Heroides
Publius (Ovid) Ovidius Naso
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
The Heroides, also known as the Heroines, the Letters of the Heroines or simply as Epistles are a very famous collection of poems by Ovid, not only for their interesting subject - letters by famous mythological characters addressed to their beloved ones - but also because it's considered by some the first example of the Epistle as a literary genre - a statement made by Ovid himself in his Ars Amatoria. The book as we have it nowadays consists of 21 letters, divided in two parts. The first is composed of fifteen letters presented as if written by a female mythological character to her lover; the second part, also known as Double Heroides, brings three pairs of letters, being the first in each pair supposedly written by a hero, and the second one, the heroine's response to the first letter. Along the Metamorphoses and the Ars Amatoria, the Heroides were one of the most influential works of Ovid, not only in the Antiquity, but also throughout the Middle Ages and up to Modern times. (Summary by Leni) (5 hr 14 min)
Chapters
01 - Penelope to Ulysses | 9:56 | Read by Julie VW |
02 - Phyllis to Demophoon | 11:28 | Read by Anna Simon |
03 - Briseis to Achilles | 12:53 | Read by Philippa |
04 - Phaedra to Hippolytus | 11:28 | Read by Kalynda |
05 - Oenone to Paris | 12:03 | Read by Julie VW |
06 - Hypsipyle to Jason | 12:14 | Read by Anna Simon |
07 - Dido to Aeneas | 16:20 | Read by Julie VW |
08 - Hermione to Orestes | 9:13 | Read by SopranoHarmony |
09 - Deianira to Hercules | 12:26 | Read by MorganScorpion |
10 - Ariadne to Theseus | 13:07 | Read by Kristin Hughes (1974-2021) |
11 - Canace to Macareus | 9:33 | Read by Anna Simon |
12 - Medea to Jason | 15:37 | Read by Leni |
13 - Laodamia to Protesilaus | 12:17 | Read by Ransom |
14 - Hypermnestra to Lynceus | 12:13 | Read by Julie VW |
15 - Sappho to Phaon | 16:06 | Read by Anna Simon |
16 - Paris to Helen | 32:47 | Read by Graham Redman |
17 - Helen to Paris | 20:37 | Read by Philippa |
18 - Leander to Hero | 21:43 | Read by Andrew Coleman |
19 - Hero to Leander | 16:50 | Read by Julie VW |
20 - Acontius to Cydippe | 18:22 | Read by woggy298 |
21 - Cydippe to Acontius | 17:23 | Read by Kalynda |
Reviews
"I conjure you by the tears shed for your cruel departure...."
Jeremiah Gottwaldt
A timelessly beautiful work by one of histories great poets. No prior knowledge of classical literature or myth are needed for Ovid's verses to move you as deeply as they will no doubt, if you've ever been in love. Readers throughout are excellent for the most part and a few mispronunciations notwithstanding they imbue line after line with enough longing and passion to really make you feel the emotion of the words. I would recommend this to anyone whether you are new to poetry or not.
I will listen to this again and again.
Andrea Laskis
I picked this randomly and am happy I did. These letters are full of passion and are a must read for every romantic soul.