Coptic

Abstract

Through the lens of translation, this sub-chapter discusses the broader relation between Coptic and Greek literature in Egypt. It highlights a series of other processes through which the two cultures engaged with each other and argues for a much more complex phenomenon than that of a one-way reception. Greek Christian literature was indeed essential to the formation of Coptic literary sensitivity, and literature in Coptic follows the norms and genres of the Greek canon, albeit often in a creative and original way. At the same time, Egyptian monastic tropes ultimately found their way into the heart of medieval Byzantine culture. The sub-chapter follows this process of cross-fertilization from the fourth century until the early centuries of Arab rule in the country, when Greek texts were still written, and Greek manuscripts were kept in Egyptian monasteries.