This is a closer view. What Homer imagined was based on the perceived reality of the rock, but he improved Nature. Homer did not see dead shapes, the outward letter, but Nature revealing itself.
Note the relationships: The "mother" ship with the "toy" ship. The boy with the toy ship. The mother with the child. Three similar relationships.
Even if a viewer of the painting does not consciously see the mother child silhouette, the image may still have an effect from our brain's unconscious processing.