Most of the poetry that we read today have only one theme in them. But as in the case of the Odyssey, we can see that it has more then one theme. Although The Odyssey has many themes, loyalty has to be the best theme that is shown in the poem.
             In the second stanza of Homers The Odyssey it is written:
             "He saw the townlands
             and learned the minds of many distant men,
             and weathered many bitter nights and days
             I his deep heart at sea, while he fought only
             to save his life, to bring his shipmates home.
             But not by will or valor could he save them,
             for their own recklessness destroyed them all-
             children and fools the killed and feasted on
             the cattle of Lord Helios the Sun."
             In this sentence it is very ironic that Odysseus fights to save his life to save his ship mates even though that he can do nothing to save them. But even though Odysseus knew that no matter what he did he could not save his men, but he still tried. Irony is used in these lines so that loyalty to your friends can be shown to give a better understanding to the reader that Odysseus is loyal.
             In The Odyssey, Odysseus and the Achaeans arrive at Circe's Island where they can stay and live there forever in luxury with pleasure. But when Odysseus leaves he takes them with him so that they don't waste their lives there, and they don't even object to it. Homer uses a paradox here by showing that no matter what the Achaeans do they will either waste their lives or die. Odysseus shows loyalty to his men by not letting them waste their lives but rather die for a reasonable cause.
             In The Odyssey, Odysseus has to go pass the Sirens and the poem says.
             "The lovely voices in ardor appealing over the water
             Made me crave to listen, and I tried to say
             'Untie me!' to the crew, jerking my brows;
             but they bent steady to the oars. Then Perimedes
             ...