The myth of Zeus' test - Iseult Gillespie

Dig into the myth of Baucis and Philemon, a couple who unknowingly showed the gods hospitality after their neighbors refused.

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It was dark when two mysterious, shrouded figures appeared in a hillside village. The strangers knocked on every door in town, asking for food and shelter. But, again and again, they were turned away. Soon, there was just one door left: that of a small, thatched shack. Would the owners help the visitors — or spurn them? Iseult Gillespie shares the myth of Baucis and Philemon.

Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by Vitalii Nebelskyi, and action creative agency.

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[FallenEpic]

I genuinely love how nearly every culture and religion and mythology is like "You should be kind to strangers with seemingly nothing, they might be the divine in disguise."

[joaobello]

I thought they were gonna ask to bring their friends back... but still is a beautiful myth

[hellod]

-opens house to strangers
-strangers floods village and turns their house into a palace
-becomes trees and are never separated

What a time to be alive.

[SirPembertonS.Crevalius]

While I don't approve of the god's actions, the story of the two being kind to passerbys and loving each other dearly to the very end was incredibly heartwarming.

[AasthaBhansali]

Destroying the whole village because they were scared to help random strangers (who could very well be robbers)? Harsh. But the love of the couple made me teary eyed 🥲

[xdrago]

So Zeus and Hermes decided to be quirky one day, went walking around in extremely shady hoods asking for citizens to take massive risks. Then being somehow shocked and angered by the citizens not wanting to be robbed and possibly killed and proceed to murder all of them. Wheres Kratos when you need him

[iamgreatalwaysgreat]

3:50 A classic Zeus punishment, letting everyone die, even children ignoring their all past good deeds, just because once they didnt helped 2 shady men.

[pfft]

Such a calm and quiet narration, like this could be something you show to a kid just before bed. The voice becomes a whisper, the soft music settles to its conclusion -- then "ZEUS HAS A LONG HISTORY OF DISPENSING BRUTAL PUNISHMENTS--"

[Sid-mjqf]

At 3:54, when the whole village is flooded, you can see the couple's goose is swimming in it. This wraps the whole story and gives ending to the character.
This shows how much Ted-Ed gives importance to animation to such minute aspects. Good job Ted-Ed👏

[Grabacr-plwy]

“Be kind to strangers 😊”

5:50 “ZEUS HAS A LONG HISTORY OF DISPENSING BRUTAL PUNISHMENTS!”

[centurionquincy]

It’s amazing how even a story about loving couples like these still boil down to:
“So There ends up another temple of the gods”
I feel like Zeus just wanted an excuse to make a new temple

[yanivrubin]

Let me point out that hospitality was one of *the most* importent tennets of ancent greek culture. Many of the legends revolve around that fact, such as kings protecting people who fled to them just because it's importent to be a good host, even with the gods chasing them

[germanjimenez]

You can tell a story as a sequence of events, but when you add such lovely details as the one where their skin is becoming a tree, it becomes art and emotions. That is when this changed from a tale to a work of art!

[ZOCCOK]

One of the most heart warming stories I've ever heard.
The retelling of the story along with the simple yet beautiful animation has resulted in one of the best videos of Ted-Ed till date ❤️

[micahbush]

Fun fact: This myth is referenced in the New Testament. In Acts 14, after witnessing Paul and Barnabas heal a man who had been lame since birth, the people of Lystra concluded that they were Hermes and Zeus come in human form and tried to offer sacrifices to them. The fate of the inhospitable townspeople was no doubt on their minds.

[therickprincess]

i used to be obsessed with greek mythology and remember all these stories by heart. now i barely remember their names, how far i've evolved from her.

[puncifikator]

I love how this myth came about as to explain why two trees grew into eachother next to a temple

[adityaagarwal]

Then one of Zeus's calm and reasonable sons returned. He brought the destruction of Olympus.

[matthewcheung]

"Honey, let's not open the door. Those people might be thieves or escaped convicts."
"What a perfectly sound and reasonable decision. Surely nothing terrible will come from this."

[NickvonZ]

Moral of the story:
Invite dark strangers into your house.
At night.