The Iliad

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the work over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Though Paris is the one who brought Helen to Troy, Hector leads the Trojan army against the attacking Greeks.

• What does Hector symbolize, to the Greeks, to the Trojans, and even to the gods? (topic sentence)
• Choose three examples from the text offering different perspectives on Hector and connect them to your central argument.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect Hector’s character to the theme of Poetry as a Medium of Immortalization.

2. The Iliad begins with Achilles’s rage.

• How does Achilles as a character shift over the course of the epic? (topic sentence)
• What prompts Achilles’s actions throughout the poem? How do his responses change?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, consider what Achilles is remembered for and how he develops over the course of the text. Connect this to the theme of the Journey of the Hero.

3. We as readers know that Troy is doomed.

• What effect does this knowledge have on our reading experience? (topic sentence)
• Give examples from the text that appeal to our emotion and to our knowledge of the Trojan War’s end and connect them to your main argument.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect the reading experience you have described to the theme of the Fragility of Human Life and Creations.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The initial conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon is centered around the “possession” of a “prize” in Chryseis and Briseis, yet they remain mostly silent as characters. On the other hand, we hear from Andromache, Athena, Hera, Aphrodite, and other goddesses. Together, what is the role of women in the Trojan War? How do women shape the war and its conflict? How do they exert force over the male actors, even if the epic does not acknowledge them as it does its male heroes? Make an argument with a strong central thesis and use at least three examples from the text to support your argument.

2. Certain epithets are repeated throughout this text, and even some scenes are remarkably similar, such as the duels between Greek and Trojan heroes. What is the summative effect of this cyclicality? Use at least 3 examples to support your answer and, ultimately, connect your analysis back to the theme of Poetry as a Medium of Immortalization. How does repetition shape how heroes are remembered?

3. There are several occasions on which Zeus wishes to intervene to save a mortal, most notably when it comes to Hector, whom all of the gods seem to admire. Yet, he refrains from doing so, despite having interfered with the war frequently throughout its ten years. What is the relationship between gods and mortals? How do mortals entreat their deities and how do the gods respond? You could also consider more broadly, in myth, what this might suggest about ancient Greek society. Ultimately, make an argument that draws on at least three examples from the text to support your analysis and connect it back to the theme of the Fragility of Human Life and Creations.