Baucus + Philemon

In the valleys of Phrygia stood the gilded town of Tyana, home to the richest of the rich. The citizens of Tyana bathed in luxury, dripping in opulent jewels and the finest robes money could buy. Every home for miles and miles from the town center loomed over the streets, intricate and stately as though a prince might emerge from it at any second. Every home, except one. 

It was said that though the streets were paved in gold, the town was hostile. Beggars struggled to find a sympathetic face among the people of Tyana, and prayed to the gods to help them find kindness. These prayers, though plentiful, felt unbelievable to the Olympians. Surely, in a town with such wealth, such excess, they would be able to find a welcoming home, a blanket, even a glass of water, right? It seemed impossible to believe people could be so unkind.

And so, disguised as peasants, Zeus and Hermes began to knock on doors. Home after home, they were met with the sounds of locks clicking and shades being drawn. Rarely did someone ever come to the door, and as soon as they saw the beleaguered old men on the stoop, the smile faded from their faces. At the first request for a place to rest or something to eat, the ornate doors were hurriedly closed again. Through the entire town they passed, and they were unable to find the hospitality they searched for.

The gods had been wandering for hours, and with each passing address they felt more and more downtrodden. Zeus declared the town a lost cause, but Hermes begged him to knock on the last door, the home of Baucus and Philemon. 

Tucked between the mansions and palaces stood a small, sturdy structure. Some might call it a shed, only a single room with a dirt floor, but it served the needs of its occupants just fine. Baucus and Philemon had lived in their little home for as long as they, or anyone else, could remember, since long before the town had become a distorted reflection of what was once there. The pair had never born children. They were simply pleased to be with each other, and needed nothing more. 

The pair welcomed Zeus and Hermes with open arms. They did everything in their power to make their new guests, their new friends, comfortable. Baucus rushed around their home in search of blankets and pillows, and soon she had constructed a passable bed for the gods. Philemon dug through the cabinets in their small kitchen, but came up dry. He offered to go into town and find food to share, or even to slay a goose from his own flock for dinner. The two apologized profusely, but they didn’t have much to share. What little they did have, however, was given away without hesitation. 

The four of them settled around the small room. Baucus and Philemon sat on the floor, insisting their guests take the only two chairs around their modest kitchen table. As they began to get to know their hosts, Zeus and Hermes knew that it was only fair to tell the truth about their pilgrimage.  

The gods revealed their true identities, though of course, they were not treated any differently once they had. Baucus and Philemon welcomed everyone into their homes as though they were gods. 

The plan to flood the valley would take place the next morning. Zeus and Hermes knew their friends did not deserve to drown with their neighbors, and offered them a reprieve – they would hike to the top of the mountain and find safety from the floods. For their kindness, the pair were offered riches and wealth, and if they had accepted, would have finally lived like their neighbors. This, though, wasn’t what they wanted. Baucus and Philemon had lived on their little plot of land, in their little brick house, for decades. They had built a home, a life. And so, the gods granted them the ability to stay. 

The flood wiped away the town, all but the home of Baucus and Philemon. To show their thanks, the two erected a temple on their land to Zeus and Hermes, and tended to the land for the rest of their days, needing nothing but each other’s warm embrace to keep them humble and kind, and happy. 

The decades flew by. When the time finally came for Baucus to pass on to the underworld, Philemon prayed to his old friend, Zeus. Though he had never asked the gods for anything before, now, he couldn’t bear to live without his wife. As Philemon knelt over Baucus’s bed, wrapped around the woman he loved in the house they had shared for so long, Zeus remembered their kindness and wished to repay them. The two were transformed. They became one tree with two intertwining trunks,  planted firmly on the land they loved so much, left to hold each other for eternity.