The Western tradition of philosophy began in Greece with a cluster of thinkers often called the Presocratics, whose influence has been incalculable. They include the early Ionian cosmologists, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, the Eleatics (Parmenides, Melissus, and Zeno), Empedocles, Anaxagoras, the atomists and the sophists. All these thinkers are discussed in this 1999 volume both as individuals and collectively in chapters on rational theology, epistemology, psychology, rhetoric and relativism, justice, and poetics. A chapter on causality extends the focus to include historians and medical writers.

"This is an indispensable aid for both teacher and student in any course devoted to the study of the Presocratics." Review of Metaphysics

"[A] fresh and wide-ranging survey of Presocratic philosophers..." Reference & Research Book News

"The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy (ccegp) is recommended especially to undergraduates interested in any aspect of philosophy, graduate students specializing in ancient philosophy, and professional scholars interested in the history of philosophy." Monte Ransome Johnson, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"This Companion does an excellent job of meeting its impossible challenge to be all things to all readers." Phoenix

"This book is a uniformly excellent collection of essays on early Greek philosophy written by an impressive international array of scholarly contributors. This book will be a good resource for teachers when preparing lectures, an excellent supplemental text in a history of classical philosophy course and would benefit a graduate seminar as well." Religious Studies Review

"The volume is, in overall terms, very succesful, with the chapter on sources by Mansfeld and the Bibliography singled out as outstanding, and likely to prove to be of particular interest and usefulness for a good time into the future." Ancient Philosophy