The Iliad Essay Topics & Examples

Essays helps you to get a deeper understanding of a literary work. The Iliad is an epic poem, tragedy, and war chronicle that provides endless opportunities for debates. Its themes, symbolism, imagery, and motifs raise exciting issues for your reflection.

Need to write The Iliad essay? This section prepared by Custom-Writing.org experts offers you the selection of top-10 questions for a writing assignment or discussion. There are also The Iliad essay topics with prompts. You can use them to write a paper of any level. All of the topics and questions are broad enough so that you can easily find the necessary quotes to support your opinion. There is also a list of examples for your inspiration and brainstorming.

🏆 The Iliad Essay Questions

1. How are the values of the ancient Greeks depicted in The Iliad? 
2. Ia Achilles an epic hero? 
3. What is the importance of setting in The Iliad? 
4. What is the genre of The Iliad? 
5. The Iliad: what do its opening lines mean? 
6. Who is The Iliad antagonist? 
7. What is the relationship between gods and humans in The Iliad? 
8. Why is The Iliad still important? 
9. What role does fate play in The Iliad? 
10. What is the importance of heroic code in The Iliad? 

💡 The Iliad Essay Topics with Prompts

1. Who is the main hero of The Iliad? Is he a likable character or an antagonist? Achilles’ actions hurt other people. Multiple people die because of his injured honor. Are the deaths his responsibility, or would they happen anyway? Do you feel empathy for the central character in The Iliad? 
2. The Iliad and The Odyssey: compare and contrast. You can focus on the time frame (The Iliad is about the Trojan War, while The Odyssey tells what comes next). The main characters of the poems are also different. How does the choice of the protagonist define the atmosphere in the literary work? 
3. The gods and their role in The Iliad. Are they the military diplomats or the source of conflicts for the mortals? The gods and goddesses decide the fate of humans and the outcomes of their undertakings. Does Homer introduce them to explain the incomprehensible random ways by which the world develops?  
4. The main theme of The Iliad. Friendship, war, loyalty, wrath, vengeance, and honor are shown to the readers from different perspectives. Still, anger is what drives the plot. The events that happen in Book 1 show that Achilles’ offense is the central conflict.  
5. The Iliad and its relation to The Odyssey. Both epic poems are traditionally attributed to Homer. Make an analysis of their similarities. The first is a tale of making war, and the second is the tale of heading back home, which offers the best comparison of The Iliad and The Odyssey so far. 
6. What are the roles women play in The Iliad? The argumentative essay should explore the different portrayals of female mortals and deities. Why does Homer address a goddess, not a god, in the introduction? What was the proper place for a woman during a war? How does it characterize Ancient Greek society? 
7. How did ancient people perceive death? When our dearest people die, we want to revenge. Numerous characters die and in The Iliad. The essay on death should explore the consequences of the demise of the essential characters. Why did the military forces try to keep their enemies’ bodies and dishonor them?  
8. Describe the Greek civilization in The Iliad. The essay shall analyze Homer’s literary techniques to represent the everyday life of people in those days. You can as well explore the symbol of Achilles’ shield as the representation of the Greek culture. 
9. Make a character analysis of Agamemnon in The Iliad. The essay should focus on the qualities of his leadership of the Achaean army. He is reckless and emotional. Does it interfere with his tasks as a commander? How does Nestor help him, and what is his role in the story? 
10. Make the comparison of the women in The Iliad and The Thousand and One Nights. The essay needs to analyze gender roles in the Greek and Arabic cultures in the context of the two books. Note that women’s image in The Arabian Nights evolves throughout the text. At first, they are just war prizes (as Chryseis and Briseis), but their role grows to be more important. 
11. Write an essay about love in The Iliad. Does it help the characters, or is it the source of all problems? Single out the types of love Homer describes. Find out the dynamics of these different feelings and their consequences. 
12. Is war a solution to any conflict? In The Iliad, any insult of honor entails a battle. Even offended gods seek revenge. Is it reasonable, or does the author lead us to the conclusion that it should be done differently? Explore Homer’s parallelism between war and peace. 
13. The moral lessons taught in The Iliad. Here you can discuss pride, anger, family relationships, respect, and disrespect between leaders and subordinates. Select two or three themes that apply to the same character and analyze them from their point of view. Conclude each theme analysis with a moral insight.  
14. Describe the image of the best warrior in the eyes of an Ancient Greek. Which qualities does he possess? Why are there no female warriors, while there are several powerful goddesses that participate in the battle? Explore the heroic code and its impact on ancient warfare. 
15. Which role does food take in The Iliad? Why does Homer describe the eating scenes in such detail? How is food associated with mortality? Associate meals with pyres: both are used to remember the dead. Why does Achilles eat with Priam in Book 24 but refuse to eat with his compatriots in Book 19? 
16. What is the purpose of theomachy in The Iliad? In the beginning, gods intervene in human battles taking sides and helping their favorites. How do the clashes among the deities lower the general tone of the epic? Does theomachy make gods more humane? 

📝 The Iliad Essay Examples

1. Insignificance of the Doloneia in Homer’s “The Iliad”
2. Iliad and Odyssey: Hector and Menelaus Comparison
3. Homer’s Iliad and Sophocles’ Three Theban Plays
4. Greek Heroic Motifs in “The Iliad”: Agamemnon and Priam
5. “The Iliad” as a Primary Source for Historians
6. Homer’s Portrayal of the Gods in the Iliad
7. Glory of War in the Homer’s “Iliad”
8. “The Iliad” by Homer: Using of Suppliancy
9. The Concept of “Therapon” in Homer’s “Iliad”
10. “Iliad” by Homer and “A Thousand and One Nights”: Comparison
11. Greek Concept of the “Therapon” in the “Iliad” by Homer
12. Decision Making in The Iliad
13. Homer’s “Iliad”, Its Effect and Relevance
14. Phoenix’s Speech in Book 9th of the Iliad
15. The Iliad’s Oral Tradition
16. Ancient Literature. Decision Making in Iliad by Homer
17. Supplication in the Iliad
18. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey — Comparison & Critique
19. The Iliad’s Helen and The Odyssey’s Penelope – Compare and Contrast
20. The Iliad and The Odyssey – Homeric Epics Analysis
21. Agamemnon in the Iliad: Character Analysis
22. Comparison: The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad
23. Andromache in the Iliad: Character Analysis
24. Comparing Achilles and Hector in the Iliad
25. Job’s God from the Bible and Greek Gods from Iliad
26. The Troy Film Inspired by Homer’s Iliad
27. Heroic Code in Homer’s Iliad
28. Achilles and Hector in The Iliad by Homer: Comparison
29. The Judgment of Paris in The Iliad: Analysis
30. The Image of Epic Heroes in Gilgamesh, the Iliad, and Beowulf
31. The Warrior Culture in “The Iliad” by Homer
32. The Aeneid, the Iliad and the Odyssey Literature Comparison

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