The Hellenic contributions to Western Civilization are acknowledged by all, but the details of this endowment are often poorly understood and under-appreciated. This volume is intended as a remedy for these shortcomings. In particular, it seeks to disclose two distinctive features of Western culture uniquely attributable to the ancient Greeks: a human-centered worldview that elevated humans to the threshold of divinity and a philosophical temperament which for the first time in history proffered unbridled operation of the human mind as a kind of cultural imperative. These features are demonstrated by a detailed examination of 18 seminal thinkers who left lasting impressions in such fields as ethics, medicine, religion, politics, poetry and art. Collectively, the efforts of these individuals helped establish a unique cultural pedigree unlike any other in world history. They invested the West with that restless, intrepid habit of mind that remains the hallmark of Western civilisation to this day.