The
Heroidesare the third work in chronological order by Publius Ovidius Naso, coming after the
Amoresand the lost tragedy
Medea. The grammarian Priscian (
Gramm. Lat. 2.544 Keil) mentions the work as
Heroides, which is perhaps the title given by the poet (or
Heroidum liber). However, at
Ars3.345 Ovid refers to this work using the term “Epistula: vel tibi composita cantetur Epistola voce” [“Or an Epistle tunefully recite”, trans. A.D. Melville]. Perhaps the full title used by Ovid was
Epistulae Heroidum, a title which fully corresponds to the first part of the collection, comprising letters by women (see below), but not to the second, which comprises letters by men as well (see below).
The work is written in elegiac couplets and consists of two parts: the first part contains
2387 words
Citation: Michalopoulos, Andreas. "Heroïdes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 May 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4766, accessed 02 December 2024.]