Baucis and Philemon

Words We Need to Know:

Disguise [ dis GIZE]- to make yourself look like somebody else. Mary pinned up her hair and disguised herself as a boy

Magnificent [ mag NIF I sent] – wonderful; very good or large There are many magnificent buildings in New York City.Messenger [ MES en jer] – someone whose job it is to carry messages or small packages. Bill worked as a messenger during his summer vacation.Paving stones [ PAY ving STONZ ] – blocks of stones used to make streets or roads. Years ago many streets were made of paving stones.Temple [ TEM pel ] – a large building for religious services Some temples in Greece are over 2,000 years oldVehicles [ VEE i kelz] – cars, trucks, buses, wagons, carts, etc. Long ago vehicles were pulled by horses

Zeus was very worried. From his palace high on Mount Olympus, the great king of

the gods looked down at the earth Far below him, people hurried about like tiny ants. Men seemed to be very busy with their new fire and newer troubles . Humans had begun to build towns and

cities . Roads ,once little more than crooked paths through the woods were now wide and straight. Someone had

invented the wheel , and wagons, carts, and chariots moved in long lines along the new roads. “It looks as if man can now do anything he wants,” Zeus said to himself. “ The trouble is, how can I know what he

will want to do next”.

Zeus sent Hermes [ HUR meez] , his messenger. Hermes was the fastest of the gods. His shoes had little wings on them. He could almost fly through the air.“ I want you to go down to earth ,” Zeus told Hermes when he arrived . “ I want to know what men are talking about. I want to know if men still remember the gods. See if they think well of us, or if they are planning war .”

Zeus

Hermes

Zeus watched Hermes step off into the air. Then he sat down

to a meal of ambrosia and nectar. As Zeus ate, he thought about man. Everything – all Zeus’s plans for the future of the human race– seemed to have gone wrong. Part of the trouble had been the work of Prometheus and his fire. But the rest had been Zeus’s own fault. He should’ never had put Pandora in the same house as the box full of troubles. Zeus had planned to use the troubles to punish men if they ever forgot the gods. Hermes had good news when he returned.” Everywhere I went,’’ he told Zeus,” the people cheered me and held big parades. The leaders all made long speeches welcoming me to their fair cities. Here, look at these.” From his pockets Hermes took enough keys to open a hundred gates.” The keys to the cities of earth,” he told Zeus. Zeus took the keys, but he didn’t seem interested in them.” Yes,” he said, laying the keys to one side.” Now tell me, do humans still remember the gods?” “ The name of Zeus is always on their lips,” Hermes answered.” Before almost every sentence they say your name.”

Zeus smiled.” tell me about the temples they have built to worship me ,” he ordered. “ Are they made of gold, or just plain silver?” Hermes pulled on his ear.” I didn’t happen to notice any temples.” “What!” cried Zeus. “ You didn’t notice any temples? Why, a temple should be the biggest building in the city.”Zeus pointed down toward the earth. “Then tell me, what are those big buildings down there? They call them stadiums,’’ Hermes said.” Teams of men play games in them, thousand people sit and watch.”

Zeus shook his head sadly . “ I fear, dear Hermes, that the earth people do not love us as much as you think. They saw you coming, and they put on a big show. But now I know that they have no temples. How can the gods be worshiped without temples?” Hermes thought for a moment. As always, Zeus was right.” Yes,” Hermes agreed, “ I was fooled.” A frown appeared on Zeus’s fac. Fire and troubles had made men very wicked indeed. It was bad enough for men to do an evil thing, like forgetting the gods. It was much worse for them to pretend they were doing the right thing. Who could tell just how wicked humans had become?

You will have to go to earth again.” Zeus told Hermes. “ This time I want you to travel in disguise. Take the wings off your shoes and dress like an old beggar. Have Venus paint lines on your face, so you’ll look like an old, old man. She can also color your hair gray.” Hermes smiled at the idea. “ This is going to be fun,’ he said. “ It will be fun,” Zeus agreed. “ In fact, I shall go with you! Together we shall see just what man has made of himself.” A few hours later, two old beggars passed through the gate of clouds. Slowly they made their way down Mount Olympus. They made a strange sight as they bent forward walking sticks and dragged their rag-covered bodies along the road. The road grew wider when it reached the earth. It was covered with paving stones.

Vehicles pulled by horses filled the road, so Zeus and Hermes had to walk in the ditch. The first town was still miles ahead of them.Hermes was not used to the little steps of man. His legs grew tired. "Let's get a ride in the first empty wagon," he said. The two gods leaned on their walking sticks until a wagon came along. Zeus held up his right hand and smiled at the driver. The horses stopped. "Would ,you be so kind as to give two old men a ride?" Zeus asked."Have you got any money?" the driver wanted to know. "We are poor travelers," Zeus said."We have no money.""No money, no ride," relied the driver. His whip cracked over the horses' ears.The wagon rumbled on down the road. "It is worse than I thought," Zeus told Hermes. "Men have become selfish. They do favors only for money." As the sun was setting, the two gods walked into a small town. The village lay in a valley at the foot of a mountain.

Zeus and Hermes stopped at the first house they came to. Hermes knocked at the front door. The door opened-and just as quickly slammed shut in their faces. Before either of the gods could speaks, they heard the click of a back door opening. Around the corner of the house came a barking dog. Zeus and Hermes had to run for their lives. When the gods were safely in the middle of town, they turned in at another house."These time you try to hold the door open," Zeus told Hermes. A tired-looking woman with a baby in one arm opened the door. The baby looked at the two beggars and started to cry. Hermes held the door open with his foot."Would you give two old men something to eat?" Zeus asked. The woman just stood there.

“Please, let two old beggars look through your garbage," The king of the gods asked."In the name of Zeus.""Don’t talk about Zeus to me!" cried the woman."The only thing your great Zeus ever did was to fill the world with troubles. "Zeus looked angry. Then he looked as though his heart would break. He did not know what to say."Zeus is a mighty god," Spoke up Hermes. "He might do your favors if you worshiped him properly.“"Go worship him yourself," replied the woman. She looked the strangers over front head to foot .“ look there at those rags you're wearing. You seem to need his favors more than I do!"Zeus shook his head."Take care," He warned."Zeus might punish you someday."the woman laughed and closed the door.Tired, hungry, and sad of heart, the two gods turned away from the door and walked out of the yard. Boys threw stones at them as they walked down the main street of the town. Soon they had left the village behind. The road ahead went almost straight up the side of the mountain. Neither Zeus nor Hermes spoke as they started to climb.

A small cottage soon appeared ahead of them. Its walls were gray with age. There was no glass in the windows. In a garden beside the cottage, an old man bent over a hoe. A big white goose in the yard saw the gods coming and made a loud hissing noise. The old man looked up when the goose hissed.” Welcome, strangers,” he called .” What brings you this way? Only an errand for the mighty Zeus could send me along this road with night falling.”

The two gods stopped and stood looking at each other. They were too surprised to speak. Here was a man who remembered Zeus! “ Why not stop here for the night?” said the old man.” You can go in the morning.” Gratefully, Zeus and Hermes said there was nothing they would rather do. The old man, whose name was Philemon [ fi LEE mon], called his wife, Baucis [ BAW sis ], from the house. Baucis smiled at the travelers. “ What we have is not much,” she said,” but you are welcome to it.” Then Baucis take a quick look at the goose . She nodded to her husband . Philemon jumped toward the goose with his arm. Stretch out before him . The big bird hissed and ran around a corner of the cottage. Philemon followed it, as fast as his old legs would carry him. Hissing and honking , the goose led Philemon around and around the cottage.

“ Stop!” cried Zeus, when he saw what the old man was going to do. “ Don’t kill your goose. We are used to hunger, and can eat but little.” Philemon stopped running. His face was red, and he was too short of breath to speak. Baucis asked the two gods into the cottage. The inside of the cottage looked even older than the outside. Summer rains had leaked through the roof and left dark, cloud –shaped stains on the walls and ceilings. The feet of Baucis and Philemon had worn paths in the dirt floor. Baucis put two old chairs in front of a cold fire place. She asked her guests to make themselves comfortable while she set the table. In a few minutes Philemon brought a tiny cabbage in from the garden. Then he reached up in the chimney and took of a little piece of bacon. A small pitcher half full of wine was put on the table, and the four old people sat down to eat. The food was not enough for two people, let alone four. The wine glasses were less than half full. The two gods tired to act as if they didn’t notice how small the servings were. But their hosts could not be fooled. Baucis and Philemon wore faces of shame. When Hermes picked up the pitcher to refill his glass, Baucis was so ashamed that she shut her eyes. She knew that she had just poured the last of the wine herself. Then Baucis heard a strange sigh escape Philemon’s lips. She opened her eyes. Hermes was filling the forth glass with wine! Baucis watched with her mouth open as her Hermes set the pitcher down the table.

The pitcher was full to the brim, as if nothing could have been poured out. “ look! “ Philemon pointed a shaking finger.” It was empty, and now it’s ---” Philemon never finished his sentence. His eyes met his wife’s. at once they knew that their guest were not beggars but gods “Forgive us,” Baucis and Philemon asked together, falling to their knees beside the table.”Forgive us for insulting the gods with such poor food.” Zeus stood up. He put his right hand on Philemon’s shoulder, and his left on the white head of the old woman. Then he started to speak, in his god’s voice for the first time. "you gave all you had,”He said.”no one can give more. Come, stand up now. I want you to step outside and look at the town.”Zeus andHermes led their shocked hosts out into the yard. In the valley where the town had been, a huge lake now lay peacefully in the light of a rising moon the whole town was under water! The eyes of the old people grew wide with wonder. It was Zeus who finally broke the silence. ” now, Baucis and Philemon ,turn around and look at your house.” Behind, their old cottage stood no longer. In its place was a magnificent temple, covered with silver that gleamed in the moonlight . On the very top of the temple stood a golden statue of Zeus.

“a temple of Zeus!” Philemon cried. “ Yes,” Zeus said.” I have placed it here so that people will never again forget the gods. And you good people, who never did forget us, you will watch over this temple as long as you live.” Baucis and Philemon lived out their lives looking after the temple of Zeus. When they died, Zeus saw that they were buried beside the temple, in the same ground that had once been Philemon’s garden. If you go to Greece today, people will show you this temple that Zeus is supposed to have built. They will also show you the two old trees that now mark the graves of the gentle Baucis and the good Philemon. Some say that if you lissen carefully, you can still hear the two trees talking together whispering their prayers to the all-knowing Zeus

It was Cupid who started all the famous greek love stories. But noy all the love matches he started had happy endings. Cupid was careless. Once, for instance, he shot an arrow at a girl named Echo as she walked through the woods on a warm summer day. Echo didn’t feel Cupid’s arrow, though for an instant she had a slight psin in her heart. Soon she came to a bubbling stream.as she stood on the bank wondering how to get across, she saw, on the other side, a young hunter named Narcissus [ nar SIS us ]. She could not take her eyes of him. She thought he was the most handsome youth she had ever seen. Without thinking, she jumped into the stream and started to wade through the water. Their eyes met as she cross the stream. Those of echo were filled with love, and those for Narcissus- well, the less said, the better. Cupid had gone of to start new romances. He hadn’t bothered to shoot Narcissus. The youth did not return Echo’ s love, even though she refused to leave his side. “ Go away!” stormed Narcissus, as Echo followed him through the woods.” why should I love you?” “ I love you, “ Echo repeated. “ I love you.” “ I’d rather die than let you marry me!” shouted Narcissus. ‘Marry me,” came the Echo. “ marry me.” Narcissus became more and more angry. Whatever he said to this girl ,she always had to have the last word

Finally Echo saw that her love would never be returned. She went off to cry by herself. Looking ahead of her through the tears in her eyes, she found a cave in the woods. Here she could be alone with her sadness. Every day her sorrow increased. Having nothing to live for, she became thinner and weaker, thinner and weaker, thinner and weaker, until only her voice was left. The voice of Echo still lives on, replying to those who call, and always having the last word. As for Narcissus, well, he too wa finally hit by one of Cupid’s arrow. It happened just as he was leaning over to drink from a pool of still water. Narcissus saw his own face in the quiet pool. It was love at first sight. He reached down, but his fingers rippled the still surface of the water. The face he loved disappeared whenever he touched it. Poor Narcissus! He loved himself so much that he couldn’t leave the water’ s edge. For days he neither ate nor slept: and soon he, like Echo, had died for love. A short time after the death of Narcissus , a new kind of plant came up out of the soil on which he had rested. The plant grew, budded, and blossomed . The body of Narcissus had been changed into the flower that today bears his name.

Thank you for listening…

Prepared By:

Janaica Ross C. Belleza BSED 2B