CHAPTER III
HERAKLEITOS OF EPHESOS
Life of Herakleitos. 63. Herakleitos of Ephesos, son of Bloson, is said to have "flourished" in Ol. LXIX. (504/3–501/0 B.C.);[1] that is to say, just in the middle of the reign of Dareios, with whom several traditions connected him.[2] 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 alluded to by Parmenides (fr. 6). These references mark his place in the history of philosophy. Zeller held, indeed, that he could not have published his work till after 478 B.C., on the ground that the expulsion of 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 at the time he wrote his poem;[3] but there is no difficulty in supposing that the Ephesians may have sent one of their citizens into banishment when they were still paying tribute to the Great King. The spurious Letters of Herakleitos show that the expulsion of Hermodoros was believed to have taken place during the reign of
- ↑ Diog. ix. 1. (R.P. 29), no doubt from Apollodoros through some intermediate authority. The name Bloson is better attested than Blyson (see Diels, Vors. 12 A 1, n.), and is known from inscriptions as an Ionic name.
- ↑ Bernays, Die heraklitischen Briefe, pp. 13 sqq.
- ↑ For the date of Parmenides, see p. 169.
130
