Introduction

This chapter provides essential preliminary observations on ancient commentaries, such as Philodemus's commentaries and philosophical works that introduce terms like hypomnemata and hypomnematikon. Peri Parrhesias, central to this investigation, functions as a commentary on commentaries by reproducing his teacher's lectures. The chapter also focuses on Didymus the Blind's commentary on grammatical aspects to clarify biblical texts and Olympiodorus's commentary that combined philosophical insights with linguistic explanations. The chapter discusses grammatical commentaries that are aimed at different education levels and that addressed elementary aspects such as punctuation, meter, and grammar. It highlights the role of commentaries in transmitting ancient texts and the influence of scholars like Aristarchus and Didymus Chalcenterus.