Questions
Facts and Details: Literal Meaning
1. What were Philemon and Baucis doing when the strangers arrived?
2. What did Baucis tell the travelers that wasn’t really true?
3. Why does Philemon think the guests are someone special?
4. What happens to the town where Philemon and Baucis lived?
5. How does Jupiter keep his promise that they won’t have to see each other die?
What’s Going On?: Reading Comprehension
1. Why does Baucis tell the travelers that she and Philemon already ate supper?
2. Why does the goose fly up onto the bench and sit between the guests?
3. Why did Jupiter decide not to let Philemon and Baucis drown with everyone else?
4. What connection is there between how Philemon and Baucis treated the strangers and how they act towards each other?
In your own words...
Jupiter and Mercury disguised themselves as travelers and went door-to-door to see how they would be treated. What if they came back today, disguised themselves as students and went from store to store in your community? Write a short story about the two gods visiting stores and show what kinds of “hospitality” would make them want to flood the earth, and how they would be treated if Philemon and Baucis were shopkeepers.
Backgrounders
With all the grim stories in Ovid about transformations given out as punishment or, at best, to help protect a fugitive, the story of Philemon and Baucis stands out as a bright spot in the collection.
It touches on a very common idea in nearly all cultures: The stranger at your door, no matter how humble, may turn out to be an immortal traveling incognito to test your generosity. In how many fairy tales does the main character help a stranger, only to be rewarded?
The deeper philosophical idea is that goodness done to a stranger is as good for you as if you did it to one of these disguised immortals.
The story is also a love story, and a very sweet one. In Question Four of the Reading Comprehension section, we ask for a logical connection between how these kind old people treat strangers and
how they treat each other. It is a most profound question: Can anyone be truly in love without having that instinct for generosity? And how can you be in love without wanting to be kind to everyone?
Cross-curricular Tie-in
(Science and Social Studies)
In this story, Jupiter punishes evil by sending a flood to the earth. Ancient people tried to find meaning in the bad things that happened to them, and we do the same today. Find a recent newspaper story about a natural disaster and look into what causes these events. Is there a way that people could stop that sort of thing from happening? Is there anything people can do to lessen the damage from these events?
Where did the event you discovered in the paper take place? Are there reasons that it did more, or less, damage there than it might have done in another part of the world? What are the chances this could happen in your community? If it could, and did, would it be worse, not as bad, or about the same as it was in the example you found? Why?
Answer Key:
Facts and Details:
1. Getting ready for supper
2. She says they already ate.
3. The wine jug magically stays full
4. It is flooded by rain
5. He turns them into trees.
Reading Comprehension:
1. There isn’t enough food for all four of them.
2. The goose knows that they are gods and he is hoping they will protect him.
3. They proved they were good, generous people.
4. See “Background,” above
In Your Own Words (A note)
The way young people are treated in stores is a hot-button subject! They can be good customers, and it’s not fair to assume that they are shoplifters or that they are just hanging out causing trouble. Still, there are things young people do to get themselves and their cohorts singled out by mall security. This topic could easily be expanded!
