1. “Reminders” translates the word hupomnēmata, a word that often refers to texts written for the purpose of preserving a record of something—what we might call “memoranda.” Frede has made the use of this word in this letter a key point of his argument against the letter’s authenticity (Burnyeat and Frede 2015, 20, 24–25), and has in turn made the alleged inauthenticity of this letter a key point in his argument against the authenticity of the whole Letters (23–24). His argument hinges upon the claim that “the meaning or use of this term [viz. hupomnēmata] is rather difficult to determine and to explain. One thing which is clear is that it excludes dialogues and speeches,” a claim that he bases on a line in Diogenes Laertius. But this supposition is mistaken. As noted by Pappas (2017, 40–41), Plato evidently suggests that his dialogues may have the purpose of being such “reminders” at Phaedrus 276d3; consider also 278a1. The same word appears three other times in the Letters: once just below at 359d6, and also in Letters Seven (344d9) and Thirteen (363e4). The instance in Letter Seven especially should be compared with the passages of the Phaedrus cited.

2. It is not known who these Myrians were. It is possible that the Greek word here is not the demonym “Myrians,” but the adjective of identical spelling, murioi, literally meaning “ten thousand,” and figuratively something like “countless” (as the English “myriad”). It would be no clearer to us, however, who these “myriad” ancestors were than if the correct reading were “Myrians.” See Harward 1932, 230n2; Burnyeat and Frede 2015, 19.

3. Or, possibly, “those who emigrated” (exanastantōn).

4. As Frede explains, “Laomedon is obviously the king of Troy, father of Priam, repeatedly referred to in the Iliad, but also for instance in Apollodorus’s Biblotheca. . . . [He] hired Apollon and Poseidon to build the walls of Troy, but once they had finished the task he refused to pay them; whereupon Poseidon sent a terrible sea monster which could only be appeased by being offered Laomedon’s daughter Hesione. Heracles agrees to kill the sea monster, and thus to save Hesione, if Laomedon gives him his horses. Heracles kills the monster, but Laomedon refuses to give him the promised horses; Heracles with an army captures Troy. In the aftermath of this Priam becomes king of Troy. So there are two falls of Troy: the one under Laomedon and the other under Priam. So the Μύριοι are obviously people who leave Troy in the events which lead up to the first fall of Troy or after this fall” (Burnyeat and Frede 2015, 19–20).

5. On “the guarding” (tēs phulakēs), see Harward’s note ad loc.: “φυλακῆς has been explained as a reference to Plato’s guardians in the Republic. It is more likely that the word simply means the custody of the notes. We may suppose that Plato and Archytas were agreed that notes on important philosophical questions ought not to be allowed to fall into the hands of such a person as Dionysios.”