The Presocratics and the Supernatural Magic, Philosophy and Science in Early Greece

This book examines the relationship between magic, philosophy and the investigation of nature in presocratic Greece. Did the presocratic thinkers, often praised for their rejection of the supernatural, still believe in gods and the divine and the efficacy of magical practices? Did they use animism, astrology, numerology and mysticism in their explanations of the world? This book analyses the evidence in detail and argues that we need to look at each of these beliefs in context.

Andrew Gregory is Reader in History of Science in the Department of Science and Technology Studies, University College London, UK. He is the author of many books on the science of the ancient world, including Plato's Philosophy of Science and Ancient Greek Cosmogony.

Introduction
Natural and Supernatural
The Literary and Philosophical Background
Magic and Its Practice in Presocratic Greece
Milesian Pantheism
Xenophanes and the Drive Towards a Unitary God
The Hippocratics and the Sacred Disease
Empedocles
The Pythagoreans
Leucippus and Democritus
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index