"In Diachronic Dialogues: Authority and Continuity in Homer and the Homeric Tradition Ahuvia Kahane considers central aspects of Homer's poetry: truth, knowledge, gender, virtue and the heroic code, authorship, memory and song, diction, and formula. Kahane makes the case for performative, rather than essential, values in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Performativity allows Homeric epic form to enact diverse claims and agendas in specific historical, cultural, and political contexts."--Jacket.