The Mythology Book

125

See also: The Olympian gods 34–39 ■ Numa outwits Jupiter 104-05

J

upiter and Mercury once

visited the hill country of

Phrygia, both disguised

as mortal men. They went to a

thousand doors, looking for a meal

and a place to rest, and were

turned away a thousand times.

At last they came to the poorest,

most dilapidated cottage of all,

the home of an old woman, Baucis,

and her husband, Philemon, who

welcomed the two travelers inside.

Gracious hosts

While Baucis set a fire, Philemon

gathered vegetables from his

garden, and together they provided

the best feast they could for their

guests. When the couple noticed

their flagon of wine was magically

refilling itself, they realized they

were entertaining gods. “This

wicked area will be punished for

its unkindness to strangers,” said

Jupiter, “but you will be safe.”

The old pair followed the gods

up a mountain, and looked back.

They saw the countryside flooded,

but their little cottage had been

transformed into a glorious temple.

Philemon and Baucis asked to be

guardians of the temple, and also

to die at the same moment, so that

neither would be left alone.

The gods granted their wish.

One day, Baucis noticed leaves

shooting out from Philemon’s

body—and from her own. With

only time for a goodbye, they were

turned into an oak and linden tree,

intertwined in a single trunk. ■

ANCIENT ROME

THOSE WHOM

THE GODS CARE

FOR ARE GODS

PHILEMON AND BAUCIS

IN BRIEF

THEME

Gods reward deserving

mortals

SOURCE

Metamorphoses, Ovid, 8 ce.

SETTING

Phrygia, ancient Greece.

KEY FIGURES

Jupiter King of the gods; god

of the sky and thunder.

Mercury God of commerce,

communication, travelers, luck,

and trickery; one of the 12

major Roman gods.

Philemon and Baucis A poor

cottage owner and his wife,

who were spared when the

gods flooded their part of

Phrygia to punish the people.

Philemon and Baucis humbly offer

fruit, cheese, and wine to Jupiter and

Mercury in this neoclassical painting

by Andrea Appiani or a member of

his circle in Milan (ca. 1800).

US_124-125_PyramusThisbe_and_PhilemonBaucis.indd 125 01/12/17 4:22 pm