Theme of Odyssey

A reoccurring theme in The Odyssey is that its important to listen to your superiors instead of acting out of one's own selfish desires.

In book 12, Homer shows that when the crew is selfish and ignores Odysseus's commands, bad things happen. Odysseus explains "keep your hand off all these herds or we will pay the price!" The crew ends up disobeying his orders and eats one of the cattle, coincidentally, the crew all die a horrible death. This event shows that one should listen to their superiors because Odysseus gave his crew instructions for their own good, but they acted greedily and all died.

The book 19 shows how Odysseus spares those loyal to him, because they had listened to him. At the beginning of this book, Odysseus says "I'll stay here behind to test the women, test you mother too." This shows that Odysseus is concerned for those still loyal to him, and must find out who is and who isn't.

In book 22, It is explained that showing loyalty to the ruler is better than being greedy. During this scene, Odesseus and Telemacus kill all of the suitors and all of the slaves who were disloyal to him. This explains that if someone chooses greed over service to his ruler, they are sure to have a bad time.

There are many instances in The Odyssey where loyalty to one's leader is better than greediness