The Aristophanes Scholia constitute a collective corpus of ancient and medieval commentaries on the comedies of Aristophanes, compiled over more than a millennium. The earliest layers derive from the work of Hellenistic scholars in Alexandria and Pergamum, notably Aristarchus of Samothrace in the second century BCE. Later grammarians like Didymus Chalcenterus in the first century BCE and Byzantine scholars contributed to this evolving tradition of annotation, which was repeatedly condensed and interpolated within the manuscript tradition.
These scholia exist as marginal and interlinear annotations in medieval manuscripts of Aristophanes' eleven surviving plays. They are not discrete works but a varied collection of notes attached to the texts. Their content includes glosses on obscure words, mythological and historical explanations, metrical notes, literary criticism, and paraphrases.
The scholia are paramount for the study of ancient comedy, preserving vast amounts of otherwise lost ancient learning. They offer fragments of lost plays, details of Athenian history and daily life, and insights into ancient literary criticism. They also provide a direct window into the methods of Hellenistic and later philology, serving as an indispensable tool for modern editors.
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