Wipe themselves out. Better than the bronze race. Die out due to Theban and Trojan Wars. Zeus sets some apart in the Isles of the Blessed. THE IRON RACE Now.
Life is possible only with continual suffering and toil.
Zeus will destroy iron race when children are born with grey hair and morals have broken down. Heroic race should be bronze race. Probably Near Eastern influence being combined with traditional Greek idea of heroic age. Contrast between Golden Age and present tends to be most important in later occurrences of the idea.