The comedy begins with a difference of opinion between Theseus and Hippolyta. Both of these characters are drawn from Greek mythology. Theseus was a great hero and king of the ancient Greeks, and Hippolyta was the Queen of the Amazons (a group of fierce women warriors). According to the myths, Theseus led his army against the Amazons and defeated them. He took Hippolyta as his captive, and later married her. Shakespeare takes this myth as the basis for this part of his story, but he develops the characters beyond the myths so that Hippolyta becomes a character who is emotionally much stronger than Theseus.
The story is set in ancient Athens, and Theseus is referred to as the Duke and leader and the land. In ancient times, however, Athens was a separate kingdom (or city-state) and Theseus would thus be its king. Shakespeare thus departs from the myth because his story is a fairy tale. The action occurs “once upon a time” in a magical land that has no specific geographic identity in the real world.
As Shakespeare begins his play, the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta is four days away. But Theseus here is like a vigorous young bridegroom. He is overly anxious for their wedding to occur, and four days to him seems like an awfully long time to wait. He expresses his feelings in a simile that also involves personification: