Read the excerpt from Part 1 of The Odyssey And this new grief we bore with us to sea: our precious lives we had, but not our friends. No ship made sail next day until some shipmate had raised a cry three times, for each poor ghost unfleshed by the Cicones on that field What theme is best revealed by this conflict? Sadness can destroy people. One must mourn before moving on Many lives are lost too soon in battle People are haunted by lost souls.