Literary allusions to Shakespeare.

What are some Greek mythological allusions in Shakespeare's Macbeth?

• Answer:

  In Act 2 Scene 3, Macduff says: Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight With a new Gorgon. The Gorgon was a Greek monster who would turn you into stone if you looked at it. Also, in Act 3 Scene 5, Hecate says: And at the pit of Acheron Meet me i' the morning Acheron is a river in Greece which was believed to flow through the underworld. However, these words were probably not written by Shakespeare, but rather by Middleton. All of the other Classical allusions in the play ("Neptune's ocean" etc.) were to Roman rather than Greek mythology.