63. Herakleitos of Ephesos, son of Blyson, is said to have “flourished” in Ol. LXIX. (504/3-501/0 B.C.);[319] that is to say, just in the middle of the reign of Dareios, with whom several traditions connected him.[320] We shall see that Parmenides was assigned to the same Olympiad, though for another reason (§ 84). It is more important, however, for our purpose to notice that, while Herakleitos refers to Pythagoras and Xenophanes by name and in the past tense (fr. 16), he is in turn referred to by Parmenides (fr. 6). These references are sufficient to mark his proper place in the history of philosophy. Zeller holds, indeed, that he cannot have published his work till after 478 B.C., on the ground that the expulsion of his friend Hermodoros, alluded to in fr. 114, could not have taken place before the downfall of Persian rule. If that were so, it might be hard to see how Parmenides could have known the views of Herakleitos; but there is surely no difficulty in supposing that the Ephesians may have sent one of their foremost citizens into banishment at a time when they were still paying tribute to the Great King. The Persians never took their internal self-government from the Ionian cities, and the spurious _Letters_ of Herakleitos show the accepted view was that the expulsion of Hermodoros took place during the reign of Dareios.[321] Footnote 319: Diog. ix. 1 (R. P. 29), no doubt from Apollodoros through some intermediate authority. Jacoby, pp. 227 sqq. Footnote 320: Bernays, _Die Heraklitischen Briefe_, pp. 13 sqq. Footnote 321: Bernays, _op. cit._ pp. 20 sqq. Sotion said that Herakleitos was a disciple of Xenophanes,[322] which is not probable; for Xenophanes seems to have left Ionia for ever before Herakleitos was born. More likely he was not a disciple of any one; but it is clear, at the same time, that he was acquainted both with the Milesian cosmology and with the poems of Xenophanes. He also knew something of the theories taught by Pythagoras (fr. 17). Footnote 322: Sotion _ap._ Diog. ix. 5 (R. P. 29 c). Of the life of Herakleitos we really know nothing, except, perhaps, that he belonged to the ancient royal house and resigned the nominal position of Basileus in favour of his brother.[323] The origin of the other statements bearing on it is quite transparent.[324] Footnote 323: Diog. ix. 6 (R. P. 31). Footnote 324: