Homer chose to focus on the actions of his hero and not the hero's physical appearance because he:

Although i do not know exactly why, i can make an inference

while most stories describe the hero's appearance in detail, there is not much of an important role on describing how a character is wearing. in a story of a hero, appearance does not affect the story. the actions of the hero does. the action of the hero shows that he is truly a hero.

hope this helps! :)