is no way to escape the will of Zeus who
punished both Prometheus and mankind for the deceit. It is evident that Hesiod
wants to hold on to that last thought, where there is no escape to the will of Zeus.

1. Golden age:
The Golden Age is the only age that falls within the rule of Cronus. Created
by the immortals who live on Olympus, these humans were said to live
among the gods, and freely mingled with them.

When the deathless gods created the golden race of men, it was a time of
prosperity and peace that allowed all living beings to live in harmony, to be happy
and in love.

It is said that in this age animals could speak with human voice and no one would
grow old or get ill. Together, they lived in abundance of everything and even
when their time was over, the death came during sleep without any pain. This
time was placed during the rule age of the Titans where Cronus was a leader,
after dethroning his father Uranus.

But instead of living in peace, Cronus, after hearing the prophecy of being
overthrown by one of his children, went and ate five of his children when they
were born, except for Zeus who later came and set his brothers and sisters free.
They then rebelled against their father and it all escalated to a ten-year war,
called Titanomachy, which more or less ended the golden age in destruction.

2. Silver age:

When the golden age had ended, the golden race still existed and roamed the
earth as benevolent spirits. The war, where the Olympians had won, was over and
peace was achieved. It was time for the gods to create a new, silver, generation of
mankind. This  silver race was said to be inferior in all terms to the golden race.
They were immature and needed a hundred years to grow up. But when they
finally grew up, they lived short lives because of their foolishness to keep sinning
and not listening and honoring the gods who were losing patience and at some
point  Zeus became so mad that he destroyed this silver race  of beings and ended
the sliver age.

3. Bronze age: Men of the Bronze Age were hardened and tough, as war was
their purpose and passion. Zeus created these humans out of the ash tree.

Beings of silver age were sent to the underworld and became known as the
blessed spirits of Hades. Zeus was again bored and decided to make a third
generation, called the brazen race of men. These  bronze men were strong and
warlike, had weapons and armor of bronze and even houses of bronze. They
worshipped the destructive works of  Ares  and, instead of bread, ate hearts of
fellow men. In the end  they were consumed by their own rage, destroying each
other, and were sent to the underworld for eternity, never to see the light again.

According to Theogony of the  Apollodorus' Bibliotheca, the Bronze age was

ended by the  Deluge or the Great flood, set up by Zeus for being disappointed
and outraged by the aggressive behavior of the bronze race.

4. Age of Heroes

After the bronze age Zeus created another race,  an honorable race of heroes,
who were noble and respected the gods. Among them were also individuals with
divine qualities, called demi-gods. Most of them died in wars such as Trojan
war and  Seven against Thebes. The souls of those, who passed away, went to a
special place called the Elysian Fields  or the Islands of the Blessed, somewhere in
the Underworld, surrounded by deep-swirling  Oceanus. It was a place where the
souls would remain forever and live a blessed and happy life in the same role they
had enjoyed in life. It is also said that  Zeus eventually promoted his father
Cronus, from the depths of Tartarus, to become a ruler of the souls of these
righteous and significant people.
 5. Iron age:

And finally,  Zeus created the last race of man, called the iron race, where Hesiod
puts himself in. It is a  time of constant stress and labour. Morality is gone and
men are constantly opposing each other, lying and seeding mistrust. It is a time
where  humans grow old quickly and are constantly beset by troubles and
pressures. At the peak of this age people will no longer feel shame or regret at
wrongdoing and there will be no help against evil. Mankind will be forsaken by
the Gods and Goddesses and Zeus is set to return one day to destroy this race,
just like he had done it in the past.