The intuitive hypotheses of the ancient Greeks foreshadowed many theories of modern science, and many of the moral ideas of pagan Greek philosophers have been incorporated into Christian moral doctrine. This influence is obvious. Shakespeare being a upholder of his religious believes and he being Christian, thus, came under the undoubted influence of Greek Philosophy which stressed so much on moral principles and discipline.
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Greek philosophy may be divided between those philosophers who sought an explanation of the world in physical terms and those who stressed the importance of nonmaterial forms or ideas. Shakespeare’s society believed in the latter that everything was predestined by their god and their lives may be controlled by certain inexplicably beings such as spirits and Satan. During his time, some blame their sinful actions on being possessed by the devil and dictated by witchcraft.

These forms in turn change and merge into one another according to the rule of justice, that is, balance and proportion. ‘Even-handed justice’ was a strong conviction, which Shakespeare held. Through many of his plays, the evil, sacrilegious and despicable delinquent would get his rightful due, rightful retribution in retaliation for his hideous crimes.

Pythagoras stressed the importance of form rather than matter in explaining material structure. The Pythagorean School also laid great stress on the importance of the soul, regarding the body only as the soul's “tomb.” This greatly affected Shakespeare’s perception of life and its meaning. Through his plays, those who betray God lose their ‘eternal jewel’, their soul for eternity to the devil. The soul, like spirits is not physical being but an abstract, nonmaterial idea, which many people believed they possessed and treasured.

According to Parmenides, the leader of the Eleatic school, the appearance of movement and the existence of separate objects in the world are mere illusions; they only seem to exist. Though Shakespeare does not show signs of believing in such perceptions he does incorporate some of it into his writing. When expressing the profound guilt and confusion felt by Macbeth, he often revealed that life was but an illusion to the character involved, that all is but insignificant peripherals on the shore of eternity.

The ideas of Socrates, with whom Greek philosophy attained its highest level, avowed that his purpose was “to fulfill the philosopher's mission of searching into myself and other men.”

Socrates described the soul not in terms of mysticism but as “that in virtue of which we are called wise or foolish, good or bad.” In other words, Socrates considered the soul a combination of an individual's intelligence and character. Shakespeare believed little in intelligence and its effect on the soul but he does believe in certain mysticism surrounding it, contrary to what Socrates might believe. Yet, he does share the common faith that the soul is a direct result of a man’s character, that it’s purity is maintained by the virtuous deeds that the man performs.

 



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