Book Details

This timely translation makes the particular pleasures of the Heroides available to the modern reader. The translations are lively and engaging; each verse letter is accompanied by detailed commentary that throws light on the situation of the individual speaker, and considers the position of that poem in the collection as a whole.

- Dr Mandy Green, Durham University, UK

This volume offers up-to-date translations of all 21 epistles of Ovid?s Heroides. Each letter is accompanied by a preface explaining the mythological background, an essay offering critical remarks on the poem, and discussion of the heroine and her treatment elsewhere in Classical literature. Where relevant, reception in later literature, film, music and art, and feminist aspects of the myth are also covered. The book also contains an introduction covering Ovid's life and works, the Augustan background, the originality of the Heroides, dating, authenticity and reception. A useful glossary of characters mentioned in the Heroides concludes the book. This is a vital new resource for anyone studying the poetry of Ovid, Classical mythology or women in the ancient world.