Philemon and Baucis

If you ever visit Turkey, you may notice a few low, half-ruined walls and a pair of beautiful, old trees – an oak and a linden – as you walk through the countryside there. Those are not just any trees, nor just any walls. Pause for a while in their cool shade, place your palm on the age-old bark, and listen. Perhaps you will hear their ancient story.

It took place at a time when this part of the world was not yet called Turkey, but Phrygia, and was part of the Greek Empire. Back then, neither the collapsed walls nor the two trees were there, only a simple hut where an old couple lived. Their names were Philemon and Baucis. The village they lived in was wealthy, and the other people had all they could want. They lived in prosperity and plenty. Only Philemon and Baucis had been poor all their lives. For some mysterious reason, wealth had eluded them, but they didn't complain about it. They had just enough to get by. And they had each other, and their love for each other. They needed nothing more.

One day, two pilgrims arrived in Phrygia. As it happened, they were not just any pilgrims. They were actually the most powerful Greek god, Zeus, and his son Hermes. They had disguised themselves as ordinary mortals so that they could enjoy a walk around the picturesque countryside and admire the beauty of Greece.

When they had been wandering like this for several days and were feeling very tired, they saw a village ahead in the distance. It was beginning to get dark and they were both longing for something good to eat and a soft bed.

"Let’s ask these good people for a night's…