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Ancient Philosophy

Presocratic and Early Greek Philosophy

The shift from mythic to rational explanation of the cosmos in archaic Greece, from Homer and Hesiod's poetic cosmology to the Milesian search for a single material principle underlying nature.

Wikimedia Commons · Unidentified engraver · Public Domain

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. The Homeric and Hesiodic Mythic Worldview. Homer and Hesiod gave archaic Greece its mythic cosmos, transmitted orally by inspired poets.
  2. Literacy, the Near East, and the Milesian Milieu. Alphabetic literacy and Near Eastern contacts shaped Miletus's rational, seafaring, philosophical milieu.
  3. From Arche to Logos: The Birth of Rational Cosmology. The quest for a single material arche marks Greek thought's shift from mythic story to natural reason.

This is the starting point of Ancient Philosophy: you don't need any prior knowledge of this subject to begin.

Key points

Visual module map

1The Homeric and Hesiodic Mythic Worldview
2Literacy, the Near East, and the Milesian Milieu
3From Arche to Logos: The Birth of Rational Cosmology

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Final test

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Memory

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Chronological Order

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Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Guthrie, W.K.C. (1962). A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol. 1: The Earlier Presocratics and the Pythagoreans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Kirk, G.S., Raven, J.E., and Schofield, M. (1983). The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Barnes, J. (1982). The Presocratic Philosophers (Rev. ed.). London: Routledge.
  • West, M.L. (1971). Early Greek Philosophy and the Orient. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  • Burkert, W. (1992). The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Diels, H. and Kranz, W. (1934–1937). Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (5th ed.). Berlin: Weidmann.