The ancient biographical literature is full of anecdotes. Though anecdote as literary form was readily applied in antiquity, it was not distinguished and didn’t have its own name. The term ‘anecdote’ appeared in the 17th century but it hasn’t been described insightfully so far. We have a few modern definitions but they are unsatisfactory. In the beginning of this article author presents shortly the origin of the term ‘anecdote’, showing similarities and differences between Procopios’ Secret History (
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