Summary

A Narrator appears, describing how “Zeus, the lord of the heavens, and Hermes, his son, came down to earth to see what people were really like. They disguised themselves as two old beggars, stinking and poor, ragged and filthy” (77). The Narrator comments on how they visited house after house after house, but were always turned away until they reached the small, impoverished home of the elderly Baucis and her husband Philemon. The two make their guests welcome and feed them as good a meal as they can. As The Narrator describes the preparations they make, other actors bring candles in bowls onstage and place them in the water.

Eventually, Baucis and Philemon realize they are playing host to a pair of gods. They apologize for the poor food and beg for mercy, but the two gods comfort them, saying they...