Philostratos in seinen ΔΙΑΛΕΞΕΙΣ nennt die folgenden:

It seems to me that, after the ancients, those who have engaged best in the epistolary style of discourse are the man of Tyana [Apollonios] and Dio [Chrysostomos] among philosophers, Brutus [der Caesarmörder] among generals (or whoever Brutus employed to write letters), among emperors the divine Marcus [Aurelius] in the letters he wrote himself, since in addition to his exquisite style he also left an impression in his writing of the stability of his charakter; among rhetoricians Herodes of Athens wrote letters best, but in his hyperatticism and chattiness he often lapses from the style that suits a letter.

(Discourses 1)

Selbst wenn man bedenkt, daß Philostratos keine Briefe über rein private Angelegenheiten im Sinn hat, ist man über diese Auswahl erstaunt. Ich jedenfalls hätte andere Namen erwartet. Daran merkt man wohl, wie abhängig unser Urteil von der Überlieferung ist.