Tzetzes wrote three letters to Ioannes Tripyles, who had gone to live and work in Thessalonike, and was having difficulty in adapting to his new surroundings and a demanding job. The first letter addressed him with Homeric quotations, and advised him to exploit the situation to his advantage rather than feeling trapped by it. The second thanked Triphyles for sending his charming father to the capital with a book, and asked him to greet for him some common friends in Thessalonike: Theodoros, Eustratios and the nephew of Konstantinos, metropolitan of Thessalonike. The third letter merely encouraged Triphyles to write to him