Buy new:
-13% $15.59
FREE delivery Monday, May 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$15.59 with 13 percent savings
List Price: $18.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Monday, May 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Friday, May 17. Order within 41 mins
In Stock
$$15.59 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$15.59
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$11.60
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery May 22 - 24 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery May 21 - 23
$$15.59 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$15.59
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Ovid
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Heroides (Penguin Classics) Paperback – October 2, 1990

by Ovid (Author), Harold Isbell (Editor, Translator, Introduction)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 115 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$15.59","priceAmount":15.59,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"15","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"59","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"91DE%2FAFv2gc6eBbs9UAjbYEO0Y9Yh%2Fsd5euwtNhkYKJN4E7Axovhbzba3Y%2BKhFGe8oJJFdHMWk%2BSPJLZ2ilCMtXaaTAVMLSfUekzAsGIoKFZe7CIQbmt68J0GHdtK4f6uxzP%2BrsI8Lk%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$11.60","priceAmount":11.60,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"60","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"91DE%2FAFv2gc6eBbs9UAjbYEO0Y9Yh%2Fsdp9tZPRc%2Fgn%2B5cneMfYChHwlPEfFrX9l9F24pbIRmMHV84jXdIQhvDG8KJX2sv0Gfy4YJnD8ucTYdo62WNljQrIa4SiimifVfLcuRvQcM8JAwn%2BZBFbONUaG1r%2BQVi53PKU3xWa8qMtrTNsIeHm6%2F51DQZPJ9xbXZ","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

In the twenty-one poems of the Heroides, Ovid gave voice to the heroines and heroes of epic and myth. These deeply moving literary epistles reveal the happiness and torment of love, as the writers tell of their pain at separation, forgiveness of infidelity or anger at betrayal. The faithful Penelope wonders at the suspiciously long absence of Ulysses, while Dido bitterly reproaches Aeneas for too eagerly leaving her bed to follow his destiny, and Sappho—the only historical figure portrayed here—describes her passion for the cruelly rejecting Phaon. In the poetic letters between Paris and Helen the lovers seem oblivious to the tragedy prophesied for them, while in another exchange the youthful Leander asserts his foolhardy eagerness to risk his life to be with his beloved Hero.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    October 2, 1990
  5. Reading age
    18 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    7.77 x 5.05 x 0.7 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    9780140423556
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0140423556
  9. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Frequently bought together

Heroides (Penguin Classics)
$15.59
Get it as soon as Monday, May 20
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Metamorphoses (Penguin Classics)
$9.99
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The Art of Love (Modern Library Classics)
$15.00
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ovid (43 BC-AD 17) was born in central Italy. He was sent to Rome where he realised that his talent lay with poetry rather than with politics. His first published work was 'Amores', a collection of short love poems. He was expelled in A.D. 8 by Emperor Augustus for an unknown reason and went to Tomis on the Black Sea, where he died.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0140423559
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Reissue edition (October 2, 1990)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780140423556
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140423556
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.77 x 5.05 x 0.7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 115 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Ovid

Ovid

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Publius Ovidius Naso (Classical Latin: [ˈpʊb.li.ʊs ɔˈwɪ.di.ʊs ˈnaː.soː]; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known as Ovid (/ˈɒvɪd/) in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace 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. He enjoyed enormous popularity, but, in one of the mysteries of literary history, he was sent by Augustus into exile in a remote province on the Black Sea, where he remained until his death. Ovid himself attributes his exile to carmen et error, "a poem and a mistake", but his discretion in discussing the causes has resulted in much speculation among scholars.

The first major Roman poet to begin his career during the reign of Augustus, Ovid is today best known for the Metamorphoses, a 15-book continuous mythological narrative written in the meter of epic, and for collections of love poetry in elegiac couplets, especially the Amores ("Love Affairs") and Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love"). 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.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Ettore Ferrari [CC BY-SA 3.0 ro (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ro/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
115 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Philip
5.0 out of 5 stars Really amazing book!
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
Can't wait for the next book by this dynamic author. Really amazing book!
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Colin A. McKenzie
5.0 out of 5 stars best
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
Best version ever
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Carl Waluconis
5.0 out of 5 stars Hear from famous lovers and their problems as they write to each other
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2018
Suppose your mother was Helen of Troy, the "face that launched 1000 ships," etc. Of course everyone knows her. In today's language, she is the superstar. She famously abandoned you for a lover, which ignited a long, long war. You of course recognize your beautiful mother when you see her, but she asks which one is her daughter. Ovid always personalizes mythology. He was a Roman poet living during the time of Christ and exiled by the Emperor Augustus for inflammatory and erotic poetry. (Augustus found his rebellious daughter had Ovid's latest book.) "Metamorphoses" (Transformations) is a larger and greater collection than this, but in "Heroides" Ovid writes a collection of 21 letters from famous lovers (including Helen's daughter, Hermione). In first person, the myths become very personal, and sometimes there is a letter with a reply from the other lover. It is true that the Roman gods' and heroes' stories are as entangled and complicated as those of the Marvel super-heroes. However, the translator, Harold Isbell, provides all of the back stories in clear prose. Think of this as a book of short stories that you can pick up and browse as you want, and I think you will enjoy it more. You will hear from Penelope, Helen, Paris, Sappho (a poet), Leander, etc. They explore love, at times the sort of legal and human rights issues involved, but of course also explore the raw emotions involved. For example, Medea writes to Jason that though she hates herself for being "concerned for the good of a faithless husband", she does not know where her present anger will take her. "Let that be in the care of the god that prods me; I do not know for certain what is in my soul." Well, it wasn't very pretty what Medea did to Jason. If you want to be privy to intense conversation, it is hard to imagine letters being more personal that these.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Joey
4.0 out of 5 stars Off the beaten path
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
Many are acquainted with the Metamorphosis, but this work by Ovid is less celebrated. A beautiful bit of heartfelt writing, the Heroides is a collection of letters that Ovid imagines would have been written by tormented lovers to the ones they love, if they had a chance to write a letter.
He uses well known figures from mythology, such as Paris and Helen, as his inspiration.
A good book for those who enjoy love poetry and classical mythology.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
SEBASTIANVS
5.0 out of 5 stars very interesting book, but.....
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2001
I recommend this interesting book for everyone who is intersted in the "classical Greek & Roman world". However, I prefer to read it in the original Latin texts. And if you don't read the ancient Latin language well, I suggest you to read a volume(no.225) of the Loeb Classical Library.
14 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Guy Caballero
3.0 out of 5 stars Very Ordinary Melodramatic Letters from Thirsty Women
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2016
Verified Purchase
I'm reading this to make up for the fact that I basically blew off the reading for the course Literature Humanities when I was a student at Columbia University. It's on the reading list, or at least it was for the semester for which I found a syllabus.

This book is pretty dull. It's a bunch of letters from various characters in Greek history/mythology (the line is blurry). It's not interesting. There are no clever insights. It's not funny. It's not exciting. It's not moving. I don't understand why Ovid wrote it, or why people are impressed by it. On the up side, it's not the hellish torture of The Aeneid (possibly the most boring and long-winded book in Western literature).

I've read three letters. The characters who wrote them are Briseis, Penelope, and Phaedra. They feel rejected by men. Nothing here you can't get from a Taylor Swift song.

I assume the letters are more interesting if you're fluent in Latin, you read the original text, and you know absolutely everything about Greek literature. There must be some reason people like this book. I was unable to discern it.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Annette Cairns
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting view of the "women behind the scenes"
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2022
Verified Purchase
I must confess I had hoped for a more vivid description of the heroines' feelings and thoughts. However, the fact that a male author considered these women worthy of a whole volume is remarkable, considering the time in which it was written.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

John Mccutcheon
5.0 out of 5 stars Four and a half stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is an effective translation. These letters are a great idea well carried out. Almost all of the letters have some excellent turn of phrase, use of language or great idea, and sometimes a mixture of all three. This deserves to be better known.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Tasneem Faizullabhoy
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant :)
Reviewed in India on January 3, 2021
Verified Purchase
If you love Greek Mythology, and want to read more a different perspective- then Euripides is the one for you. This proto-feministic writing will introduce and reintroduce you to various characters that you have known from The Odyssey and so on.
Report
26letters
5.0 out of 5 stars ancient text, giving women a voice
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2022
Verified Purchase
Surprising read, Ovid writes fictional letters from the female point of view of found in Greek myths. These include Helen, Penelope, Madea, Dido, Ariadne.

I read this on kindle, the book’s published by Penguin and translated by Harold Isbell.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Pigkate
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't be more highly recommended.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2005
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent edition of an essential book by the best of the Roman poets (in my humble opinion, of course). Not only is the Heroides an entertaining and very easy-to-read collection of letters, but there is plenty of information provided should you be unfamiliar with any of the myths. Ovid explores the emotional and psychological nature of the principle characters of famous tales of lovers from ancient Greece and Rome, often retaining his renowned sense of playful irony and satire. I would highly recommend this book to anyone even vaguely interested in the literature of the ancient world.
17 people found this helpful
 Report
Nadine Mills
4.0 out of 5 stars I needed to get a copy of this on a ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2014
Verified Purchase
I needed to get a copy of this on a Bank Holiday weekend for an assignment, it did the job, was instantaneous and hopefully helped me pass my module :)
One person found this helpful
 Report