History Main / AngelUnaware

* ''Literature/TortallAndOtherLands'': Used briefly and unintentionally in the short story ''Huntress''. Corey, being actively [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunted by humans]], sees her Goddess appear as a jogger to intervene and, being a decent person, tries to tell Her to get away and save Herself. The Goddess pauses and says this "gallantry" is not needed, but She's pleased that Corey offered it; the Goddess will remember this, even after [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted She helps Corey out]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E7BrawlInTheFamily Brawl in the Family]]" plays with this with social worker Gabriel, whom Homer is [[WrongGenreSavvy convinced is actually a messenger of a higher power]]. He's actually a regular human, although Gabriel repeatedly acts in ways that suggest this trope -- he has an angelic choir as his pager ringtone, dresses in an all-white suit, mentions "earning his wings (meaning a CD titled "The Best of Wings"), and of course his name.

* ''Anime/ElCazadorDeLaBruja'': In the middle of Mexico/south of Mexico, there's an inn run by an old man; he stops the villains chasing the heroines for a day or two so that they can have some character development. This includes a TykeBomb and witch with magic powers, who he stops simply by looking at them. Apparently is really the Hopi Fertility Deity Kokopelli. He takes the form of a white author who died 3 years prior to the plot.

** The second movie heavily implies [[spoiler:Mikako is one of the many angels from Synapse who are "dreaming" they are humans, as an angel from Ikaros' flashback looks a lot like Mikako. The final arc of the manga also gives some hints as Mikako knew what was happening when Chaos uses Eishiro to activate Rule and restart the world again.]]

* In ''Manga/OtherworldlyIzakayaNobu'', Nobu and Shinobu serve a mysterious woman who is dressed a Miko after they just closed their restaurant. The woman, delighted with the food prepared for her and how well the restaurant is doing in the parallel world Aitheria, comments that making the connection between worlds is worth it before vanishing before their eyes and leaving behind a tip of Japanese yen. Nobu realizes that the woman was in fact the spirit of the fox statue that he and Shinobu had prayed to for success of their restaurant three months prior.

** Gandalf -who is a Maia, a literal minor angel in the Tolkien's Legendarium-, spends a lot of time in the Halls of Mandos, looking after deceased Elves as masquerading as an Elf who happens to be apprentice to one of the Valar (high-ranking angels).
** Beren and his comrades believe Huan is "merely" an exceptional wolfhound until they start noticing strange stuff as his capability to talk, or his being able to get help from the Divine Eagles...eventually figuring out that Huan is a Maia incarnated as a dog.

%%* ''Film/APrairieHomeCompanion'': The "dangerous lady" in the film version.
* In ''Film/LoveActually'', Creator/RowanAtkinson's character is an angel, though it was more explicit in the original script. The only thing that was altered in his "storyline" is a shot of him fading away as he walks off at the end.
* In ''Film/VanHelsing'' the title character is implied to be one of these. He is in the service of God, is apparently immortal (he remembers fighting Romans at Masada, and was Dracula's murderer hundreds of years prior to the movie), and in the novelisation of the film he is said to have two scars on his back where wings [[FallenAngel may have once been]]. Furthermore, Dracula repeatedly refers to him as [[spoiler: "[[ArchangelGabriel Gabriel]]" and "The Left Hand of God"]].

* ''Film/PiratesOfTheGreatSaltLake'': The Man in White. Only ghosts and people who can see ghosts can see him, but he can interact with the world in ways ghosts can't. He's also the only one who directly addresses the fourth wall, which greatly perplexes the protagonists.
* In ''Film/AlmostAnAngel'', former bank robber Terry Dean is convinced that he's died and been sent back to Earth as an angel. Most of the other characters think he's just an eccentric, but accept him since he's a pretty nice guy despite the crazy. The last few minutes of the movie reveal that, indeed, he's an angel for real.
* ''Film/MaryPoppins'': Mary is seen putting her makeup on while sitting waist-deep in a cloudbank.

* ''Film/TheGreenMile'': John Coffey, by virtue of his miraculous healing powers (up to and including resurrecting a dead mouse within seconds after the moment it has been killed), similarly strong powers of empathy, the sheer ambigouity of his past prior to ending up on the Green Mile, and his seemingly implied direct familiarity with angels and Heaven, may or may not be an angel (if he isn't Christ).
* ''Film/Constantine2005'' provides some backstory about the rules of the cold war between Heaven and Hell. Neither side is able to set foot in the mortal world, but "half breeds" on either side can. They don't do much directly, instead influencing mortals to act on their behalf. With a whispered word they could give someone endless HeroicResolve, or drive them straight over the DespairEventHorizon. TheStinger implies that [[spoiler:Chaz was one all along or somehow became one after his HeroicSacrifice]].
* The DTV movies ''Film/CallMeMrsMiracle'' and ''Film/MrsMiracleInManhattan'' don't say it, but the sweet old lady who fixes people's problems with common sense and sensitivity and just a tiny bit of magic is called Mrs. Miracle, and at the end of both movies she walks into the distance, fades, and we look up and see a star twinkle in the sky.
* ''Film/LifeBlood'': God, having already appeared to Rhea as God earlier on, appears again as the waitress in the diner at the end of the film.
* ''Film/DeadAgainInTombstone'': Although his true nature is never established, Dr. Goldsworthy definitely an agent of some kind of higher power.
* ''Film/DrTerrorsHouseOfHorrors'': At the end of the movie, Dr. Schreck is revealed to be [[spoiler:TheGrimReaper]].

* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': The Wizards appear to be Men, but have magical powers and are very, very old and mysterious. Pippin at one point wonders just what Gandalf is, but gets distracted. In fact, according to the appendices and various posthumously-published writings of Tolkien's, the Wizards are ''Maiar'' (angelic beings of the same order as Sauron) sent from the West to help defend the people of Middle-earth against their fallen brother. Gandalf in particular liked taking on this role even before he came to Middle-earth: the ''[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Silmarillion]]'' recounts that when he lived in Valinor he often took on the form of an Elf in order to walk among the Elves incognito, helping and inspiring them without revealing his true nature.
** Most people in Middle Earth believe the Giant Eagles are just exceptionally large and intelligent animals. They are actually high-ranking servants of Manwë, King of the Valar. Most of the time they don't get involved in world affairs. Thus the fact that they help the heroes in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' foreshadows that the Quest for Erebor is much more significant than the characters realize.
** ''Literature/BerenAndLuthien'': Most of characters believe that Huan, the giant wolfhound of Valinor, is "only" an exceptionally intelligent, talking dog. Supplementary material, though, hints that Huan is really an animal-bodied Maia.
* In ''Literature/TheMagicMap'', [[spoiler:the quirky pilot who flies David up to Canada turns out to be ''[[AnthropomorphicPersonification the wind itself]]''.]]
* ''Literature/{{Skellig}}'': It's heavily implied that the titular Skellig is an angel. He claims to be ancient, has discussed the idea that humans once had angel wings attached at their shoulder blades, and [[spoiler:even cures Michael's baby sister's heart condition]].

* ''Literature/TalesFromTheWyrdMuseum'': ''The Raven's Knot'' by Creator/RobinJarvis has a man who believed himself to have been saved by angels in WWII, but realizes eventually that he is one, trapped in human form since he descended. Oh, and angels look like [[OurAngelsAreDifferent giant two-headed dragons that breathe holy light]].

** In Heinlein's ''Literature/MagicInc'' it gradually becomes clearer and clearer that the witch in the story is no mere witch but the Earth Mother Gaia herself.
* ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'': Reorx often walks Krynn disguised as a rather fashionable dwarf named Dugan Redhammer, often revealing himself at the end of the story.
* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfChaos'': Inverted: the protagonist is this to a minor character who gives her a lift. She and her friends later repay the favor by curing his DrivenToMadness relative.
* ''Literature/TheDarkswordTrilogy'': Implied with Scylla. She says she's a secret agent, but always flashes her ID card too fast for anyone to see exactly which agency she's an agent of. Later, it is said that the only ones who can use Time magic, as Scylla has done in the story, are Agents of God. (Or the [[CrystalDragonJesus Almin]], as the series' God is known).
* Franchise/CthulhuMythos: {{Inverted}} [[ParanoiaFuel in the most disturbing way]]. A recurring character, Nyarlathotep, often appears as a likeable (if somewhat... off) stranger to the main characters. The problem is that Nyarlathotep is an EldritchAbomination (one far more powerful than Cthulhu, at that), and his hobby is screwing with people's lives.
* ''Literature/HyperionCantos'': All through the cycle, [[spoiler:A Bettik, the last surviving android in the galaxy]] is ordered about by every human in the series. It's only at the end of the final book that he is revealed to be [[spoiler:an observer created by the entities who had been driving events from their home in hyperspace]].

* Creator/LeoTolstoy: This is the theme in the short story "Where Love is, There God is Also". Martin, a poor cobbler who lost his son years ago, has a vision one day that he would be visited by Jesus Christ in course of the day. In the course of that day, he is visited by a number of people in unfortunate circumstances whom he treats kindly. At the end of the day, he realizes that he has been visited by Jesus after all.
* Edwin Markham's "How the Great Guest Came" is about a cobbler named Conrad who dreams that Jesus is going to visit him. After performing several kind acts, at the end of the day he asks in disappointment why Jesus never showed up.
-->"Three times I came to your friendly door;\\
Three times my shadow was on your floor.\\
I was the beggar with the bruised feet;\\
I was the woman you gave to eat;\\
I was the child on the homeless street!"
* Nathan Ausubel's ''A Treasury of Jewish Folklore'' includes an anecdote about Rabbi Meier Primishlaner. According to the rabbi, one day he shooed a ragged-looking traveler out of the local synagogue, only to be told by his father later on that he'd turned away the prophet Elijah.
* ''Literature/TheQueensThief'': In ''Thick as Thieves'', multiple people help Kamet avoid capture in suspiciously specific ways. Given the gods' interest in the affairs of the peninsular countries in previous books, its very likely they're still pulling strings.
* In ''Literature/TheWaterBabies'', a poor Irishwoman sees Mr. Grimes striking the ten-year-old chimney-sweep Tom. She warns him, "Those that wish to be clean, clean they will be; and those that wish to be foul, foul they will be." She turns out to be Queen of the fairies. Mr. Grimes doesn't heed her warning, and [[spoiler:after he dies, he's forced to work as a chimney-sweep in the afterlife]].

* Used briefly and unintentionally in ''Huntress'', a short story in ''Literature/TortallAndOtherLands''. Corey, being actively [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunted by humans]], sees her Goddess appear as a jogger to intervene and, being a decent person, tries to tell Her to get away and save Herself. The Goddess pauses and says this "gallantry" is not needed, but She's pleased that Corey offered it; the Goddess will remember this, even after [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted She helps Corey out]].

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E32APassageForTrumpet A Passage for Trumpet]]", a down-on-his-luck musician has a near death experience, and meets a fellow trumpeter who convinces him to return to his life and appreciate it. When asked his name, the stranger says "you can call me [[ArchangelGabriel Gabe]]".

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'':
** It's implied that the hallucinatory guides of multiple characters are something like this. They are visible to whomever they want and corporeal whenever they want. In the end, [[spoiler:as Head Six and Head Baltar talk, Six says they work for God and Baltar says the entity they work for does not care for that name. Which means it's either the/a God with a sense of humor, or a sufficiently advanced alien being/machine/whatever that some of these "virtual beings" deify.]]
** [[spoiler: Starbuck turned out to be a corporeal version.]]
* ''Series/TouchedByAnAngel'' centers around this trope, taking the point of view of the angels who are WalkingTheEarth helping people. The finale, however, cranks it up when it's revealed that [[spoiler:Monica has been helping ''[[JesusWasWayCool Jesus]]'' unawares]].

* ''Series/MySoCalledLife'': The homeless girl in the episode "So-Called Angels" . Probably.
* ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'': In the finale, [[spoiler: Gene Hunt is revealed as a deceased human who, although having no conscious knowledge of it, has acted as a guide and protector of the other cops stumbling across him in cop purgatory. He fully and knowingly takes up the mantle by series' end.]]
* ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'': There's a recurring homeless woman who might be this, if [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane she's not just crazy]].
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' had an episode where the victim of the week was a brilliant surgeon, but her disappearance went unnoticed for a while because she was so focused on her career that she didn't seem to have any friends or family. Brennan starts wondering if she herself might end up alone in the future, since her potential love interest is now in a serious relationship with someone else, and she finds herself deeply troubled. Late at night while alone in the lab, she ends up talking with a janitor named Micah, who reassures her and helps her find a different perspective in the case. Considering that this character never appeared on the show before or after, no one seemed to know about him except Brennan, and the name does refer to a Biblical prophet, there was some speculation about him possibly being an angel, or a hallucination created by her subconscious mind to help her deal with her issues.
* ''Series/TheMessengers'': Vera, Erin, Joshua, Peter and Raul. They themselves don't know this at first.
* ''Series/NightAndDay'': In one week of episodes, time itself stops dead, and a mysterious man called Gabriel (played by Clarke Peters of Series/TheWire) questions Thornton Street's residents about Jane's disappearance, before reporting back to Jane herself in the graveyard about what he's learned. The characters have no memory of this when time resumes; but later, two of the characters see a grave with Gabriel's name on it and think it seems familiar.
* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'':
** [[spoiler:Halbrand is not a mere human,]] but Sauron, the Dark Lord himself, part of the Maiar, Tolkien's version of angels. [[spoiler:After being "killed" by Adar, he took on the form of a human being in order to walk among the inhabitants of Middle-earth incognito]], deceiving them without revealing his true nature, until Galadriel confronts him about his true identity.
** Turns out that the Stranger is one of the Istari, who are also Maiar spirits.
* ''Series/Lucifer2016'':
** For a time Lucifer is convinced that Detective Chloe Decker is this, as it would explain why she's immune to his powers. Eventually, it turns out she's not an angel, but [[spoiler:God did send the angel Amenadiel to bless Chloe's infertile mother shortly before Chloe was conceived.]]
** In a season 3 episode, Ella tells the squad that she has for years interacted with a ghost who is now helping on a case. Although Ella doesn't, Lucifer realizes that the ghost is actually his sister Azrael, the angel of death.
* ''Series/KingdomAdventure'': It's revealed that Reagle has a humanoid form, much the same way Dagger does, when Napps shoots Reagle out of the air, and he reverts to his humanoid form while injured and on the ground. Pops and the kids take him into their home to recuperate, even as Lolly and Garbo complain about having to take care of him. They change their tune when he helps Garbo out of a jam, and they figure out that Reagle is one of [[{{God}} The Emperor's]] special soldiers. The episode where all of this happens is even called "Angel Unaware"!
* ''Series/DayBreak2006'': One possible interpretation of [[spoiler:Jared Pryor]]. Despite appearing to be [[spoiler:a paranoid schizophrenic]] initially, the end of his DayInTheLimelight episode confirms that he is also aware of the same loop. At the end of the series, he silently watches over Hopper, hinting that he was Hopper's guardian angel all along.

* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', [[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/03-02.html the innkeeper asks whether Perrault is the sort of fairy who goes about testing people and rewarding the kind and generous]]. Perrault thinks it makes it too easy, but assures him that a fairy would never tell in advance.

* A few of the stories on ''Website/NotAlwaysHopeless'' have this as a possible explanation.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' when Francine says it would take a "miracle" to repair their house, and a carpenter who is very clearly Jesus in a PaperThinDisguise shows up. They then spend the entire episode's B-plot antagonizing him as he turns the other cheek, with the punchline being Francine in the end threatening to "crucify [Him] on Angie's List."
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheForgottenToys'' the old, homeless man Teddy and Annie meet is heavily implied to be Santa Claus.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' plays with this with social worker Gabriel, who Homer is [[WrongGenreSavvy convinced is actually a messenger of a higher power.]]

* ''Anime/TheBigO'': Subverted in that while [[MeaningfulName she's called Angel]] and even has two scars on her back where there were once wings, she's not exactly an angel.

** ''Literature/BerenAndLuthien'': People considers Huan, the giant wolfhound of Valinor, to be "only" an exceptionally intelligent, talking dog. Supplementary material, though, hints that Huan was really an animal-bodied Maia.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''
** In a somewhat... different example of this trope, [[spoiler:Rei Ayanami]] is implied -- but never outright stated -- to be a somewhat different breed of "Angel". And while you are chewing on that and that infamous ending and movie sequel, somehow Anno manages to sneak in a little piece of information that [[spoiler:everybody is an Angel, since humanity descended from the second Angel, Lilith, just like all the other Angels descend from Adam.]]
** In the Director's Cut version of Episode 24, Kaworu Nagisa spills the beans more explicitly. [[spoiler:He states that Rei Ayanami is the same as him, and that they have "both taken the forms of the Lilin (humans) on this planet". Kaworu is revealed to be the 17th Angel, and the SEELE monoliths state that he is the vessel of the soul of Adam, the first Angel. Misato in ''End of Evangelion'' finds out that human life comes from an Angel called Lilith, just like Adam. Putting two and two together, Rei, the only one of her series of clones to have a soul, was an Angel with Lilith's soul.]] What this means for both of them and how does it relate to the trope? [[spoiler: Their friendship with Shinji is the only reason either of them give humanity a chance to recover after Third Impact.]]

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': The Wizards appear to be Men, but have magical powers and are very, very old and mysterious. Pippin at one point wonders just what Gandalf is, but gets distracted. In fact, according to the appendices and various posthumously-published writings of Tolkien's, the Wizards are ''Maiar'' (angelic beings of the same order as Sauron) sent from the West to help defend the people of Middle-earth against their fallen brother. Gandalf in particular liked taking on this role even before he came to Middle-earth: the ''[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Silmarillion]]'' recounts that when he lived in Valinor he often took on the form of an Elf in order to walk among the Elves incognito, helping and inspiring them without revealing his true nature.
** The Giant Eagles are also this. Most people in Middle Earth believe they are just exceptionally large and intelligent animals. They are actually high-ranking servants of Manwë, King of the Valar. Most of the time they don't get involved in world affairs. Thus the fact that they help the heroes in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' foreshadows that the Quest for Erebor is much more significant than the characters realize.

* ''[[Literature/TalesFromTheWyrdMuseum The Raven's Knot]]'' by Creator/RobinJarvis has a man who believed himself to have been saved by angels in WWII, but realizes eventually that he is one, trapped in human form since he descended. Oh, and angels look like [[OurAngelsAreDifferent giant two-headed dragons that breathe holy light]].

* Literature/TheBible quote above refers to the hospitality that Abraham offered angels, making this OlderThanFeudalism. (Literature/BookOfGenesis 18:2-16).
** According to the Book of Acts, Paul and Silas were taken to be Zeus and Hermes in disguise during their travels. Denying it got them in a LOT of trouble.
** In the story of Lot, two angels visit the city of Sodom and are put up for the night by Lot and his family, who protect his divine guests when his neighbors want to ''rape'' them. Lot refuses to let the mob do so and sends out his own daughters instead, but the mob is relentless. (Genesis 19:1-11) Lot offering his daughters in exchange isn't seen all that favorably by many people, although the fact that Lot is mentioned as living "near the gates" is sometimes taken to signify that he was a well known figure in the city, and as such that in all likelihood he [[BatmanGambit knew that the people would refuse his daughters]].
** In the deuterocanonical Literature/BookOfTobit, Tobit's son travels around with Raphael, one of the archangels. When he first appears, the Archangel Raphael is disguised as Azarias, the son of the great Ananias, and is seen traveling with Tobias. After traveling a bit, Raphael proceeds to show him how to drive off the demon Asmodeus, who had killed the seven men Tobias's bride Sarah had married before, after which Raphael bound the demon. He also shows Tobias how to cure his Tobit's blindness, before revealing himself as the Archangel.
** In the New Testament, two men are discussing Jesus's death and rumors of his resurrection while walking to Emmaus. A third man joins them and explains the whole deal... guess who he was?
** Jesus used a figurative version of this as AnAesop once: on Judgement Day, He separates the "sheep" (those to be saved) and the "goats" (the damned). He tells the sheep that they're being saved because they fed Him when He was hungry, clothed Him when He was naked, sheltered Him when He was homeless, visited Him in prison, etc. The sheep, confused, say they never remember doing any of this, and He explains that they did these things for the least of his followers -- and as far as He's concerned, that's just as good as doing it for Him. The goats get just the opposite; seeing His followers in the same desperate situations and ignoring them is considered just as bad as ignoring Jesus Himself in that situation.
* In some variants of the legend of [[Myth/SaintGeorge St. George and the Dragon]], George kills the dragon ''after'' his martyrdom, having been sent back from Heaven for this purpose. In a Muslim interpretation of the same legend, the knight who called himself George was actually Al-Khidr, an angelic immortal who travels the world in disguise and aids good people in need.

* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': The Wolf is initially presented as a bounty hunter and an ImplacableMan who is relentlessly stalking Puss in pursuit of the last of his nine lives, [[spoiler:and is initially presented as a metaphorical representation of death. Turns out there's nothing metaphorical about it -- he's [[NotHyperbole literally]] TheGrimReaper, and Puss' "laughing in the face of death" [[DoNoteTauntCthulhu made him eager]] to claim the arrogant cat's [[CatsHaveNineLives ninth and final life]].]]

** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'': The [[TheArchmage Invisible Masters]] are partway [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence]], but are [[GodsHandsAreTied caught up]] in a cold war with entities of equal and higher SuperWeight, so they usually provide indirect aid through false identities and proxies. Most have vast networks of agents, most of whom have no idea of their true power.

* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': The Wolf is initially presented as a bounty hunter and an ImplacableMan who is relentlessly stalking Puss in pursuit of the last of his nine lives, [[spoiler:and is initially presented as a metaphorical representation of death. Turns out there's nothing metaphorical about it -- he's literally TheGrimReaper, and Puss' "laughing in the face of death" made him eager to claim the arrogant cat's [[CatsHaveNineLives ninth and final life]].]]

* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': The Wolf is initially presented as a bounty hunter and an ImplacableMan who is relentlessly stalking Puss in pursuit of the last of his nine lives, [[spoiler:and is initially presented as a metaphorical representation of death. Turns out there's nothing metaphorical about it -- he's literally TheGrimReaper, and Puss' metaphorical "laughing in the face of death" made him eager to claim the arrogant cat's [[CatsHaveNineLives ninth and final life]].]]

%%* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': The Mysterious Stranger and Miss Fortune are often interpreted as such.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E32APassageForTrumpet A Passage for Trumpet]]", a down-on-his-luck musician has a near death experience, and meets a fellow trumpeter who convinces him to return to his life and appreciate it. When asked his name, the stranger says [[ArchangelGabriel "you can call me Gabe"]].

* In Myth/NorseMythology, Odin was known to wander around as an old traveler. He tended to wear a blue cloak and a hat that was pulled down to hide his missing eye. This avatar, Grimnir, is often considered to be the origin of the [[RobeAndWizardHat classic image of the wizard]]. Some examples from Old Norse literature:
** In ''Literature/VolsungaSaga'', Odin in disguise visits Sigurd repeatedly to give him valuable advice.
** In ''Literature/HrolfKrakisSaga'', a magically skilled, one-eyed Swedish farmer called Hrani gives advice to Hrolf Kraki and his champions that helps them overcome their opponent King Adils. On their way home, Hrani wants to present them weapons, yet they decline. Only afterwards it dawns on them that Hrani was Odin.
* This is so common in Myth/ClassicalMythology that it has its own word, theoxeny, named for Xenia the goddess of hospitality.
** Baucis and Philemon (as told in ''Literature/TheMetamorphoses''), despite their poverty, received with glad hospitality two weary travellers whom their neighbors had driven off. Since these were Zeus and Hermes, their neighbors' village got transformed into a lake and the neighbors into fish, while Baucis and Philemon's humble home was transformed into a magnificent temple, and they received their wish: that, after a long life as the temple priest and priestess, they should die at the same moment so neither of them had to live widowed. Their bodies were also [[{{Transflormation}} transformed into two trees]], an oak and a linden, growing from the same trunk.
** In the Literature/TheOdyssey, as part of her plan to finally allow Odysseus to return home, the Goddess Athena disguises herself as the Chief Mentes and visits Odysseus' son Telemachus in Ithaca. As usual in Greek stories, Telemachus greets the disguised Athena with hospitality and confers with her how much he loathes the suitors who try and woo his mother, while mooching on his father's wealth and constantly wrecking his home with their feasts. Athena urges Telamachus to sail to other city-states to find news on his father, he agrees and goes on to visit the various warrior Kings of Greece who tell him stories of his fathers exploits during the UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar.
** You must appreciate exactly how often this sort of thing happens in Greek and Roman tradition. Even the fact that Evander treated Heracles nicely as a stranger was treated as a throwaway line in ''Literature/TheAeneid''.

** Jesus himself used a figurative version of this as AnAesop once: on Judgement Day, He separates the "sheep" (those to be saved) and the "goats" (the damned). He tells the sheep that they're being saved because they fed Him when He was hungry, clothed Him when He was naked, sheltered Him when He was homeless, visited Him in prison, etc. The sheep, confused, say they never remember doing any of this, and He explains that they did these things for the least of his followers -- and as far as He's concerned, that's just as good as doing it for Him. The goats get just the opposite; seeing His followers in the same desperate situations and ignoring them is considered just as bad as ignoring Jesus Himself in that situation.

* Jewish tradition has the prophet Elijah loving to pull this one, going in disguise as a beggar or traveler of some sort. Treat him nice and you'll be rewarded umpteen times over. The [[AnAesop Aesop]] of all the stories is "be nice to strangers and help those in need". Good Aesop.
** Jewish tradition also has that Elijah was human back in Biblical days, but, according to legend, he never died and ascended to heaven while still alive. To this day, it is believed he [[WalkingTheEarth turns up on Earth sometimes to deliver unexpected help]].
** According to some traditions, he became Sandalphon, an angel associated with prayer and children.
* In Myth/PacificMythology, Pele tests people on their SacredHospitality by appearing as [[BewareOfHitchhikingGhosts a hitchhiker on the side of the road]] (either as an old woman in a white dress or a younger woman in a red dress, and sometimes accompanied by a small dog). If the traveler picks her up, they often will be rewarded somehow... but if they don't, they run into [[KillItWithFire some type of misfortune]]. She also is said in some stories to go to people's houses disguised as an old woman seeking food or lodging.
* Morrigan does this in Myth/IrishMythology. She disguises herself as an elderly woman and asks the warrior Duirmund to help her across a river. When he does so, she gives him a love spot as a reward, causing him to be irresistible to any woman who sees it.

* Music/LeslieFish: "The Traveler" describes a wandering old man, heavily implied but not stated to be Odin, who wanders from house to house, asking for a bit to eat or drink, giving a blessing to those who show kindness before moving on. The refrain exhorts the listener to always show kindness to strangers, for you'll reap what you choose to give them.