T his upright grave relief plate is located in the cemetery of Hamburg Ohlsdorf. It was made in 1938 from limestone. This is a representation of the Roman poet Ovid, by the traditional legend, "Philemon and Baucis."
It is reported that Jupiter 1 and his son Hermes, 2 once in human form on earth came down and visited on the opposite side of the Aegean Sea located Phrygia 3 : "Jupiter came here as a mortal, and with the father / His rod bearing son Mercury without feathers. " 4
There they wanted to put the people's hospitality to the test, since Jupiter was also protector of hospitality and, therefore, Jupiter hospitalis (or Zeus Xenios) said. As a poor and weary travelers dressed up they knocked on the doors of every house and every little big house, but found nowhere Entry: "A thousand Housings come near them, asking for shelter and rest; / thousands of homes sperret the Castle" 5
Finally they came to a hut, which surpassed all previous misery and insisted on their roof of leaves only. To her knock down the door was wide open, however, and a cheerful voice invited the two men walking, "A house receives them, / Though very small, covered with reeds and pipes of the swamp," 6
Although she had to stoop to pass through the low door to, but once arrived inside, they found a comfortable and clean room. A friendly-looking measure was the old couple and two walkers welcome in any activity that began to make it to their guests as comfortable as possible. It turned the old man a bank of the fireplace and asked his guests to make themselves comfortable on it and stretch their tired limbs. Previously, the old woman had spread even a soft blanket on the bench. She introduced herself to strangers as Baucis and Philemon as her husband: "But the honest Baucis and Philemon equal in age, / Both verlebeten where the bloom of youth, and both / antiquities there gradually. Poverty openly confessing / powers they easily bearable with no unwilling mind. / No matter whether you are there, the Lord sought out, or the servant / Zween are all the house, and dieselbigen command and do. / And when the heavenly pair approached the poor dwelling, / And the bent head, the low gate went, / Is it the friendly old man rest upon gestelletem chair, / with the coarse mesh, the diligent Baucis covered. / Then, approached the herd, they churned the lauliche ash / Wakes up yesterday's fire, with leaves and dry bark / Nourishing, and blows out the smoke with gasping breath the flames. / Small Split wood and rice from the bottom gedörretes / she bears down, and zerknickt's, and places it under the Kesselchen. " 7
While she hung a kettle of water on the fire, she said that she lived with her husband since their wedding in this house and they were always happy. They were poor, but happy nonetheless. Just when the water began to boil, the old man came in with a head of cabbage from the garden. Together with a piece of pork, cooked cabbage was now: "Even the man that collected in veg 'in the watered garden / she Scrolls. But those with zweigehörnter gaff / Removes the beräucherten back of a pig from the sooty bar, / Where he saved him long, and cut a piece from the shoulder, / only a few things only, and the average zähmet in the roaring boil. / Both shorten the interim, however, that hour in conversation, / That the delay does not feel the strangers. Near the herd / Marching buchene When the 'at stake with curved handle. / This is filled with water laulichem, empfänget limbs / Bähend. It stands in the middle of the pond piston feathery reeds / soft stuffed a warehouse, the frame and the feet of grazing. / This envelop them now with carpets, which they usually / Only the spread festive day ', but even this / bad and outdated goods, not the unworthy weidenen lichen. / Then rest the gods. " 8
Meanwhile Baucis covered with her trembling old hands to the table: "pursed then Stellet and trembling / Baucis the table, but one of the three table legs were not equal; / Soon the same makes the shard: since under added it to the cusp / healed, jetzo rubbing the flattened verdant mint. " 9 She brought olives, pickled Cornelian, radishes and cheese and some eggs on the table. Even dessert was kept: "The crew are expected then the speckled berry of Pallas. / Also of autumn grain Elle gekläreter preserved in brine; / radish, endive, too, and milk into cheese rounded; / eggs at once, turned cautious in hot ashes: / Everything on irdnem dishes. The molded clay jug / now appears radiantly colorful carved on the table, and buchene cup with ornaments / full, and varnished the cavity with yellow wax. / A few time, because the stove sends the steaming dishes. / Back to relieve the jetzo not very old wines, / That they removed a small, narrow space is not the dessert. / Here is nut, here fig, mixed with wrinkled dates / prunes in small basket ', the larger fragrant apples, / And large-berry grapes collected from purple grapes; / Mid the whitish disk of Honiges, but above all / Invite the cheerful glance , and a heart, not lazy nor kargend. " 10
Philemon made two rickety benches at the table. Cabbage and meat, however, were cooked and were also served. After everything was ready, asked Philemon and Baucis to her guests to leave it to taste. Philemon also brought them more cups of beechwood and an earthenware jug of wine, which had more similarity with vinegar diluted with water and also was. But Philemon was obviously proud and happy to be able to set before his guests anything like that. He saw to it immediately when a cup was empty, refilling. In his bustling hospitality of the old couple was initially not that the wine jug never emptied. No matter how much refilled Philemon, the jar was full. When they were aware of but which then, they changed looks terrible fulfilled, then lowered her eyes and prayed, but quietly. They had recognized that it was not for her guests were normal people: Both see now that, as often as they erschöpfeten always the jug / recovery of itself fills, and the wine grows up voluntarily. / Amazed with fear and dismay, and lifting his hands backwards, / they cry, Baucis at the same time, prayer, and fearful of Philemon. " 11 more>
