And Gold, More Hurtful Still Than Iron

Last of all arose the age of hard iron: immediately, in this period which took its name from a baser ore, all manner of crime broke out; modesty, truth, and loyalty fled. Treachery and trickery took their place, deceit and violence and criminal greed…The land, which had previously been common to all, like the sunlight and the breezes, was now divided up far and wide by boundaries, set by cautious surveyors. Nor was it only corn and their due nourishment that men demanded of the rich earth: they explored its very bowels, and dug out the wealth which it had hidden away, close to the Stygian shades, and this wealth was a further incitement to wickedness. By this time iron had been discovered, to the hurt of mankind, and gold, more hurtful still than iron. War made its appearance, using both these metals in its conflict, and shaking clashing weapons in bloodstained hands…All proper affection lay vanquished and, last of the mortals, the maiden Justice left the blood-soaked earth.

–Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book One, “The Crimes of Men and Giants”