Ovid's Heroides, written in Rome sometime between 25 and 16 BC, was once his most popular work. The title translates as "Heroines." It is a series of poems in the voices of women from Greek and Roman myth - including Phaedra, Medea, Penelope, and Ariadne - addressed to the men they love. Clare Pollard's new translation rediscovers Ovid's Heroines for the 21st century, with a cast of women who are brave, bitchy, sexy, suicidal, horrifying, heart-breaking, and surprisingly modern.
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[Dear Ulysses, you're late (PENELOPE TO ULYSSES)]***
(Bloodaxe Books, 2 December 2013, bought from Amazon)
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I adored Ovid's Heroines.
Pollard is one of my favourite poets, my idol and I love Green and Roman mythology so the combination of both was irresistible.
I'm mildly familiar with some of the tales recounted here and many of the women and heroes are familiar as well.
I thought Pollard's versions were well-written, giving a new dimension to the women and myths, a modern twist but not too modern, a fascinating contemporary flare. I found the poems thoroughly enjoyable.
