Philemon Character Analysis in Metamorphoses

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.

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.

...asking for food and shelter, and were turned away by everyone except a couple named Philemon and Baucis who lived in a humble shack. (full context)

Although they have very little, Philemon and Baucis greet the disguised gods and prepare them a meal. With love and care,... (full context)

Philemon and Baucis pray to heaven to forgive them for serving their guests such a poor... (full context)

Mercury and Jupiter ask Philemon and Baucis what they want. The couple ask to be made priests of the temple... (full context)