Heroides by Publius Ovidius Naso

Ovid's «Heroides» («Letters of the Heroines») stands as a unique and groundbreaking work within the realm of Roman poetry. Employing the epistolary genre, Ovid masterfully weaves the voices of mythical heroines, who embody the experiences of real women, into captivating lyrical monologues. These heroines pour out their heartfelt emotions, grappling with the anguish and despair caused by separation from their beloved men.
Ovid, a gifted psychologist and a virtuoso of rhetorical and declamatory poetry, paints a vivid portrait of the female psyche, teeming with a rich tapestry of emotions. His «Heroides» unfolds against the backdrop of the majestic macrocosm: the land, the sea, and the sky. This stark contrast accentuates the internal struggles and profound depths of the heroines' emotional turmoil.

Ovid's work echoes the voices of Greek tragedians, who, under the open sky, also sang of eternal themes: love and suffering. «Heroides» provides a platform for the feminine perspective on these timeless subjects, a perspective rarely encountered in ancient literature.