An important new edition of the so-called Presocratics. The fragmentary texts and testimonies of the early Greek philosophers (often referred to as 'Presocratics') have always been a fundamental source for understanding archaic Greek culture and ancient philosophy, as well as a continually fresh source that has stimulated Western thought to this day. This new systematic conception and presentation of the material differs in three ways from the groundbreaking work of Hermann Diels, as well as from later editions: it makes the thematic organization of the material explicit, includes selections from related groups of elements such as archaic poetry, classical drama, and the Hippocratic corpus, and provides an overview of the reception of these thinkers until the end of antiquity.

Volume I includes introductory and reference materials essential for the use of all other parts of the edition. Volume II presents optional chapters on ancient doxography, the cosmological and moral background, and includes the first Ionian thinkers Pherecydes, Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes. Volume III includes the first Ionian thinkers Xenophanes and Heraclitus. Volume IV presents Pythagoras and the Pythagorean School, including Hippos, Philolaus, Eurytus, Archytas, Hecataeus, and Echthantes, along with chapters on doctrines not attributed by name and their reception.

Volume V includes the Western Greek thinkers Parmenides, Zeno, Melissus, Empedocles, Alcmaeon, and Hippocrates. Volume VI includes the later Ionian and Athenian thinkers Anaxagoras, Archelaus, and Diogenes of Apollonia, as well as chapters related to early Greek medicine and the Derveni Papyrus. Volume VII includes the atomists Leucippus and Democritus. Volume VIII includes the so-called sophists Protagoras and Gorgias, Prodicus, Thrasymachus, and Hippias, along with testimonies related to the life, opinions, and argumentative style of Socrates. Volume IX includes the so-called sophists Antiphon, Lyco, and Xenias, along with the Unknown of Iamblichus, the Twofold Discourses, a chapter concerning the characteristics of the 'sophists' as a group, and an appendix on philosophy and philosophers in Greek drama.

Pages: 448, Year of Publication: 1031, Dimensions: 10.8x10.8cm