Philemon and his wife Baucis are characters in a story that one of Theseus’s companions tells another companion who scoffs at the gods. Philemon and Baucis are poor peasants, but one day they take in a disguised Jupiter and Mercury who are looking for shelter. Unlike their inhospitable neighbors, Philemon and Baucis serve the gods a delicious feast and make them comfortable. Mercury and Jupiter flood out Philemon and Baucis’s rude neighbors and reward the couple by making them priests of a temple. When Philemon and Baucis die, the gods make Philemon an oak tree.
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Philemon Character Timeline in Metamorphoses
The timeline below shows where the character Philemon appears in Metamorphoses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 8: Philemon and Baucis
...asking for food and shelter, and were turned away by everyone except a couple named Philemon and Baucis who lived in a humble shack.
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Although they have very little, Philemon and Baucis greet the disguised gods and prepare them a meal. With love and care,...
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Philemon and Baucis pray to heaven to forgive them for serving their guests such a poor...
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Mercury and Jupiter ask Philemon and Baucis what they want. The couple ask to be made priests of the temple...
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