Ovid, Heroides: A Selection

This is the OCR-endorsed publication from Bloomsbury for the Latin A-Level (Group 4) prescription of Ovid’s Heroides, giving full Latin text, commentary and vocabulary for Heroides I lines 1-68, and Heroides VII lines 1-140, with a detailed introduction that also covers the prescribed text to be read in English.

Ovid’s Heroides is a unique collection of poetry, in which famous mythological heroines write letters to the men who have abandoned them. They offer a new perspective on the otherwise male-centred mythological tradition. Heroides I (from Penelope) and VII (from Dido) respond to the most famous Classical epics, Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, by presenting a new, less positive, angle on the two famous epic heroes. Through his heroines’ unique voices, Ovid plays with literary tradition, inviting us all to take a side: epic heroism or loyalty in love?

Resources are available on the Companion Website.