Centaur | half man-half horse, drunken lawless behavior, mentioned as a choice for Theseus’ wedding |
Leviathan | sea monster, 1000-15000 feet long, mentioned when Oberon tells puck the flower love nectar works faster than the leviathan can “swim a league” |
Hippolyta | Amazonian queen, magic girdle, Theseus fiancé: he needed a duchess |
Furies | female goddesses of vengeance, mentioned when Pyramus is wondering what he did wrong in the play |
Acheron | a river black as night in Greek mythology, mentioned when Oberon say that the night is as black as Acheron so no one will see Puck with the nectar |
Phoebus | god of music (Apollo), rides chariot, has bow and arrow to heal and induce disease, mentioned when Bottom can’t decide what part to play |
Philomela | represeted by nightingale, told cruelties through weaving, raped and tongue cut out, references violence, foreshadowing, mentioned when fairies are singing ditty to keep bad things away from Titania |
Theseus | killed the Minotaur and escaped the labyrinth, duke of Athens, Hippolyta’s fiance |
Griffin | body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle, guards treasure, mentioned when Helena is comparing herself to Demetrius: dove vs griffin |
Corin | elderly shepherd, mentioned when Titania accuses Oberon of being with a human with a corin disguise |
Cadmus | founded Thebes, mentioned when it says that Theseus’ hounds cannot be as good as Sparta’s |
Muses | nine daughters of Zeus, mentioned as a choice for Theseus’ wedding |
Diana (Dian) | goddess of hunt and the moon, swore to never marry, mentioned when Theseus gives Hermia three choices: chastity, death, or to wed Demetrius |
Ninus | babylonian king, eponymous founder of Nineveh, mention in the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” but referred to as Ninny’s Tomb not Ninus’ Tomb |
Heims | personification of winter, mentioned when Titania mentions “old Heims’ thin and icy crown” when talking about the jealousy of Oberon after they meet in the forrest |
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Allusions
August 18, 2019