Heroides: lettere d'amore

by Ovid, Angela Cerinotti (Translator), Ovidio

Il titolo di questa originale opera di Ovidio Eroine, sembra assegnare alla donna, appoggiandosi al mito e alla leggenda, un tipo di eroismo alternativo a quello che i maschi conquistano sul campo di battaglia o nelle prove di forza: l'amore. L'amato, l'amante, lo sposo sono lontani e lo strazio della separazione, fatale o voluta, è il motivo sotteso delle "lettere" che Ovidio immagina scritte da queste donne appassionate, interamente votate alla causa di un sentimento su cui si misura la loro identità.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Mythology, Fiction, Greek Mythology, Ancient History, Ancient

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 17

About the author

Publius Ovidius Naso (20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horatius, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists. Although Ovid enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime, the emperor Augustus exiled him to Tomis, the capital of the newly-organised province of Moesia, on the Black Sea, where he remained for the last nine or ten years of his life. Ovid himself attributed his banishment to a "poem and a mistake", but his reluctance to disclose specifics has resulted in much speculation among scholars.
Ovid is most famous for the Metamorphoses, a continuous mythological narrative in fifteen books written in dactylic hexameters. He is also known for works in elegiac couplets such as Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") and Fasti. His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology today.

Reviews

[Jola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Evan Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

For mythology buffs, these poems are pure joy. The Heroides are a collection of 21 poems written from the perspective of heroines and heroes of epic and myth (the original "fan fiction?"). Written in the first person, each poem is addressed to the writer’s lover. The literary device most commonly deployed by Ovid is tragic irony. While the characters writing the poems do not know the outcome of the story, the reader (presumably) does. Ovid is able to give each writer their own unique voice, and displays a sharp understanding of human nature throughout the poems.

To really get the most out of the poems, a working knowledge of Greek mythology is a must. Most of the poems were published around 15 b.c., so Ovid could safely assume that the stories surrounding these characters were common knowledge to his audience. He therefore wastes little time in setting up backstory between the characters within each poem. The translation contains a glossary & index which provides a brief summary of the relevant mythology, but it's safe to say that you'll probably enjoy a letter from Penelope to Ulysses more if you're familiar with the Odyssey, for example.

There's really not a subpar poem in the bunch. V (Oenone to Paris), X (Ariadne to Theseus), XII (Medea to Jason), XIII (Laodamia to Protesilaus), XVI (Paris to Helen) and XVII (Helen to Paris) were some of my personal favorites. The conceit of giving a realistic, human voice to these famous heroes and heroines is a great one, and the execution is top notch. This is a worthy companion to the more famous Metamorphoses, and should not be missed by fans of mythology and Roman literature alike. 4.5 stars.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 21 poems of the Heroides, Ovid inserts himself into classical myth and epic by interjecting letters written by the heroines of larger stories. So, for example, he has Penelope write to Odysseus while he is lost on his way back to Ithaka from Troy; Dido to Aeneas after he has left Carthage for Rome; Briseis to Achilles after she has been passed to Agamemnon etc.

Usually lauded as giving a `female' voice to masculine epic, the Heroides, I think, is doing something more complex than that - and we should never forget that these `female' voices are as ventriloquised by a male author as their originals.

These poems were hugely popular in the Renaissance and gave rise to a large number of translations as well as looser imitations such as Marlowe's superb Hero and Leander, based on Heroides 18 & 19.

I think a fairly close acquaintance with the source text(s) is essential to really `get' these poems but for an alternative reading of classical epic in Augustan Rome they are illuminating.

[Diana Willemsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 ster. Mooie ver- en hertaling!

“En toen mijn stem het opgaf steunde ik mijn klagen
met luid misbaar, zweepslagen van verdriet. Als jij
dat niet hebt willen horen, had je me tenminste
toch kunnen zien.”

Prachtig, eigentijds en toch eer doende aan de oorspronkelijke tekst. Maar wat zijn de aangeschreven mannen, misschien zelfs Ovidius zelf, lul de behangers.

[Iulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ovidiu e poetul erosului practic. El iubește femeia, punct. Culmea, s-a dovedit a fi pe înțelesul meu. Oamenii nu diferă mult acum față de primul secol. Volumul de față conține poezie în felul următor:
Heroide sunt scrisori de dragoste și jale ale eroinelor mitice adresate iubiților. Amoruri, sunt poeziile personale ale lui Ovidiu în care își mărturisește sentimentele. Arta iubirii, preferata mea, e o carte în 3 părți, plină de sfaturi de cucerire și flirt. Jocuri toxice și mixt signals din secolul I, pline de haz. Și totuși unele dintre ele sunt foarte pertinente. În Remediile iubirii, Ovidiu te sfătuiește cum să scapi de patima iubirii și în cosmetice, îți face un tutorial de make-up.
Păcat că el credea că din cauza acestor scrieri a fost exilat. Încă nu înțeleg de ce...

[Y · Rating 1 out of 5]

A horrible fan fic.

[Володимир Демченко · Rating 5 out of 5]

Одна з недооцінених речей в творчості Овідія це голос жінки який звучить в його поезії. Абсолютна більшість того, що було написано з древніх часів і аж до…егегей, було написано чоловіками, про чоловіків, для чоловіків. Звісно, були рідкісні виключення, але як відомо такі виключення лише підтверджують правило. Але для Овідія це нитка яка проходить крізь всю творчість і «Героїди» це взагалі ні на що не схоже ні по формі, ні по змісту. Можливо сучасному читачу подібний підхід і видасться нормальним, проте впевнений Овідій в свій час мусив мати творчу сміливість щоб не просто описувати жінок, як це робили інші - чоловічими вустами і крізь чоловічі погляди, але віддати жінкам повну владу. Подивитись на ситуацію сповна їхніми очима. Показати зворотню сторону всіх цих чоловічих «подвигів» ціна яким була жіноче життя і честь.
Ну і самі твори написані…що це, я зараз буду вихваляти Овідія?) Думаю людська культура справилась і без мене

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd never thought about reading more by Ovid, and then I came across The Heroides while showing someone else the wonders of my city's central library. (Before I knew it, I had a stack of nine books in my arms, despite the fact I'm about to go visit my parents via train, meaning I can't carry that many books.) Anyway, I was delighted to find this, and it's a nice edition too, with explanations of all the myths and extensive notes (which for the most part I don't need, but which were a handy refresher when I couldn't quite remember) and introductions to each poem. The translation seems good to me, in that it's readable and flows well, and doesn't get in the way of experiencing the poems.

In a way it seems almost a modern, feminist thing to do, giving these female heroines the space to make their complaints (though some of the poems are 'written' by men, they are the ones paired with a female response). Penelope voices her worries about Odysseus' long absence -- something I remember all the girls in my class being offended about on her behalf, since he spends most of the time in Circe and Calypso's beds. Medea pours out her outrage, Dido her heartbreak; Phaedra tries to manipulate Hippolytus into her arms. Not all of them are exactly wonderful women -- Medea is downright wicked -- but they're all given a chance to speak of their pain and the wrongs done to them.

[Anisha Inkspill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition is a modern translation of a collection of poetry as fictional romantic letters. These are from mythical female characters who express their love, betrayal, abandonment or pain.

This work by Ovid is different from Metamorphoses. I was knocked back with how progressive this book is for its time. It was just wonderful to read the fictional hypothesis that gave (for example) Penelope’s point of view and made her seem more real to me. When reading Homer’s The Odyssey, the impression I was left of Penelope is a patient, understanding and loyal wife with Odysseus who leaves her for ten years with no word. Ovid paints a different picture, and it doesn’t stop with Penelope, there’s also Helen, Dido, Ariadne and Medea amongst others.

Aside from the wonderful poetry and giving these fictional women a voice, I also really liked how in reading this gave me a new way to look at these stories, I’m really pleased to have discovered this read.

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Héroïdes
By Ovid (43BC – AD17)

The Heroides is a work that could be seen as revenge by the female characters in Greek Mythology and especially in Homer’s Odysseus and Iliad.
Voice is given in form of letters to the wife’s, betrothed, betrayed and loving girls left behind when their men went to adventurous wars and explorations around the Mediterranean.
Homer pays little attention to the female actors in his tales.
Ovid instead makes them freely express all the frustrations they suffer, left behind too long, alone.
The wife known for her unfailing loyalty and faithfulness sends a letter to her husband:
- “Penelope to Ulysses: do not answer these lines, but come, for Troy is dead and the daughters of Greece rejoice.” …
-Phyllis to Demophoon: “Phyllis sends her complaint to Demophoon: you have not kept your promise to me.” …
-Briseis to Achilles: “the words you read come from stolen Briseis, an alien who has learned some Geek. A few of these lines are blurred by falling tears, tears which are as heavy as my words.” …
- Phaedra to Hippolytus: “A girl from Crete sends her greetings to a man who is the son of an amazon.” …
-Oenone to Paris: “Will you read? Does your new wife forbid? Read on, no Mycenean has written this.” …
- Hypsipyle to Jason: “Your keel is said to be safe in Thessaly and you are rich with the golden fleece. As much as I can applaud your safety, though the message should have come from you.” ….
- Dido to Aeneas: “…After the loss of all that is mine, good name, chastity of both body and soul, a loss of words is not important.” …
- Hermione to Orestes: - Deianira to Hercules: - Ariadne to Theseus – Canace to Macareus: - Medea to Jason: - Laodamia to Protesilaus: - Hypermestra to Lynceus: - Sappho to Phaon: - Paris to Helen: - Helen to Paris: - Leander to Hero: - Hero to Leander: - Acontius to Cydippe: -Cydippe to Acontius: -
Many heartbreaking stories are revealed.
Ovid provides the reader with an introduction to each situation and notes after the letters to explain who is who, where and when. The reader will gain or will be reminded of many chapters of Greek Mythology.

[Catalina Díaz C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

♾️⭐️ lo emocionadaaa que estoy por este libro, es realmente el libro perfecto para mi y definitivamente de mis favoritos si no EL favorito 🥹 probablemente no va a generar esta reacción en todos los que lo lean, pero a mi por distintos motivos me tocó mucho 🫶🏼 son cartas escritas ficticiamente por un poeta romano importante que se hace pasar por las heroínas ✨ de la mitología griega enviando cartas a personajes hombres, ya sea enamoradas, desconsoladas, enojadas (hay mucho female rage) y dan a conocer las voces de las mujeres que pocas veces fueron tomadas en cuenta por los poetas griegos. gracias por tanto Ovidio 🤍🏛️

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5

[Cassandra Kay Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ovid you are truly a master. Your poetry always reaches all the places in my heart and touches me deeply. I can absolutely sympathize with the women and men in these works. Love is complicated, love lost leaves much to scorn and curse in this world. Circumstance is the root of so much mischief and so much heartache, this and the fickleness of men. Absolutely beautiful. .

[HCE · Rating 4 out of 5]

i know y’all love y’all modern retellings but Ovid was already giving mythological women a voice back in classical times!!

vond Phyllis aan Demophoön, Oenone aan Paris, Ariadne aan Theseus en Laodamia aan Protiselaüs heel mooi! Penelope aan Odysseus is lachen en Acontius aan Cydippe is ronduit belachelijk (voor Acontius)

[Daniel Chaikin · Rating 4 out of 5]

31. Heroides by Ovid, translated by Harold Isbell
original date: circa 16 bce
translated 1990
format: Paperback
acquired: Half-Price Books in October 2016
read: July 8-22
rating: 4

There are, apparently, many different Ovids, or he was a writer who worked in multiple distinctly independent styles. I would have said that differently if I hadn't started Metamorphoses before reviewing, and I would have had a vastly different impression of this if I hadn't read Amores and The Art of Love beforehand. Ovid's love poems introduced me to a hyper-witty and hyper-clever really knowledgeable but insincere poet. This was not that voice.

Heroides is a collection of letters written mainly by spurned heroines in Greek mythology to lovers. Fifteen of the letters come from the likes Penelope, Ariadne or Medea, or more obscure women like Laodamia to Protestilaus or Canace to Marcareus. The sixteenth letter comes from Sappho. And six more are back and forth with lovers. Paris writes Helen to woo her, and Helen writes back with what amounts to something that is not no. And so on.

I'm sure the modern ear can find much to make fun of, and any reader in any age will easily pick up the many levels of satire. But, oddly, these aspects don't color these letters. On the surface they are sincere. The heavy satire is mostly in the situations, the set-up if you like. The letters themselves are straightforward... often romantic, even when or because they are bitter. And they are occasionally moving. Laodamia's letter to Protestilaus stands out. In mythology Protestilaus leaves for Troy shortly after their marriage, and becomes the first casualty in the Trojan war. He is brought back to life for three hours to see Laodamia, who afterward commits suicide. She writes this letter as an unknowing widow. I found it a memorable and touching letter of love, bitter in its irony and yet tangible. Phyllus writes to Demophoon who, when she fell for him only to be abandoned, was not only hurt, but ruined. And she writes longingly.

A note about the translator, Harold Isbell. There are many oddities about him that give me pause. He was a bank director, not a professor. He provides a summary of each major character, a wonderful resource, but they are iffy and partial summaries. Each is simplified leaving a clean and often appealing impression, but one that may contradict or disregard major versions of these stories. His citations of ancient literature are incomplete and a bit haphazard. And, despite all his notes, he never once brings up anything about the translation or original Latin. But, I really enjoyed reading this. So... ??

Ariadne to Theseus

You would have died in the twisting halls without
the string that I gave to be your guide.
You said to me, 'I swear by these perils that
as long as we live, you will be mine.'
We are alive, Theseus, but I am not yours;

---

Laodamia to Protestilaus

I'm told the winds detain you at Aulis;
where were these winds when you sailed from me?
Then the tides should have risen against your oars;
then was the time for a raging surf.
I could have kissed my lord and given him more
requests, I wanted to say so much.
But you were hurried away by a wind your
crew loved; it was not a lover's wind.

---

Leander to Hero (across the water)

she is so near, but 'almost' starts tears.

[Emi · Rating 4 out of 5]

he really went mask off- good for ovid!

i mean talk about the worst break up letter- you get dumped in the middle of the desert and are left there for dionysus to later pluck you from the sands and man handle you,,, this is athens' captain america bro?!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

immenso

[Leone Mattheus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik heb wat gemengde gevoelens bij dit boek. Aan de ene kant: het is Ovidius. Een van de grote namen uit de Romeinse literatuur, en dat voel je. Zijn taal, zijn stijl, zijn spel met emotie en mythologie: dat blijft indrukwekkend. Maar aan de andere kant wringt er iets een beetje. De manier waarop vrouwen worden neergezet: verlangend, afhankelijk, vaak lijdend om mannen die hen vervolgens weer in de steek laten, voelt vandaag behoorlijk misogeen en soms zelfs frustrerend. Moet je een klassieker automatisch goed vinden enkel omdat hij een klassieker is? Ik twijfel.

[Stella]

0,5/5 ✨️
Women from a man's prospective<<<<<

[Benji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pro's : Very accessible, very personalized portraits, genuine emotion and insightful that is missing in most mythology. Even better is the Woman's vantage point in all the letters

Con's : Repetitive after a certain point. A lot of time is spent explaining the myths that the letters touch, which is both bad and good.

This book... if you are a person that has a semi-interest in mythology but find much of it too dry, this is the book that rips open the stuffiness, the tight Victorian corset placed on the stories over time but that also had its own dryness in the 2000 year old writing style.

When you read this; however, that's all gone. You read in the words of the characters themseves through these epistles, these unbearably earnest and insightful letters between characters.

One of them goes like this, for example: How can people call you a hero when you have left me and the life of your own wife to wasted? What glory is that? How can I congratulate you on your courage fighting the three headed dog when I only spend my time imagining how close I came to losing you?

Highly recommended, it is especially good because the letters come in small chunks and can be served alone. Previous mythology experience isn't necessary.

[Nataliia Osadcha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Я люблю античну літературу. І, якщо ви читали мої попередні відгуки, то знаєте: у моїй бібліотеці чимало книжок про міти та античні історії.

Героїди — це дуже цікавий задум: листи мітологічних героїнь до своїх коханих. Тут пишуть Пенелопа, Федра, Аріадна, Дідона та інші жінки, яких ми знаємо з мітів.

Але мушу чесно сказати: деякі листи мені не сподобалися.
Часто це виглядає не як історія кохання, а радше як емоційно надривна залежність. Багато героїнь постають у ролі нещасних, покинутих жінок, які чекають і страждають. Іноді це виглядає настільки трагічно й жорстоко, що читати стає навіть трохи моторошно.

Особливо здивувала інтерпретація історії Сапфо. Складається враження, що автор ставиться до неї не надто прихильно. Через це мимоволі виникає думка: можливо, й інші листи — це не просто переказ мітів, а авторська інтерпретація, де образи героїнь змінені.

Особисто мені подекуди відчувалося певне приниження жіночих персонажів. Можливо, це лише моє суб’єктивне сприйняття, але образи цих "бідних і нещасних ждунів" мене не дуже зачепили.

Втім, як і в більшості видань античних текстів, дуже допомагають вступна стаття та примітки — вони дають контекст і дозволяють краще зрозуміти міти та історії, на які посилається автор.
І кожна із жінок по-своєму особлива.

[Dani Dányi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So here's the deal: Ovid the prominent Roman author does a concept piece on heroines of Old Greek mythology, voicing their (as yet unvoiced) perspectives in full literary drag, and also happens to invent a new genre. The poems were a big hit back then, and while widely criticized by classicists for being, well I suppose not in line with the classicist aesthetic, it's come full circle to the late 20th or rather early 21st century, in a well accessible translation by Clare Pollard.
Her introduction raised some high hopes, and fifteen roleplay epistoles later, it appears that Oviid and Pollard delivered. Though not in the sense I expected.
There 1s a lot going on in terms of contemporary pop culture, with plenty of reference to gods, celebrities, and other storylines. But ultimately, with all the skill and verse paraded, this still gets monotonous, at least as bad as all the "men's" narratives of battles and heroics and near-escape-victories. Pollard does just enough to update the terms and language, so the stories, rants and asides do talk to the reader. Actually, reading a few poetic, stagey speeches from jilted and/or abandoned lovers and wives is interesting, but with fifteen you start reevaluating what Ovid was getting at here.
There's an obvious pattern, with all these wives and girlfriends being dumped or left behind in favor of adventures and battle. It's all very justifiably, agonizingly unfair, from said women1s points of view- after all, breakups can hurt a lot, and ghosting is probably as bad as it gets. Much rather than a sort of early women's blues catalog, this seems to me more like a demonstration through repetition, of how the laments pile up, the damage gets done over and over, and the sum ends up more than its parts. Fair play, Ovid, it's a good a start as any to put a hammer against the ceiling.
So, classic.

[Stella Starlight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harrie Geelen hertaalde Ovidius' 'Heroiden' (fictionele brieven van vrouwen uit de Griekse mythologie die aan hun afwezige helden schrijven) heel leesbaar voor leken zoals ik. Deze paperbackversie (tevens de enige versie die er uitkwam) heeft zelfs een leeslint: fijn.

In 2022 las ik Geelens hertaling van Metamorphosen, ook van Ovidius' hand. Daar vond ik Geelen chaotisch in zijn leestekens, en de meer dan 200 tikfouten waardoor er cijfers tussen letters staan, of zelfs onherleidbare tekens, hielpen toen ook niet mee.

In dit boek staat op de linkerbladzijde de tekst in het Latijn, rechts de herhaling van Van Geelen.
Ofschoon ik de hertaling niet kan vergelijken met het Latijn (ik lees het niet) meen ik te kunnen stellen dat Geelen altijd kiest voor moderne teksten, aangezien ik niet denk dat een woord als 'opgetut' destijds bestond!

We boffen als lezer maar dat Harrie Geelen op zijn oude dag (hij is 86!) ons nog zulke mooie boeken schenkt.

[Loulou11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certaines lettres sont universelles, elles m’ont touchée en plein cœur…

[Saimi Korhonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

”I qm courage then. I am a famous throne. If I did not love a heart like yours, I would be made of iron; but iron I am not, believe me, though I resist loving one I have decided can hardly be mine.”

Heroides is (mostly) a collection of letters from famous women of greek/roman mythology to the men they are in love with. There's letters from ladies such as Penelope, Medea, Dido and Ariadne. The letters are love poems - some are more romantic and wistful and full of longing, while some are angry rants over how the men used and betrayed the women in their lives. It's an interesting collection since these are some of the very few ancient texts that are fully from a woman's point of view: you get a deep dive into these women's minds, thoughts and feelings, which is quite cool.

As with all collections of poetry or shorter pieces of writings, some of these poems were amazing, brilliant and will stay with me, while some were just okay. For example, I absolutely adored this book's take on Helen of Troy - her poem was probably my favorite version of Helen ever written: I love how the complexities of her emotions and thoughts really came out in this letter - she was at the same time insulted that Paris would think she would just leave everything behind for him, flattered by Paris's adoration and compliments, determined to resist him and remain a good, moral woman and wife, and falling for him. I loved how angry she was. I also really liked Ariadne's heartbroken, bitter letter to Theseus (I dislike Theseus quite a bit so whenever someone roasts him, even a little bit, it makes me quite happy) and Medea's letter to Jason that was an intriguing mix of threatening and pleading. But as I said, some poems were more meh than others: I didn't hate any one of them, but some, like Deianeira's letter to Hercules, were more forgettable.

I would definitely recommend this collection, especially if you are interested in the women of greek and roman mythology and want to read ancient texts from their point of view. I also think the poems are just generally quite beautifully written and they are definitely very emotional and dramatic - if you like overflowing declarations of endless passion and all that stuff in your poems, I think you'd like this collection!

[Luke Arden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book asks the question, "What would Greek and Roman myth look like if women had written the stories?"

In Heroides, Ovid imagines a series of letters written by (mostly) female characters from Homer and other classical authors, to their absent lovers, the men who abandoned them.

The translation is clear and graceful, with meter but not rhyme:

Troy has fallen, the city that Greek girls detest.
Priam’s whole kingdom was not worth the price.

The preface is worth reading. In one section, the writer describes how Ovid's work has features in common with modern fan fiction because of his use of characters and events from other writers.

Ovid presents women's voices in a way that was uncommon for his time. It's surprisingly modern. Heroides means "Heroines." Here, like Aristophanes in Lysistrata and Eurpides in The Trojan Women, women tell us at length of the disruption and suffering that men's ambition can cause. An epic hero never became one by settling down.

“And people are saying that when dawn breaks tomorrow
you will spread your sails to the misty south wind.
I was terrified when this disastrous news reached me,
my heart drained of blood, my senses numb.
You are going, and to whom, cruel heart, will you leave me?
Who will console me in my misery?
May the earth crack open and swallow me whole,
may a thunderbolt consume me with fire...”

These are lamentations that we've heard from women in all ages. When fortune, glory, power, or pleasure call, men suffer acute tunnel vision.

If you enjoy the classics, you might enjoy reading at least a few of the Heroides. You might think of them as Homer's Extended Scenes.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Davvero interessante leggere alcuni famosi miti dal punto di vista femminile sottoforma di epistole.
Sembra strano, ma gli argomenti e il modo in cui essi vengono trattati rendono questo libro quasi moderno e attuale, piacevolissimo da leggere.
È bello constatare il modo in cui Ovidio si immedesima in queste donne mitiche e come le rende finalmente protagoniste delle loro storie.
Consiglio di ripassare brevemente i miti di ciascuna protagonista per aver meglio presente il contesto delle lettere.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once I found out Ovid wrote an epistolary book from the perspective of such important figures as : Helen, Paris, Leander, Madea, I just had to read it. So we finally know how to woe, to faint modesty, voice despair, threaten as only the ancients could (with a heavy dose of passion and misogyny). This was a good book if you're a fan of Greek mythology, but are not fluent in each protagonist's story since the letters themselves often make notice of the royal lineage and history of the lover so as to give more importance to his/her suit. Depending on the sender, the letter either explores unrequited love, incest, betrayal, the validity of a vow and so much more. This translation makes for a quick read and I look forward to other books by the author.

[trestitia ⵊⵊⵊ deamorski]

koskoca ovidius'u heroides (kitabın adı) yapmışsınız asdfasads
nys yazıverdim gruba düzeltilmesi için.
iyi güldüm gece gece :D

[Mackenzie Clevenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 - this work is difficult to rate because while I did enjoy some of the poems within, there were also some I didn’t find as interesting, although I do think that Ovid’s want to explore some of the mythical heroines and speak from their perspective is intriguing.
I appreciated the spread of heroines featured in this collection was well, as there were some that are very familiar, some not as well known, some sympathetic, and some certainly not. These personality differences did allow each poem to feel unique, which I appreciate sing it would have been very easy for several of these to feel extremely similar to one another. I think my favorites were “Deianira to Hercules,” “Ariadne to Theseus,” and “Helen to Paris” as I thought the voice that Ovid adopted for each of these heroines, and thus the way they characterized the man they were speaking to was really interesting. Along these lines, I also noticed in the preface for many of the poems that Ovid fabricated information that wasn’t originally part of the myth, and it makes me wonder why he felt the need to do that. Is it because he wanted to portray a certain personality that the confines of the original myth wouldn’t allow? I’m not sure, but I did think it was surprising how many of these heroines did seem different from how they existed in their original material.
I also want to note that some of the preface information (which essentially just summarized what you were about to read and the tone of the poem) didn’t actually seem to line up with how I interpreted the poems and didn’t always provide context that I thought would be important. For example, in “Medea to Jason” there was no mention of Love shooting Medea with his arrows to help ensure Jason’s victory, a crucial detail when discussing Medea’s later insanity and her lack of choice in her relationship with Jason. The editor just made it seem like she was crazy with jealousy at and anger, which she was, but it was more because of the gods’ influence than her own individual volition. In most of these poems there seemed to be a lack of knowledge about how the gods were manipulating certain situations, and while I can understand the characters themselves not realizing this influence, I did find it strange that the introductions didn't provide this context.
I was interested when I first heard about this collection how Ovid was going to approach giving these heroines voices, and while it's definitely obvious he took some creative liberties, I also think he put forth some complex characters that can shed an alternate light on these women.