I believe the title is taken from Roman mythology. This is directly from Mythology for Dummies (pg 180-182):
"One day, Jupiter [Zeus] and Mercury [Hermes] disguised themselves as poor travelers and went knocking on doors in Phrygia. This was a test for the local people so that Jupiter and Mercury could see how hospitable they were.
They knocked on doors and asked for food and a place to stay, but no one would take them in. Most people were downright rude and slammed the door in their faces.
Finally they arrived at the most pathetic excuse for a house in the whole country. They knocked on the door and asked for food, and this time the homeowners let them in. They were an old man and woman named Philemon and Baucis.
Philemon pulled a bench up to the fire and invited his visitors to sit on it, while Baucis bustled about cooking a rather pathetic meal. When it was done, she seated the gods at their broken table and fed them her boiled cabbage and cheap wine. The old couple were delighted to have visitors and talked happily as the meal progressed.
They noticed something strange: though their guests had eaten and drunk a huge amount, the levels of food and wine in the bowl and pitcher remained constant. When they saw this, Baucis and Philemon realized that their visitors must be gods. They apologized for the lousy food and announced that they would now catch, kill, and cook their goose in honor of their guests.
The goose didn't want to be caught, and the old couple chased it for a while, much to the amusement of Jupiter and Mercury. Finally they gave up, exhausted.
Now Jupiter and Mercury rewarded their hosts. They informed them that they were, in fact, gods, and told them that although everyone else in the country was going to die, they wouldn't. Baucis and Philemon looked around and saw that the country all around was now covered with water. Their tiny hut turned into a beautiful white marble temple with a roof of gold.
Jupiter told them that he would grant any wish they had. Their request was as humble as their lives had been: They asked if they could be the priests of Jupiter's new temple and if they could die at the same time---they had lived together so long, neither one could bear the thought of living without the other.
Baucis and Philemon lived in the temple for many years. One day, they started reminiscing about the old days when they had lived in a poverty-stricken hovel, but had been very happy. As they talked, they started sprouting leaves and their skin turned to bark. They just had time to say goodbye to one another before they turned completely into trees, one oak and one linden growing out of a single trunk."
I believe the title is taken from Roman mythology. This is directly from Mythology for Dummies (pg 180-182):
"One day, Jupiter [Zeus] and Mercury [Hermes] disguised themselves as poor travelers and went knocking on doors in Phrygia. This was a test for the local people so that Jupiter and Mercury could see how hospitable they were.
They knocked on doors and asked for food and a place to stay, but no one would take them in. Most people were downright rude and slammed the door in their faces.
Finally they arrived at the most pathetic excuse for a house in the whole country. They knocked on the door and asked for food, and this time the homeowners let them in. They were an old man and woman named Philemon and Baucis.
Philemon pulled a bench up to the fire and invited his visitors to sit on it, while Baucis bustled about cooking a rather pathetic meal. When it was done, she seated the gods at their broken table and fed them her boiled cabbage and cheap wine. The old couple were delighted to have visitors and talked happily as the meal progressed.
They noticed something strange: though their guests had eaten and drunk a huge amount, the levels of food and wine in the bowl and pitcher remained constant. When they saw this, Baucis and Philemon realized that their visitors must be gods. They apologized for the lousy food and announced that they would now catch, kill, and cook their goose in honor of their guests.
The goose didn't want to be caught, and the old couple chased it for a while, much to the amusement of Jupiter and Mercury. Finally they gave up, exhausted.
Now Jupiter and Mercury rewarded their hosts. They informed them that they were, in fact, gods, and told them that although everyone else in the country was going to die, they wouldn't. Baucis and Philemon looked around and saw that the country all around was now covered with water. Their tiny hut turned into a beautiful white marble temple with a roof of gold.
Jupiter told them that he would grant any wish they had. Their request was as humble as their lives had been: They asked if they could be the priests of Jupiter's new temple and if they could die at the same time---they had lived together so long, neither one could bear the thought of living without the other.
Baucis and Philemon lived in the temple for many years. One day, they started reminiscing about the old days when they had lived in a poverty-stricken hovel, but had been very happy. As they talked, they started sprouting leaves and their skin turned to bark. They just had time to say goodbye to one another before they turned completely into trees, one oak and one linden growing out of a single trunk."
That seems to make some sense of it.