Ars Amatoria vs Heroides: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Separation, Latin Love poetry, Love-letters, Mythology, Poetry

Cover of Ars Amatoria

Ars Amatoria Ovid · 1494 ★★★★☆ 3.7 104 pages · ≈ 1 h 56 m · Demanding

Originally published Manchester: Carcanet, 2003.

Poesía Incantations Latin Didactic poetry Traducciones al español

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Cover of Heroides

Heroides Ovid · 1502 ★★★★☆ 4.1 304 pages · ≈ 5 h 38 m · Demanding

The "autres ouvrages" of Bachet are, "Virginis Deiparæ ad Christvm filium. Epistola. Nec non, & alia quædam poëmatia", and "Rime toscane"

Latin Epistolary poetry Latin language materials Epic poetry Classical Mythology

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The verdict

Readers rate Heroides highest: Heroides 4.1 · Ars Amatoria 3.7.
Ars Amatoria is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 5 for Heroides.
Ars Amatoria has the widest readership — 7917 ratings behind its score.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Ars Amatoria ≈ 1h vs 5h for Heroides Just want the better-reviewed one? Heroides 4.1 vs 3.7 from readers

Scores by source

	Ars Amatoria	Heroides
Goodreads	3.7 (7917)	4.1 (3927)
Hardcover	—	3.9 (7)

Reception

	Ars Amatoria	Heroides
Ratings	7917	3927
Editions	199	86
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	13054	7136
Reading it now	512	217
Written reviews	736	267
Wikipedia attention	3355	1537
Pages	104	304

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