The Thief

Loyalty is defined as faithfulness that keeps someone from deserting or betraying another person or entity. In Chapter 4, Ambiades and Sophos argue about whether the old or new gods are the true ones, and Sophos says “a country with two sets of gods is like a country with two kings. No one knows which to be loyal to” (78). This is true of gods and kings but also of people, and through the relationships between the characters, as well as political and religious intrigue, The Thief explores what it means to be loyal on multiple levels.

Betrayal is the antithesis of loyalty. Though the betrayals present in the novel are not made clear until the very end, the actions and attitudes of Gen and Ambiades illustrate how people are loyal or disloyal to one another. Ambiades’s betrayal is the most obvious. From the beginning, he spies for a rival nation and puts the group in the path of peril, whether by slowing them down or directly navigating them into waiting soldiers. Ambiades’s loyalty is to himself first and to anyone who can improve his situation second. As a result, he does not inspire loyalty in those around him, which is why