In antiquity and the Middle Ages, there were precise rules for writing letters, and anyone who deviated from them would simply not be understood, considered ignorant or insulting. The ancient Greeks attributed the invention of writing to individuals. The logographer Hellenicus considered the author of the first letter to be a woman, not unknown in history, Atossa, the daughter of the Persian king Cyrus II the Great. Herodotus described the introduction of written communication with his subjects by the Median king Deiocus. However, the oldest letters could, of course, have been written much earlier, for 2400-2200 years BC. Later, in the monuments of classical and Eastern literature, there is information about the letters of the Indian king Stratobates to Semiramis, David to Joab (letter of Uriah), King Praet of Argos to the Lycian ruler - the oldest references found in sources. From the earliest extant letters of antiquity, the letters of Isocrates, Plato and Aristotle are known. Since that time, the volume of correspondence has begun, is growing rapidly, and will probably continue to grow. Only according to preliminary estimates, history has saved us several million emails. The most prolific were among the Byzantine epistologists, that is, the authors of letters, Isidore Pelusiot, who wrote them in 2012, Libanius - over 2000 (1 - 544 are recognized as authentic), Michael Gavra-about 1400. Epistolography, this auxiliary historical discipline, which now firmly occupies its modest but honorable place in science, has also known fans of jokes. Mark. Junius Brutus, Philostratus, Isidore, and Symmachus probably wrote the shortest letters. The Pythagorean philosopher Apollonius of Tyana (I century) sent Musonius a letter of 3.5 lines (29 words) in size. On the contrary, Julius Caesar gave his letter to the Senate the appearance of a whole memorial book with pages. Philo of Byzantium, Archimedes, and others wrote letters, some of which were as long as a book. The pace of cor ... Read more