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"Jupiter und Merkur bei Philemon und Baucis" (Zeus and Hermes with Philemon and Baucis), c. 1625-30 by the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

Note: In Greek, "phile" is a prefix for love and harmony.

Philemon and Baucis lived in profound poverty and great dignity. Some Olympic Gods were skeptic that ordinary mortals could be so virtuous. Zeus and Hermes, posing as destitute beggars visited Philemon and Baucis who offered them for dinner their sole goose. In gratitude, Zeus transformed their humble abode into a temple. The only wish of Philemon and Baucis was to die simultaneously. After their death, an oak and linden tree grew side by side with their branches fondled one another. This touching story prompted Saint Paul to dedicate one of his epistles to Philemon.

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