Baucis and Philemon
BAUCIS
&
PHILEMON
Baucis and Philemon were two old peasants who lived in the Phrygia valley. They are not gods at all. But rather just normal low class citizens with kind hearts, and great luck. Appearance wise they are absolutely nothing special about either of them, but the deeper a person looks inside of them is where they can see the true beauty that both of them hold. Since my subjects aren’t gods they have normal weaknesses that all humans have, such as sharp objects or food poisoning. This myth is to describe how the two trees on the top of a hill in the Phrygia valley came to be. Mercury was bored of the delicacies of the heavens, when this would happen he would descend down to earth from the havens seeking adventure. His companion was always Jupiter, let’s just say he was not only the wittiest of all the gods but he was the biggest party boy. When they came down to earth they disguised themselves as beggars and went from door to door asking for a place to stay or just a bite to eat. From the largest mansions to the smallest huts the duo was rejected by each and every person. That is until they came to the ugliest smallest hut they had seen so far, this was the home of Baucis and Philemon. Philemon described their economic situation when she said “… poverty isn’t so bad when your willing to own up to it …” (2,151) When they knocked on the door and asked for food the couple welcomed them in to their home with graciousness and hospitality. For dinner Baucis and Philemon gave the duo the best food they could afford. Philemon being very loquacious Baucis did all the serving. As she poured her guests wine, the bottle never lost substance. Baucis and Philemon felt remorseful for the food being so scarce, so they set out to kill their best goose for their guests. Both of them chased the goose in circles until they were out of breath and could chase no longer. At this the the duo saw the kindness in their hearts and revealed that Baucis and
&
PHILEMON
Baucis and Philemon were two old peasants who lived in the Phrygia valley. They are not gods at all. But rather just normal low class citizens with kind hearts, and great luck. Appearance wise they are absolutely nothing special about either of them, but the deeper a person looks inside of them is where they can see the true beauty that both of them hold. Since my subjects aren’t gods they have normal weaknesses that all humans have, such as sharp objects or food poisoning. This myth is to describe how the two trees on the top of a hill in the Phrygia valley came to be. Mercury was bored of the delicacies of the heavens, when this would happen he would descend down to earth from the havens seeking adventure. His companion was always Jupiter, let’s just say he was not only the wittiest of all the gods but he was the biggest party boy. When they came down to earth they disguised themselves as beggars and went from door to door asking for a place to stay or just a bite to eat. From the largest mansions to the smallest huts the duo was rejected by each and every person. That is until they came to the ugliest smallest hut they had seen so far, this was the home of Baucis and Philemon. Philemon described their economic situation when she said “… poverty isn’t so bad when your willing to own up to it …” (2,151) When they knocked on the door and asked for food the couple welcomed them in to their home with graciousness and hospitality. For dinner Baucis and Philemon gave the duo the best food they could afford. Philemon being very loquacious Baucis did all the serving. As she poured her guests wine, the bottle never lost substance. Baucis and Philemon felt remorseful for the food being so scarce, so they set out to kill their best goose for their guests. Both of them chased the goose in circles until they were out of breath and could chase no longer. At this the the duo saw the kindness in their hearts and revealed that Baucis and
Bibliography: Bulfinch, Thomas. Age of Fable. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1998. Print. Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Back Bay Books, 1998. Print. Gill N.G. Philemon and Baucis. About.com. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. <http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/myths/a/philemonbaucis.htm>.