Awakening

But Athena came close to him in the form of a young man, a shepherd, young and handsome, such as are the children of kings. Around her shoulders she had doubled a finely made cloak. Beneath her shining feet were sandals, and she had a spear.

Though it's exactly what Odysseus wants to hear, he still won't believe it until he has seen it with his own eyes. He needs confirmation this is Ithaca, but he's also in need of a different kind of confirmation from Athena, that is to say, his confidence can do with a boost.

It is a rugged island not fit for horses, but not so poor, though it is narrow. It grows prodigious quantities of wheat, and there is wine. The rain never fails, nor the blooming dew. It is a good land for pasturing goats and cattle. There is forest everywhere and watering holes that last whole year round. For this reason, stranger, the name of Ithaca has reached even Troy, ....

Hold on, a young male shepherd approaches with something around 'her' shoulders and on 'her' feet? Why would Homer make such an obvious error of pronouns? It seems reasonable to assume it must have been deliberate, a story-telling device, and presumably folk in Homer's era would have understood he meant wisdom arrived in the shape of a shepherd, a bright young man. The sharp shepherd informs Odysseus where he is:

When Odysseus wakes up on the little beach called Kypos, he refuses to accept he is on Ithaca and he's loudly complaining.

Odussey Book 13 line 215-219 Barry B Powell
Odyssey Book 13 line 227-237 Barry B Powell

Odysseus' return harbour

Kypos