If others do not believe in him or do not believe what others say about him, then kleos does not exist. I think Odysseus knows that he had to maintain this extraordinary warrior composure to make people believe the stories they hear about him. Of course, he has the gods who help him and make these feats possible. However, if he didn't look right, people might just assume he had help from the gods and I believe it would be considered equivalent to using steroids to enhance sports performance. It would have been very strange and suspicious if Odysseus had not managed to draw his bow and then magically go boom. Or if someone came along and could even string it because it was just as strong. How Odysseus appears to others is vital to him maintaining his kleos and creating new ones. If he returned from his 20-year journey and looked like a thin, hungry beggar, no one would believe that he had beaten Polyphemus in intelligence or that he had managed to survive the mermaids. Athena had advised Odysseus on the best way to be reintroduced into his home. , it would be first to see what has changed. However the only way to do it would be to do it like a beggar. When Odysseus finally returned to Ithaca, Athena initially had him dress up to see what had changed in the 20 years he had been away. He spoke about everything with the shepherd Eumaeus