What were the classical / ancient times for the ancients? What were the golden civilizations that they looked up to?

by veeeeeeeeeeeev

In the modern world, we idealised the ancient Greeks and Romans, even though they were actually a terrible time to be alive, but we look on them with rose coloured glasses.

Who were the ancient Greeks / Romans for Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome? Who did they look back on with rose coloured glasses?

They must have had people that they thought were older than them in terms of civilization. They couldn't have known that almost all of modern Europe bases their civilization on what was to them their contemporary time. So they wouldn't have known that they were the "first", who did they think were the first, for them?

More can be said if anyone wishes to add something, but in the meantime here are a few older answers you may enjoy:

/u/toldinstone addresses what the ancient Greeks and Romans thought they knew about ancient ruins in Did ancient civilizations have ancient civilizations?
Because mythology is also sometimes relevant, /u/UndercoverClassicist answers addresses When did the Greek myths "happen" from the perspective of the ancient Greeks? Did the stories about heroes like Jason and Perseus happen in their ancient past, or did they believe these things were ongoing around them in real time?
/u/Antiquarianism does an amazing dig through a whole bunch of ancient cultures' understandings of their historical pasts—including various Native American, African, and Mesopotamian groups, but they really do touch across a lot of the globe—which can be found in another thread on Did ancient civilizations have ancient civilizations? (each link goes to a separate discussion on that thread)