T. Gompertz (1832-1912) - an outstanding German researcher of ancient culture, one of the most authoritative and respected specialists in classical philology and the history of ancient philosophy. "Greek Thinkers" is the main work of his life, unsurpassed to this day in its breadth of coverage of numerous problems and universality the analyzed factual material, the wealth of sources involved. The translation of "Greek Thinkers", made for the first Russian edition of 1912, has been carefully edited: verified with the original, the reading of the names of outdated terms has been corrected, extensive comments have been added, taking into account modern coverage of the problems. The text of the book is preceded by an article about the life and work of this outstanding scientist. CONTENTS: Part one. Initial periodIntroductionChapter one. Ancient Ionian natural philosophersChapter two. Orphic teachings on the origin of the worldChapter three. Pythagoras and his disciples Chapter Four. Further development of Pythagorean teachingsChapter five. Orphic-Pythagorean doctrine of the soulPart two. The transition from metaphysics to positive scienceChapter one. Xenophan Chapter two. Parmenides Chapter Three. Disciples of Parmenides Chapter Four. Anaxagoras Chapter Five. Empedocles Chapter Six. HistoriansPart Three. The Age of Enlightenment Chapter One. DoctorsChapter two. Atomic physicistsChapter three. Side branches of natural philosophyChapter four. The beginning of the science of spiritChapter five. SophistsChapter six. Protagoras of Abdera Chapter Seven. Gorgias of Leontina Chapter Eight. The flourishing of historical science