Allusions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Athens a city in southeastern Greece. In this play, Athens is ancient Greece, a place from which came large contributions to the arts and sciences.
Aurora Roman goddess of the dawn
Carthage in ancient times, Carthage was a great city on the northern coast of Africa
Cupid (Eros) in Roman mythology, Cupid is the son of Venus, the goddess of love. In Greek myths he is Eros, the god of love. Cupid and Eros were said to wound individuals with their arrows, causing mortals to fall in love.
Daphne a nymph who was transformed into a tree so that she might be saved from Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, who had fallen in love with her
Diana Roman Goddess of the moon, hunt, and chastity
Hippolyta an amazonian queen; married Theseus
May Day a holiday celebrated on May 1st; a celebration of the coming spring
Muse in Greek mythology, one of the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory; Muses inspired and presided over the creative arts.
Ninus legendary founder of Nineveh, a city in ancient Mesopotamia
Oberon legendary king of the elves and fairies
Pheobe also called Artemis; twin sister of Apollo (Pheobus); traditionally associated with the moon
Puck (Robin Goodfellow): a mischievous spirit of nature; a creature of British folklore
Theseus a legendary king of Athens; involved in many mythological battles; eventually conquered and wed the Amazon queen, Hippolyta
Titania a name given to the daughter’s of titans
Trojan someone from the ancient city of Troy, a famous city of Greek legend
Venus the Roman goddess of love, beauty, and fertility
Ovid’s Metamorphoses Transformation in the play; the source of the characters Pyramus and Thisbe
Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale Hippolyta and Theseus are characters in this tale. Also, Lysander and Demetrius’s pursuit of Helena echoes the way two knights, Palamon and Arcite, fight over Emily
Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Plutarch’s “Life of Theseus” informs Shakespeare’s portrayal of this character.
Apuleius’s Golden Ass This seems to be the literary source for Bottom’s transformation into a human with the head of a donkey
Corinthians 1 2-9 Bottom’s language is a parody of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians
Queen Elizabeth I Oberon’s description of the “fair vestal [virgin] throned by the west” (2.1) is a shout-out to Shakespeare virgin monarch. Also, “Fairy Queen” (Titania) was Queen Elizabeth’s nickname
Dido
Aeneus
Ariadne
Neptune
Jove
Robin Goodfellow
Pyramus and Thisbe
Marry
Antipodes
Taurus A mountain with white snow
Archeron
Aurora’s Harbinger
St. Valentines A Roman Saint associated with courtly love
Thracian Singer Orpheus A musician in Greek Mythology whose talents were capable of charming all things, living or not; Attempted to retrieve his wife from the underworld
Sisters Three
Griffin