Baucis and Philemon. In Ovid's moralizing fable which stands on the periphery of Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Baucis and Philemon were an old married couple in the region of Tyana, which Ovid places in Phrygia, and the only ones in their town to welcome disguised gods Zeus and Hermes, thus embodying the pious exercise of hospitality, the ritualized guest-friendship termed xenia, or theoxenia when a god was involved.
   Zeus and Hermes came disguised as ordinary peasants, and began asking the people of the town for a place to sleep that night. They had been rejected by all, so wicked were the people of that land, when at last they came to Baucis and Philemon's simple rustic cottage.
   Though the couple was poor, their generosity far surpassed that of their rich neighbours, among whom the gods found doors bolted and no word of kindness. After serving the two guests food and wine, Baucis noticed that, although she had refilled her guest's beechwood cups many times, the pitcher was still full.
   Realising that her guests were gods, she and her husband raised their hands in supplication and implored indulgence for their simple home and fare. Philemon thought of catching and killing the goose that guarded their house and making it into a meal, but when he went to do so, it ran to safety in Zeus's lap.
   Zeus said they need not slay the goose and that they should leave the town. This was because he was goi

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