The course aims to aid the study of the major philosophical themes as they were formulated and discussed by the early thinkers of the ancient Greek and Roman world. The first and second chapters serve to introduce the history of ancient philosophy and to provide a brief overview of the philosophical heritage developed in the civilizations of China and India. The other chapters are divided into three parts. The first part is dedicated to the Presocratics, with their plurality of schools and proposals. The second part presents the Attic period (5th and 4th centuries BC), with special attention to two of the greatest thinkers of all time, Plato and Aristotle. The third part, finally, studies the philosophical schools that emerged during the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire; in this third part, special attention is given to the thought of Plotinus.