How Greek Literature, Poetry and Mythology Influenced Shakespeare

Shakespeare was a master of language, drama, and imagination, who drew from various sources and influences to create his timeless works. Among these sources, the classical literature, poetry and mythology of ancient Greece played a significant role in shaping his style, themes, and characters. Let’s explore how Shakespeare was inspired by Greek culture and stories, and how he adapted them to his own context and purpose.

Shakespeare’s Classical Education and Exposure

Shakespeare was born in the late 16th century, a time when the Renaissance movement was flourishing in Europe, and the classical texts of Greece and Rome were rediscovered and translated. Shakespeare received a classical education at the King’s New School in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he studied Latin, grammar, rhetoric, and literature. He read and learned from authors such as Ovid, Virgil, Horace, and Seneca, who introduced him to the myths, legends, and histories of the ancient world. He also encountered the works of Homer, Plutarch, and other Greek writers through English translations and adaptations.

Shakespeare’s exposure to the classical culture continued throughout his career as a playwright and actor in London, where he had access to various books, manuscripts, and performances that featured Greek elements. He was familiar with the conventions and genres of Greek theater, such as tragedy, comedy, and satire, and incorporated them into his own plays, borrowing and modifying plots, characters, and motifs from Greek sources to create new and original stories. He often blended the classical and the contemporary, the realistic and the fantastical, the historical and the mythical, to produce works that appealed to a wide and diverse audience.

Shakespeare’s Plays Based on Greek Mythology

Shakespeare wrote about 37 plays, and most of them have some kind of reference to Greek mythology in them, either as names, allusions, metaphors, or symbols. However, some of his plays are more directly and explicitly based on Greek myths, and feature characters and events from the ancient stories. These plays include:

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream: This is a comedy that revolves around the marriage of Theseus, the legendary king of Athens, and Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons, who are both characters from Greek mythology. The play also involves a group of fairies, led by Oberon and Titania, who are based on the gods and goddesses of Olympus, and who interfere with the lives and loves of four young Athenians and a troupe of amateur actors. The play also references other Greek myths, such as Pyramus and Thisbe, the minotaur, and Medea.

• Troilus and Cressida: This is a tragedy that depicts the love affair between Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Cressida, a Greek captive, during the Trojan War, which was a famous conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans, as narrated in Homer’s Iliad. The play also portrays the actions and interactions of various Greek and Trojan heroes, such as Achilles, Hector, Agamemnon, and Paris, as well as the gods and goddesses who influenced the war, such as Athena, Apollo, and Venus. The play offers a cynical and satirical view of the war and the lovers, and challenges the ideals of honor, loyalty, and romance.

• The Winter’s Tale: This is a romance that tells the story of Leontes, the king of Sicilia, who becomes jealous of his wife Hermione and his friend Polixenes, the king of Bohemia, and accuses them of adultery. He orders Hermione to be killed, and abandons their newborn daughter Perdita in a remote place. However, Hermione is secretly saved by a loyal servant, and Perdita is raised by a shepherd in Bohemia. Sixteen years later, Perdita falls in love with Florizel, the son of Polixenes, and they flee to Sicilia, where they are reunited with Leontes and Hermione, who is miraculously restored to life. The play is inspired by the myth of Apollo and Daphne, as well as the story of Pygmalion and Galatea, and features a statue of Hermione that comes to life. The play also includes a character named Autolycus, who is based on the son of Hermes, the god of thieves and tricksters.

Various movies have been inspired by Shakespeare’s works, which in turn were inspired by Greek myths, and we feature some in our book Greece at the Oscars. One movie, called Anonymous (from 2011), puts forward an interesting theory that Shakespeare was not the author of his works, a theory that could be real considering how much he borrowed from Greek myth.

Shakespeare’s Use of Greek Mythology as a Source of Inspiration and Innovation

Shakespeare did not simply copy or imitate the Greek myths, but rather used them as a source of inspiration and innovation. He adapted and transformed the ancient stories to suit his own artistic vision and the expectations of his audience, changing names, settings, and details of the myths, and added or omitted characters and events. Often he mixed and matched elements from different myths, and created new connections and contrasts between them using the myths to explore various themes and issues, such as love, jealousy, revenge, power, identity, fate, and free will. He also used the myths to create dramatic effects, such as irony, humor, suspense, and surprise, and made the myths relevant and relatable to his contemporary society, enriching and expanding the cultural and literary heritage of the classical world.

Shakespeare’s Legacy

Shakespeare was a genius who was influenced by many sources and influences, but the classical literature, poetry and mythology of ancient Greece was one of the most important and prominent ones. He was well-versed in the Greek culture and stories, and used them to create his own works of art. Inspired by Greek theater, he wrote plays that followed or challenged its conventions and genres. To this day his works are performed regularly, like for example the Royal Shakespeare Company who are currently performing A Midsummer Nights Dream.

Shakespeare was inspired by the Greek myths, and wrote plays that retold or reimagined them. A master of the classical and the modern, the realistic and the fantastical, the historical and the mythical, he created works that transcended time and space. He was a true heir and innovator of the Greek legacy, and left a lasting legacy of his own.