Summary (Rosa)

Baucis and Philemon were an elderly couple. They did not have much, but loved each other greatly. One
day two travelers showed up at their ‘shack and poverty’ (casa paupertatemque) They did not know that
the guests were actually mortal (mortali) forms of Jupiter and Mercury, but as Baucis and Philemon
were a very kind and pious (pia) couple, they invited the travelers inside. These walking (petentes) forms
of Jupiter and Mercury had already been turned away from one thousand homes (mille domos).
However, Baucis and Philemon began to prepare (parabant) the best meal they could for the strangers,
even though they didn’t have much. Hospitality was very important to the Romans, so, in return for
their kindness, Jupiter gave them what they wanted most: to die at the same moment. He turned the
old man and woman (senex et femina) into two trees growing from the same trunk so that they would
live and die together.

Character Analysis (3rd member)

The myth was written by Ovid.

It was written in great detail to make it more realistic. In the myth Baucis and Philemon are a poor yet
happy couple that where extremely kind. They loved each other so much that nothing else was more
important. The only real change that happened was when they became priests.

On the other hand, Jupiter and Mercury assumed human form and visited earth disguised as poor
travelers. When they reached Phrygia, an ancient kingdom located in the west-central part of Anatolia,
they looked for shelter but were turned away by everyone except Philemon and his wife, Baucis.

Theme (3rd member)

Hospitality is a particularly important species of generosity. In the case of Baucis and Philemon, the
theme is much more pronounced. When the poor couple take two travelers into their home, they have
no idea that Jupiter and Mercury are testing their hospitality. Their selfless behavior saves them from
the flood and secures their respect in the eyes of the gods. In these generosity stories, one can see a
way in which Greek myths were used as morality tales, explaining what is right and what is wrong, how
to live and how not to live. Generosity, altruism, or freely giving to others may not seem to be in the
immediate interest of the giver, which might be why these myths reinforce the idea that it is a good
quality that should be valued.

Moral Lesson (Ivan)

The welcome of Baucis and Philemon to strangers illustrates the powerful effect of a simple good deed
done with no intentions of reward or acknowledgment. The recipient may look like a miserable
vagabond, but he may be an angel or God in disguise to test the goodness of the human heart. The poor
traveler may look destitute and wretched, but he may bestow kingly gifts of inestimable value upon the
lowly and humble. The lowly visitors may appear to beg and implore, but they often give more than they
receive and do not stop giving as a token of undying gratitude.

While material goods like gold diminish after they are offered, spiritual goods like kindness and
hospitality do not dwindle after they are offered. The gift of friendship or charity to one person does not
preclude the offer of the same gift to many other persons. Spiritual goods have the quality of the
miraculous pitcher and resemble the copious hearts of Baucis and Philemon. One can be poor in wealth
but rich in love, and one can be materially rich but spiritually impoverished. The story of Baucis and
Philemon begins with the couple living in a simple cottage but ending their long life in a marble palace.
Their story begins with small portions of food and milk on the table but concludes with a fountain of
overflowing milk from a miraculous pitcher. Where hospitality dwells, God visits. Where God is present,
miracles happen, and human goodness is multiplied and abounds in surprising ways that the stingy,
hardhearted villagers never imagined when they rejected the Greek gods by unleashing their dogs and
urging their children to throw stones at the travelers they presumed came to beg rather than to give.