Readers should not confuse Odysseus' pride in identifying himself to the Phaeacian hosts with vanity. One's name and reputation are crucial in the Homeric world. When Odysseus states that his "fame has reached the skies" (9.22), he is merely stating fact, identifying himself. Reputation is of paramount importance in this culture. But his pride in his name foreshadows Odysseus' questionable judgment in identifying himself during the escape from Polyphemus.
The next four books (Books 9–12) deal with the hero's wanderings and are the most widely known in the epic. Odysseus does not discuss, at this point, why he was blown off course and unable to return directly to Ithaca. Phemius, the renowned Ithacan bard, outlines the tale early in The Odyssey (1.375–76) when he performs "The Achaeans' Journey Home from Troy." The details are not articulated there either, but the story of Ajax's attempted rape of Cassandra in Athena's temple and the lack of punishment meted out to him by the Greeks would have been well known by Homer's audience.
Many critics see Odysseus' wanderings as a series of trials or tests through which the hero attains a certain wisdom and prepares to be a great king as well as a great warrior. If so, then judgment seems to be a key. If Odysseus is to survive, he must ultimately become wise as well as courageous and shrewd.
