Petruchio
According to early medieval folklore, Florentius was a knight who was ordered to find out what it is that all women most desire, and then marry the woman who had provided him the answer. Unfortunately for him, that woman turned out to be a foul, loathsome old woman. In case you’re wondering what it is that women most desire, it is — at least according to this medieval tale — to control what men desire. (For more on this, see “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales.)
The second reference is to sibyls, priestesses in ancient Greece who supposedly could foresee the future. According to one myth, the god Apollo became so enamored with one particular sibyl that he offered to grant her a wish — any wish. She reached down and picked up a fistful of sand and asked to live as many years as the number of grains she held.
Apollo granted the wish, but then explained that she was going age at a normal rate; if she also wanted to stay young, she would have to go to bed with him. She refused and was condemned to living for centuries as an old woman.
The final reference is to Xanthippe, the wife of the famous Greek philosopher Socrates. She was notorious for her nagging and shrewishness.
