Dioscorus and the Question of Bilingualism in Sixth-Century Egypt

Although he has been called the 'worst poet in Antiquity', Dioscorus has paradoxically been studied above all for his poetry, which has been the subject of numerous works. ² Even Leslie MacCoull, a true campaigner for Coptic studies, devotes 89 of 159 pages to his Greek poetry, that is, more than half of her book nominally covering 'his work and his world'. ³ There has certainly been interest in his career, in his work as an advocate and in his wrangles with his bête noire, the pagarch Menas, and other elite figures; but without doubt, it has always been his 'Greek' culture and his library - also Greek - which have most often claimed scholars' attention. It is natural that his papers, admittedly an extremely rare collection for this period, should elicit their interest. They see Dioscorus as a typical example of sixth-century provincial elites, and an underlying idea persists in all that is written about him - that this 'Hellenism' (Dioscorus' mastery of which they evaluate, and the penetration and persistence of which they note in the 'retired' villages of the Empire - not without a touch of the Classicist's pride) was an acquired Hellenism, which to some extent precluded a natural style.