On Thursday, the U6 Latinists went to the Cranleigh Arts Centre to watch a performance of Ovid’s Heroides. The poems were translated and
performed by Claire Pollard, who, through her fluid and modern interpretation of the texts, brought the anguish of certain mythical women to life. The selections ranged from Medea’s anger at Jason, who betrayed her after she helped him get the Golden Fleece, to Oenone whom Paris had fallen in love with before he met Helen of Troy. It included Ariadne’s hurt after Theseus abandoned her at the island of Naxos, despite her helping him defeat the Minotaur, and Deianira who, unknowingly, poisoned her husband, Heracles.
The evening ended on a positive note, however, with Penelope, who, unlike all the other tragic women of the evening, was able to welcome her husband Ulysses back after his many years of war and wanderings. It was a wonderful evening and a great opportunity to engage with the poetry that pupils have been translating as part of their Verse Unseens.
Athina Mitropoulos
Head of Classics
