Golden Age
Golden Age, a time in the history of a nation or people when the level of achievement is unusually high. Ancient Athens had a golden age between the end of the Persian Wars (480 B.C.) and the beginning of the Peloponnesian War (431 B.C.), when it was the supreme power of the Aegean world. The golden age of Spain was the period between the discovery of America in 1492 and defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English in 1588. England then moved into its golden age, when it ruled the seas and acquired a vast colonial empire. “Golden age” may also refer to a particular field of activity, such as the “golden age of Dutch painting” (17th century).