Lucian pairs his ideal Cynic, Cyniscus, with the cobbler Micyllus, who is the only one who accepts his fate – albeit with resignation. Here, Lucian follows a literary convention of his time by pairing a Cynic with a shoemaker. From influence of the Cynics, the Stoics drew inspiration from Simon as well. Zeno of Citium is said to have produced a collection of anecdotes about Crates. Stobaeus preserves one: Zeno said that Crates was sitting in a shoemaker’s shop and reading aloud Aristotle’s Protrepticus, which he had written for Themison, the Cyprian king. In it he said that no one had more advantages for being a philosopher, for he had great wealth so that he could spend money on this activity and still have his reputation intact. And Zeno said that while Crates was reading, the shoemaker was attentive but all the while kept on with his stitching. And Crates said, "It seems to me, Philiscus, that I should write a Protrepticus for you, since I see that you have more advantages for being a philosopher than the man for whom Aristotle wrote." Historicity Doubt Some scholars have suggested that Simon was a purely fictional figure.E. Zeller, (1868), Socrates and the Socratic Schools, trans. O. J. Reichel. Longmans, Green & Co. The central contention of his existence is his omission in the works of Plato, Xenophon, and Aristophanes – the primary sources on Socrates. Other scholars, point out that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. If he is indeed fictional, he would have most likely been invented by Phaedo of Elis in his dialogue Simon - of which, only a few fragments survive. Support Archaeological investigations have revealed the remains of a shop near the Tholos in the southwest corner of the Agora of Athens which has yielded quantities of hobnails and a pot base with the word "Simon's" () inscribed on it. Skeptics assert that it cannot be certain if this is Simon's shop. In the Cynic epistles, Simon is referenced by Antisthenes and Aristippus, and even partakes in the exchange. However, these letters are later Roman creations. Within the Heracles of Antisthenes, references Simon. Thus, it would be unlikely that he would be a literary creation of two early writers: Antisthenes, and Phaedo of Elis. In the recording of Simon's dialogues, Diogenes Laërtius' lack of order and the repetition of some titles point against the works